Themes in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
Inspector Goole acts as a conscience for all members of the Birling
family. His role is to teach the Birlings that every action has its
consequences and that thinking about only yourself, without taking
anyone else into consideration could result in dramatic consequences,
putting the family in a position that they’d rather not be in.
Priestly’s main concerns that he put across in the play were that
people didn’t realise that each uncaring action and or statement is
backed up with ensuing consequences. Priestley's main point is that
people must learn to feel a sense of personal responsibility, not just
for their own actions, but also for the way their actions affect
others. Whether they like it or not. The play actually goes further
than this, though, by pointing out that we all have such
responsibilities forced upon us: we do not have any choice about this;
it is a duty which we cannot shirk.
An Inspector Calls shows how the family each help to destroy a young
woman's life - Eva Smith through their selfish and callous attitudes
which results in her death. The characters in this play are archetypes
representing stereotypes of each section of society on a smaller
scale. We are shown the flaws in society allowing the disadvantaged to
live alongside the privileged. This play runs parallel to what was
happening to society at that time. Each uncaring action/statement is
backed up with ensuing consequences seen through the chronology of
events between 1912 and 1945.
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 within a week of World War Two
ending but set in the year of 1912. This was the a...
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...Sheila. This puts
the first suspect into the audiences head, pushing them to read on,
trying to find out more about the families involvement in Eva’s death.
Conclusion
The audience’s interest is sustained not only by the progressive
revelations but by their desire to find out who, ultimately, was
responsible for driving Eva Smith to her suicide. Using his skilful
use of climaxes within the carefully controlled plot and enduring that
the audience are left on tenterhooks by each conclusion of every act,
Priestly manages to heighten the audience’s suspense throughout the
play.
I think the message JB Priestly is trying to get across in this play
is about the responsibility of people, who separately inflict on
another person offences, the sum of which drives that person to
suicide. A theme that always applies.
Priestley mainly uses the characters in the play to present his views, especially Mr and Mrs Birling, to present his ideas about class and society. In the Birling family, Mrs Birling is the most upper class, and is always referring to the lower class female factory workers such as Eva Smith as ‘girls of that class’. She seems to think that working class people are not humans at all.
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 but set in 1912. The play shows the stark difference between 1912 and 1945. J. B. Priestley reveals the errors of society and the faults of capitalism as well as the bias of the upper class and social status. As a firm believer in the concepts of socialism, he uses this play to expose society’s poor attitudes to the working class of the period. The way they treat Eva Smith reflects on how many of the working class may have been treated by their social superiors. Eva was a victim in society as she was very low in the financial hierarchy as well as in reality where she was at the bottom of the classes. Women at that time were seen as being delicate, obedient to their husbands. The inspector is used to correct the
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
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.
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.
they have done even know they do not lead her to her suicide. But a
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young
Criticism in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley "An Inspector Calls" has been called a play of social criticism. What is being criticised. Explain some of the dramatic techniques which Priestley uses to achieve the play's effects. "An Inspector Calls" has been called a play of social criticism as Priestley condemned the many different injustices that existed in the society between the first and second world wars.
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 this male dominated investigation, it is empathy that truly is the mark that allows the investigation to be solved from an unsuspected place. Void of empathy, nothing can genuinely be understood. Empathy is the foundation with which we can see the world and understand the reason behind everything whether for the good or bad. Condoning the action of an individual is not taking into account their situation or what other options were available to them considering any existed. Labeling a criminal is putting an individual into a category of black and white without considering the complexity of the matter or the many shades of gray the world presents. In the eyes of the law, Mrs. Wright was a murderer. To those who could empathize with her struggles she was a survivor—despite her wrongdoing. Justice is found in this play, or rather the term may be favored as mercy, that Mrs. Wright was a victim who believed in her heart she chose the only path that lead to
Goole. Some the Birling family are used to show how we are not to act
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley as an Effective Piece Of Social Criticism As Well As An Enjoyable Theatrical Experience
The Message of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley An Inspector CallsA moral crime has been committed against a girl