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Priestley's ideas in an inspector calls
Priestley's ideas in an inspector calls
Why j b Priestley wrote an inspector calls
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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. 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. Run along.’ This tells us that women are treated as inferior to men as they should not interfere with their conversations. For example, upper class men were encouraged to gain sexual experience with lower class women. This way, women were preserved until the wedding night as a sign of purity. The background a marriage carried was seen as more important than the relationship between the couple. In many cases it was necessary for individuals to marry into families that offered greater status or financial strength. This is shown in the play when Mr Birling says ‘Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business…we may look forward to a time when Craft’s and Birling’s are no longer competing but are working together. This sug... ... middle of paper ... ... still behaved the way they did. The whole family’s actions are the cause of Eva’s death however the message about responsibility the Inspector presents is only take on board by Eric and Sheila. In conclusion, Priestley clearly gets across his message of responsibility towards others in the play. A clever script cunningly executed points out Priestley’s views to the audience. ‘Responsibility’ is the focal point of the play and is consistently addressed at the end of each interrogation, but the Birlings fail to recognise this. Only Sheila and Eric will act differently when the event is repeated according to Ouspenksky’s theory of time. The others though are destined to the same fete and will face the same treatment over and over again until they understand the message of responsibility the Inspector is teaching.
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
This caused workers to become better organised and strikes were becoming more frequent as they demanded better conditions and higher pay. J.B. Priestley was writing the play for a middle class audience and was trying to speak up for the working class by showing how the Birlings and Gerald Croft were all involved in making a young working class girl's life a misery. Priestley wants to show us that we have a responsibility to others to act fairly and without prejudice and that we do not live in isolation. Our actions affect others.
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
Birling who looks down on a lower working class person, Eva Smith. When Mrs. Birling says “As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” infers that Mrs. Birling is prejudice against the working-class girls. Furthermore, she also believes that do not have morals or dignity as they will take any money from people. This lets the audience know that Mrs. Birling looks down on all working-class woman as they don’t have the same level of status, income, and respect as her, thus showing her lack of remorse when talking ill about the less fortunate and how she thinks highly of herself. Mrs. Birling says this quote loudly and confidently, shown by the exclamation mark, to convey her instant thoughts about the lower class and that what she is saying is correct. The following lines by the inspector, said in a stern manner, shadows what Priestley himself would have said to Mrs. Birling because what she said is completely against the idea of everyone being part of “one body” therefore making the atmosphere tenser within the characters and the audience. This built up tension clearly indicates to the audience how Priestley feels about this topic and how important it is for him to educate his audience about treating people from different social classes with respect and
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
Wells, both of whom references are made to in the opening pages of the play. A lot of the tension in the play is between Birling and the Inspector, both of who are powerful figures in the household and are both vying for dominance, creating a lot of tension. This is symbolic of the global struggle between capitalism and socialism, the Inspector represents Priestley's socialist views, and Birling, the antithesis of the Inspector represents capitalist views, which is made clear through his speech "the interests of Capital steadily increasing prosperity." When the Inspector is there, Birling is very fast to drop the blame on someone else, insisting "I can't accept any responsibility" which is a complete contrast of what the Inspector says, telling the family to "share the blame among yourselves when I have left" This constant conflict, which is often at the heart of the dramatic genre itself, makes sure there is tension whenever the two characters are talking to each other. This conflict is not the only one within the play.
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.
The history of the time the play was written helps us to understand the views and the feelings expressed by Priestley in the play. The inspector transfers Priestley’s views and he shows the difference in social classes at the time. A gap which he wants to diminish. He illustrates the reason for this in the play, via the inspector, where he outlines the ways each of the Birlings have influenced someone from a completely different background and social class. This is the way Priestley viewed pre-war England.
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.
When the inspector arrives at the Birling estate uninvited he suspects the family of being some way involved in the events leading up to the death of Eva Smith. The Inspector describes Eva Smith as ”A young woman…. A bit out of the ordinary…” As the story unfolded my feelings of sympathy for Eva grew stronger and stronger. This is surprising as she does not appear in the play and is in fact dead before the play begins.
One of the ways Priestley expresses his views is by embedding it into the characters of the younger generation: Eric and Sheila. He uses character manipulation using the Inspector to highlight the conflicting opinions, morals and social standards between the two generations. The playwright uses their emotions to unravel their positions in society, and roles within Edwardian society, through the death of someone they all allegedly knew and whose life they affected negatively.
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.
As a socialist J. B. Priestley expresses his opinions through this play, in the time politicians were hated so Priestley used the play as a device to put his points forward. The play was not just a political view; it was his personal dream and passion to write an entertaining play. He created it as a detective play because they were interesting, popular and the audience could also try to crack the mystery themselves, this was a very intelligent and unique way of expressing his opinions, as he knew they would be heard this way. J.B. Priestley starts the play by introducing the Birling family. He starts with an engagement party between the Birling’s and Crofts.
The title of the play has a lot of significance, because, from the moment that ‘An Inspector Calls’, the Birlings’ lives change suddenly and they are all faced, from this point onwards, with a moral issue and a guilt which shadows their whole evening. The Inspector has the power to impact a whole family by disrupting their situation, but also by psychological means. The title is the first thing that someone will see or hear, and by having it symbolise the most significant event of the play, Priestley is already starting to put forward many of the themes brought about by the arrival of the Inspector. In this way the title is not only appropriate but also shows that the Inspector is very central indeed to the play, and even before he first arrives at the Birling household, it is obvious that he is going to have a big role to play in the events that will unfold.