Priestley's Inspector Calls Nineteen forty-fivewas a time very different to our own. England had just finished fighting a world war and was trying to rebuild itself. The country was in turmoil and was desperately crying out for a new way of life. J.B. Priestly believed that if Britain was to prosper then the attitudes of the upper and middle classes towards the working class needed to change. Priestly communicated his views in his play 'Inspector Calls'. Inspector Calls is about a middle class family whose celebrations are interrupted by an Inspector Goole who is investigating a suicide. He forces each family member to reveal a dark secret about themselves which could ruin the family name, but when it is resolved at the end only two of them have learnt their lesson. Although Priestly was brought up in a middle class house he was very proud of his working class grand parents and grew up in a home of socialist ideas. By nineteen forty-five Priestly had seen two world wars, mass unemployment, nationwide strikes and finally the Great Depression. The gap between the rich and poor was growing larger and Priestly knew that the capitalist's way of running the country and "each man for himself" wasn't working. It needed to give way to more socialist ideas of a state welfare and every one being responsible for everybody else. This is the main reason why he wrote the play. Priestly used a play because plays were one of the most popular forms used to put across socialist views at the time. A play was also a particularly effective way of putting across these views because ... ... middle of paper ... ... rich business men who had climbed up in society with money. She is often embarrassed of her husband's behaviour and will often reproach him for his manners. Her treatment of Eva Smith was that she refused her help when she had asked for it. Little did Mrs Birling know that her own son had put her into that situation. Up until finding out this fact Mrs Birling was adamant on believing she was "perfectly justified" in her actions and even said "I accept no blame for it at all". The view of Mrs Birling on working class people is very clear. She believes them to be lower than herself and is appalled at the idea that this poor girl could have any morals stating "She was giving herself ridiculous airs" and always refers to her as a girl "of that sort" or a girl "in that position" as if all working class people are the same.
...are lower class or upper class (‘[W]e don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’). Priestley believed in socialism, he uses the Inspector to express his thoughts about this. This is the main message that he wanted the audience to take away.
one page 11) this indicates that he is a selfish man and cares for his
J B Priestley clearly had a strong moral conscience which led him to hold socialist beliefs wanting to bring about change against the capitalists who were exploiting the poor working class. In 'An Inspector Calls' Priestley cleverly uses dramatic techniques, lighting and stage directions to produce an emotionally charged setting to bring home a very important message to the correct society of his day and remains a challenge to the society in which we live in now.
as it matters ‘a devil of a lot to him’. He is relieved that there is
and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of a body. We are
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.
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
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.
Priestley's Social Message in An Inspector Calls The play an Inspector Call’s was written at the time of 1945 but is set in 1912. Priestley conveys a lot of social and important messages in this play. He conveys the messages through the character of Inspector Goole. One most important message that Priestley conveys is about Socialism.
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.
Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
A morality play is a medieval play designed to teach the audience right from wrong. JB Priestley uses An Inspector call to convey a moral message, which is that you should not judge people on their class i.e. lower working class/higher class. He also expands the views of socialism within the message; this is all made very clear by the use of dramatic devices. Although it is a morality play it is not in the traditional format. Priestley makes it very clear in what he wants the audience to think is moral and immoral. The play also conveys a strong political message. The play encourages the idea of socialism, a society in which responsibility and community are essential, also a place where the community all work together and are responsible for their actions. This is in contrast with capitalism. JB priestly wrote the play in 1945, but it was set in 1912 just before the war, it was later performed in 1946. The play was written after World War I and World War II, Priestley used this to his advantage, it makes the audience feel awful after what has just happened, the majority of the audience would have either lived through one or both of the wars. This helped Priestley promote socialism against capitalism.
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
On overall, Priestley has presented the two characters, Arthur and Sheila Birling as completely differently. He wanted to match the story to the historical context of the 1910’s, but he has done this differently with Sheila. This is because the play was written in 1946 and the world had two wars and has started to comprehend the strength of community. She is the young generation of the 1910’s this means in a few years down the line, a war is going to break out and if they keep making the same mistake over and over again, it’s not going to turn out any better, by this, we see what happens in the second world war. This is why Sheila has been presented so that she understands consequences of what might happen if we don’t pull ourselves together.