Tension in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

Tension in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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The play "An Inspector Calls" written by J B Priestley, is a post 1914

play about a series of events that leads to the unfortunate suicide of

the girl Eva Smith. The Birlings are interrupted during a celebratory

meal by Inspector Goole who proceeds to question them about their role

in Eva Smith's death. While the younger members of the family accept

responsibility for the girl's death, the older Birlings refuse to

acknowledge their input into Eva's suicide.

Arthur Birling is a hard headed business man whose daughter, Sheila,

is marrying into the rival family's firm by getting engaged to Gerald

Croft. Sybil Birling, Arthur's wife, is head of a charity

organisation, which helps young women when they have no money and

nowhere to go. The son of the Birling family is Eric, who drinks

heavily most nights and works at his fathers company. Throughout the

play we get to see how all of these people added to Eva Smith's misery

and eventually led her to swallowing disinfectant to end her life of

suffering.

Priestley's play is set in the North Midlands in 1912. During this

period, Britain was going through a difficult time. There were factory

strikes, which resulted in people losing their jobs when they asked

for better pay. This is significant in Priestley's play because Eva