How does J.B.Priestley interest the audience in the contrast between
the ideas and beliefs of Authur Birling and Inspector Goole, in An
Inspector Calls?
In this essay I hope to identify and discuss J.B.Priestley's use of
genre, tension, characterisation, irony and any other factors that
contribute to making this play a success. A successful play is one
that keeps the audience's interest throughout, and this is one such
play. The two main characters in question are Authur Birling and
Inspector Goole. They are very contrasting characters in almost every
way. Apart from discussing these differences, it will also be
interesting to see how Priestley keeps to the detective thriller
genre, while conveying a moral lesson, and also not focusing too much
on Birling and the Inspector's views on social and moral issues of the
period. I will also use key aspects of the play like the speeches made
by both Birling and the Inspector. The conclusion I hope to make will
be on the basic ways in which Priestley engineered this specific play
to suit the needs of the audience and engage them in the play he
wanted them to see.
J.B.Priestley's play on the moral issues of the 1940's can relate to
any era. 'An Inspector Calls' is a play in the guise of a detective
thriller genre (although no imprisonable offence has been committed).
Priestley had to disguise his play because at the time (1947, just
after the end of the war), the most popular types of play were those
written by famous crime and detective thriller authors, such as Agatha
Christie and Emlyn Williams. His play, similar to the original
morality plays of the late middle ages, but written in a more modern,
secular manner, wasn't the type of play that was attracting the
masses. To gain the audience he needed to make 'An Inspector Calls' a
success it assumed the disguise of a detective thriller.
Priestley was very interested in exploring time. This is shown in 'An
Inspector Calls' as the play was written in 1947 but is set in 1912.
Priestley is able to use hindsight to make comments on events with
dramatic irony. Birling makes his ironic speeches about the good times
ahead, the 'unsinkable Titanic', and 'prosperity that will make war
impossible', to characters that are unaware of future events and the
lessons they will be forced to learn in 'fire, blood, and anguish'.
For the audience the Inspector's view of the world is an alternative
to that presented by Birling. Priestley's influences for the
manipulation of time are two theories: Ouspensky's 'A New Model of the
Universe', and Dunne's idea that individuals could look forward aswell
He was particularly scathing about the class system and the extreme contrasts of wealth and poverty prevalent at that time. He also disapproved of the selfishness within the individual and the fact that many people were only concerned with their own power, profit and gain. Priestley powerfully highlighted the exploitation of women and through the character of Eva Smith, he illustrated the rights that women were beginning to voice in society. Finally, Priestley used the different characters in his play to show the how the sins of greed, pride and selfishness have so corrupted society that the individual has become oblivious to the consequences of their actions, in this case culminating in the death of Eva Smith. Although 'Inspector Calls' is set in 1912, it was first written in 1945 and produced on the lst October 1946, just after World War 11.
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley In the introduction of Act One, we are given a few brief details about
Examine Priestley's use of dramatic techniques to create tension in the play. Priestly was a socialist writer, and 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the plays in which he tried to display his socialist ideals in. The play was written in the 1940's, a little after the end of the Second World War, and it was first performed in 1946, in Russia, then later in England. Priestly had served in World War 1, and the terrible scenes he saw lead to him having socialist views. He was inspired by other writers whose views he shared, especially George Orwell and H.G.
Socialism is one of the greatest messages that Priestley conveys. This message is spoken through the inspector. The Inspector represents Priestley’s strong moral views. Through the play, the Inspector’s character is shown as if he is Priestley’s image, and also shows that he is no ordinary Inspector. His character is shown as if he is more concerned with morality than legality, other than that of an ordinary Policeman/Inspector.
JB Priestley’s intent in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to convey the attitudes of socialism to the minds of the society in the Edwardian Era as he was a passionate believer of the concept. Priestley has attempted this through the employment of ‘Inspector Goole’ in the play. In the play drama is displayed through a variety of methods for the interest of the audience and the communication of personal views from JB Priestley.
He uses the downfall of Eva Smith and a chain of events to demonstrate this. This leads to a very convincing and well-devised play, which puts across JB Priestley’s views clearly and precisely. In Edwardian Britain there was a great difference in the roles of men and women in society and the outlook of what and was not accepted differed substantially. A prime example of this in the play is when Mr Birling says ‘Nothing to do with you, Sheila.
The Inspector, straight form his introduction, is commanding and authoritative. Upon his entrance he creates, “…at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”(PG.11) The Inspector continues to create this impression as he progresses through his speeches and through his interrogation of the family. The Inspector remains confident, sturdy and composed, while people around him crumble and fall to pieces. His ‘solidity’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Birling to digress from the points he is making. The Inspector is told to appear ‘purposeful’; this is shown where he explains to Birling that Birlings way of thinking “Every man must only look out for himself,” is not the case, and all warps of society are interlinked. The view is best illustrated in the Inspectors final speech, where he says, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”(p.56). This idea is one that Priestley, himself believed in deeply, and many of Priestleys writing shared this very theme.
This helped Priestley promote socialism against capitalism. JB Priestley uses dramatic devices to make An inspector calls a modern day morality play, to do this he uses dramatic devices, such as dramatic irony and tension in order to convey the message through the entire play. They are used accurately considering the time in which the play is set. Priestley also uses the characters as dramatic devices, they symbolise the dramatic devices, an example of this is Priestley makes us hate Mr. Birling because he symbolises capitalism, and in Priestley’s eyes capitalism is wrong. Throughout the play, Mr. Birling is the voice of capitalism....
Rauk, John. "Societal Reception of Tolkien and Other Modern Writers." Michigan State U., East Lansing, MI. 28 Apr. 2004.
Through his play Priestley endeavoured to convey a message to the audiences, that we could not go on being self obsessed and that we had to change our political views. He used the Birling family as an example of the Capitalist family that was common amongst the higher classes in 1912, who took no responsibility for other people and he showed this with the power of Socialism, represented by the inspector; the uneasy facade put on by the Birling family to cover up their real flaws and how they have treated those whom they considered to be lower class could not stand up to any scrutiny without shame for what had happened, showing that they know they have been wrong.
In the play “An inspector calls” by J.B priestly, Mr Birling and Shelia Birling have contrasting attitudes to social issues. The author uses this to difference to highlight the diversity between generations and their reaction to situations faced. Arthur Birling is the father to Shelia Birling and is presented as the old fashion generation whereas Shelia is the young generation, who is more aware of the responsibility she has towards other people.The play begins with Mr birling and his family celebrating the engagement of Shelia and Gerald. The atmosphere is happy and light-hearted. Before the inspector arrives, Mr Birling is happy with life and himself “It’s one of the happiest nights of my life.” This shows that Mr Birling is quire selfish because he only thinks that it is one of the happiest nights of his life and not of Shelia and Gerald.
Gainor, J. Ellen., Stanton B. Garner, and Martin Puchner. The Norton Anthology of Drama, Shorter Edition. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
3. Shipley, Joseph T. The Crown Guide to the World's Great Plays. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1984. 332 - 333.
"Iraqi Head Seeks Arms." (Pinker, p. 69) Quiproquo, double entendre, pun. These are instances of finding more than one possible meaning to an event, most often a phrase. We can't read Shakespeare, or Molière, or the works of many other authors if we don't believe that something can have more than one meaning. "There is no topic in philosophy that has received more attention than meaning, in its multifarious manifestations." (Dennett, p. 401) Meaning is one of our most intimate bedfellows – it is always in our minds. In Webster's Third New International Dictionary, meaning is defined as follows;