An Inspector Calls - Write fully about one of the characters in the play.
Write fully about one of the characters in the play. Take into account
what they have done before the play begins as well as their actions,
words and attitudes during the course of the play. Write about the way
attitudes, moods and opinions change and develop during the course of
the action on the stage.
An Inspector Calls is a play with many social and political messages.
J. B. Priestley believed a great deal in socialism and he used several
of his plays to try and influence 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 as the way forward. It was a popular
way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was
probably to teach the unconvinced.
The play is set in the house of the Birling family. As soon as the
curtains open, it is clear that the family is wealthy because there is
high quality furniture and decoration in the house in which the play
is set. The family use their house as a status symbol and have
decorated it in a way so as to reflect their wealth. We learn this
from the "few imposing but tasteless pictures" which will probably
have been chosen because they were expensive, not because they were
liked. These pictures also tell us that the Birlings are proud of
their wealth and think themselves to be very important but lack the
good taste which is present in those who are socially superior to
them. The house is described as being "substantial and comfortable and
old-fashioned, but not cosy and homelike." This setting suggests that
the family are uncomfortable with each other and therefore suggests
problems. We gather from the Birling family they are of an
upper-middle social class, who think themselves to be of a very high
status.
Eric Birling the character I am going to focus on does not seem to be
understood by the rest of the characters. His sister Sheila and he are
still treated as if they were still children "What an expression,
Sheila! Really the things you girls pick up these days!" Mr and Mrs
Birling have a lack of understanding of the younger generation,
particularly their offspring. They try to control their lives as this
was the norm with generations prior to theirs, "Just let me finish,
Eric. You've a lot to learn yet." Here we can see that the elders in
the family have the first and last say in many matters.
one page 11) this indicates that he is a selfish man and cares for his
The play is set in the present time during the month of September. It is about the midday and the sun is out. A house is located between Trenton and Princeton New Jersey, pretty much where the corn fields meet the highway. The play itself takes place in the living room of an old farmhouse. A lady by the name of Marjorie is at home by herself going though her everyday actions when she approached by a strange man that enters her kitchen. The man appears to act as if he is confused and at the wrong house and enters deeper into Marjorie's home. She tries to be safe and acts like she has a husband upstairs, but the man is well educated and knows better than that. He knows that it is a lie and travels deeper into Marjorie's personal space. When Marjorie finally realizes that her trickery isn't going to work she tries to escape out the door, but the strange man blocks her way. This man is Raul and his main goal is to rape and possible kill Marjorie. A struggle of power breaks out between the two and in the end Marjorie's using the strongest muscle she has against Raul. She tricks him into thinking that she really does like him, when all that time she is trying to reach for a can of wasp spray to use in defense. Raul is fooled and as his weakness of pleasure shines though Marjorie blocks it out by spraying Raul in the eyes with the wasp spray. She then locks him up into the fireplace and that is the end of act one. As act to progresses Raul brings up the point that the cops would arrest Marjorie before him, because he is the victim of the fight. As the day progresses Marjorie's roommates Terry and Patricia come home from work. By this time Marjorie wants to kill Raul and bury him in the back yard, the obstacle to made when her two roommates don't think that is the right thing to do.
as it matters ‘a devil of a lot to him’. He is relieved that there is
Sheila says this to Eric at the table. As we can see this is quite a
How Priestly Uses the Inspector to Create Tension and Suspense in An Inspector Calls J.B Priestly wrote 'An Inspector Calls' in 1945 just when the welfare state began. J.B Priestly set his play in Edwardian Britain 1912; however Edwardian Britain society was still very Victorian in its attitude and structure. For example the rich, who were privileged, were meant to help out the poor through charities, as there was no welfare state. As well as the fact that social benefits did not exist at that time, but they chose not to. It was classed as the Victorian ways.
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
audience in his play. I will be analysing act one of the play to try
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
In the beginning of the play, after caught dancing in the woods by Reverend Parris,
The play begins at Reverend Parris' home, whose daughter Betty is ill. Parris is living with his daughter and his seventeen-year old niece Abigail. Parris believes that is daughters illness is from supernatural causes, so he sends for Reverend Hale. Betty first start to look ill after her father discovered her dancing in the woods with Abigail and his Negro slave, Tituba along with several other local girls. There are rumors going around that Betty's sickness is due to witchcraft. Parris doesn't want to admit to seeing his daughter and niece dancing in the woods, but Abigail says that she will admit to dancing and accept the punishment.
member of the family to admit to the fact she did wrong and is willing
The Inspector in An Inspector Calls Examine the function and symbolism of the Inspector in the play – An Inspector Calls, and explain how Priestly makes him dramatically effective Throughout the play ‘An Inspector Calls’, by J.B Priestley, the audience sees the role of a mysterious investigator who interrogates a powerful and upper-middle class family: The Birling's. Priestley uses the role of the Inspector to expose the characters in the play, and to put his own views across about the Birling’s and their conservative beliefs. The play was written in 1946 and set in the spring of 1912. This means that the audience would have known the future events (the two world wars). Therefore they are in a position to judge the characters beliefs.
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young
The first half of the play concerns a celebration - twins Girlie Delaney and Dibs Hamilton are celebrating their 80th birthdays, and with the gathering of their families comes the eruption of simmering resentments and anxieties about the future of Dibs and Farley Hamilton's farm, Allandale. The second half starts with a funeral and portrays the shattering of the tenuous links that held the family together.
... checks himself). As well the whole of act one is ironic as Eva Smith's