How does Priestly reveal the attitudes of two characters in Act One? “An Inspector Calls”, is a play written in 1912 Edwardian England, by J.B. Priestly. It is a philosophical play about social conscience and the crumbling of middle-class values. In this time period there was a large social divide between the upper and lower class. This play is about a higher class family who having a strong connection with a young woman who has committed suicide, with a suspicious Inspector uncovering the plot throughout the play. Priestly presents Mr Birling as a “Portentous” man, with capitalistic views, and his daughter Sheila Birling, is portrayed as a naïve young girl, but as the act goes on she begins to become more independent, but also becomes more aware about society.
Mr Birling is presented as a prosperous business man, with capitalistic ideals and beliefs. Mr Birlings business-like ways are shown through him trying to convince Gerald that they are a family worth marrying due to the fact that they drink the same port as Geralds’ father, perhaps Priestly is commenting on the
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Perhaps this has been done as it offers a huge contrast between the two, and the separation that has occurred due to their opposing views on society and the fact that older generations are more resistant to change. Priestly may have wanted to provoke the thought on whether or not this social divide still exists and how does it affect people in society? The audience is also left wondering whether or not Mr Birlings need to be of a higher status has come from his original situation, when he was of a lower class and had to work his way up, if so this may explain why at times it seems as if he is trying to prove others that he is worthy of this
How Priestly Uses the Characters to Represent His Own Views on Society The play "An Inspector Calls" is set in 1912 but was written in 1945. Edwardian society at that time (1912) was strictly divided into social classes and over two-thirds of the nation's wealth was in the hands of less than 1% of the population. Below the very rich were the middle classes (doctors and merchants, shop workers and clerks), after that came the craftsmen and skilled workers. At the very bottom of the social ladder was the largest class of all - the ordinary workers and the poor, many of whom lived below the poverty level. The men of industry treated the workers very badly and they were paid pittance.
As the play was meant to be produced on stage, rather than to be written as a book format, 'An Inspector Calls' is very dramatic; to capture the audiences' attention, and to keep them thinking as the play develops. Each of the three acts are very dramatic, but I am choosing to analyse the first half of Act One of 'An Inspector Calls', because in my opinion, this is where J.B. Priestley's use of dramatic devices is most evident. This part of the play is very important, because it is the opening scene. Not only must the opening scene of the play grab the audiences' attention, it must also give impressions and introductions to the main characters. J.B. Priestley has used the scene to capture the audiences' attention and imagination, and gives a good introduction to the characters and their personality.
The Dramatic Techniques J.B. Priestley Used to Create and Develop Tension in Act one of An Inspector Calls
The upper class girls are treated with respect, and are on the whole protected. "I think you ought to go to bed now, and forget this absurd business" Mr and Mrs Birling want to protect Sheila from the horrors of affairs. However in the Edwardian society there were upper class men, who were abusive, and over domineering. For example Alderman Meggarty who tried to harass not only Eva Smith (who was working class) but a girl that Sheila knew, who must be upper class, because Sheila would only socialise in upper
J.B. Priestley's Inspector Calls. An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley is set in an industrial city. Brymley in 1912, just before the First World War. The Inspector's dealings with the Birling family cause some of the characters in the play to re-evaluate their position in society, whilst others remain.
Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls
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.
Consider the role of the Inspector in “An Inspector Calls”? And what we learn about Priestley’s view on society through the character and his effect on others.
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....
Societies often create a fissure separating its citizens into different groups, some based on one’s generation, social level, political beliefs, etc. In Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, a young woman named Eva Smith commits suicide due to a chain of events starting from her dismissal from a company run by wealthy Mr. Birling and followed by his son, Eric who uses her without her consent during a drunken night. While Mr. Birling and Eric have many commonalities, the generational gap causes both to view responsibility differently. To begin, although both characters represent the upper class in society, Mr. Birling exemplifies the idea of someone focused on earning their status while Eric symbolizes inherited privilege.
In this section at the end of Act Two we find out that Mrs Birling
The play is very simplistic and overtly political. It heavily features varying aspects of non-illusory theatre to semaphor Priestley's political message. When reading the play, it is important to remember that the characters are not people but caricatures Priestley employs to manipulate the reader. This combines with the artificiality of the plot to form a completely biased play, from whichever angle one looks at it. However at the time of its publication it was not so outlandish, because it upheld the New Labour government, struggling so hard to bring about its reforms and stay in favour of a people who had suffered many hardships and were now looking to more years of difficulty and discomfort.
Discuss Priestley's depiction of the Birling household and Gerald Croft, prior to the arrival of Inspector Goole In this submission I hope to fully discuss Priestley's depiction of the Birling household and Gerald Croft, prior to the arrival of Inspector Goole. The play is set in the fictional town of Brumley, an industrial town in the North Midlands. It is evening in the town, in the spring of 1912. At the moment the play starts the characters are celebrating the engagement between Gerald Croft and the Birling family's only daughter Sheila. They are all very pleased with themselves and are enjoying the occasion.
In 1947 Britain had just come to the end of a devastating world war where families had suffered immense losses and society was desperate for a fairer, more equal lifestyle. Socialism and left-wing Labour views were becoming increasingly popular and Priestley, himself a Socialist, was anxious to point out the flaws of a society which rewarded rich men who openly exploited the poor for profit. He effectively uses hindsight in his play to ensure the corruption, hierarchy and discrimination of Edwardian Britain was not repeated. There is an irrefutable message in Priestley's thriller, a feeling ... ... middle of paper ... ...