Consider the ways in which Priestley's portrayal of Inspector Goole and the way in which he carries out his investigation of the Birling family and Gerald Croft create dramatic interest?
'An inspector calls' was written in 1945 by J.B Priestley. The play is set in 1912 and centres on Arthur Birling, a prosperous manufacturer and his family, who are celebrating the engagement of their daughter, when they are suddenly and dramatically interrupted by the arrival of the police inspector. The inspector, investigating the suicide of a young working-class woman, uncovers each of the family's shameful secrets that link them with the young girl and her death.
Priestley was a strong believer in socialism, opposing capitalism which exploits and degrades the working classes to benefit the rich.
Priestley believed that whether we acknowledged it or not, we are all part of one big community and have the responsibility to look after everyone else, no matter who they are or what their status is. In 'An inspector calls' Priestley tries to highlight these beliefs and educate the audience on how they should treat one another. This message was particularly effective to the audiences of 1946 as, weary from the Second World War they were looking for change. The
Inspector's quote of 'Fire, blood and anguish' refers to the 1st and 2nd
World Wars, would have had great emotional impact on the audience and caused them to think more deeply into the play and Priestley's message. During the Second World War social classes were forced to mix, children were evacuated to where was safest and not according to class, all young men were forced to mix in the Trenches and on the
Front Line, the women left at home were forced to all work in the factories together, al...
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...ugh they are his social superiors. He is or need not be a small man but however creates an impression of massiveness and of purposefulness; this comes across in the whole atmosphere he creates. He uses many tactics such as the photograph and graphically detailed descriptions to shock both the audiences and the characters. By shocking the audience he can best get across his moral warning and by shocking the other characters he can best get them to open up to him and admit their wrongs. The Inspectors overall approach to the investigation is totally irregular, which creates dramatic interest and in some points emotional conflicts which create tension and keep the audiences attention. But even after he has left, he is still creating interest and tension as the characters try to decide whether or not he was a real inspector and in fact whether or not he was actually real.
...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.
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.
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.
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
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.
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
'An Inspector Calls' is a morality play - a form of play developed in the late middle ages in which a Christian moral lesson was brought out through the struggle between the forces of good and evil - set in 1912, and revolves around the questioning of a family by Inspector Goole about the suicide of a young woman (Eva Smith) that the family knew.The author, J.B. Priestley is trying to show us what some people's arrogance and selfishness can cause without them even noticing. Priestley was a socialist, therefore by writing this play he was drawing attention to the bad things about capitalism. The Inspector was intending to teach the Birlings that ?...we have to share something. If there?s nothing else, we?ll have to share our guilt? Act One. By saying this, he is telling them they are all as guilty as each other of the suicide of Eva Smith, this also links to Priestley being a socialist because he is putting the Birlings to shame.
The Reflection of J. B. Priestley's Political and Philosophical Beliefs in An Inspector Calls In 1945 J. B. Priestley wrote the play "An Inspector Calls". It is a very tense play; the audience are always on the edge of their seats. It is didactic as it conveys a social and moral meaning to the play.
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
J.B Priestley strongly believed in Socialism, which was an economic system. For example, An Inspector Calls, as well as being a play, contains many references to socialism the inspector was arguably an alter ego through which Priestley could express his views. Priestley through his writing was also trying to show that all our actions have consequences and that as a result of the unsuitable social system, people thought it is acceptable not to worry about what the...
Goole. Some the Birling family are used to show how we are not to act
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
The play "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as "dramatic irony" and "direct mouthpieces", which define the genre of the play as non-illusory, to impart his left-wing message.
J.B Priestley is the writer of the play 'An Inspector Calls'. The play is based in the period of 1912, however, it was in the year 1946 that he decided to get his message across: The importance of the welfare state.
of the play, but as far as the characters are concerned he is just an