J.B Priestley’s play ‘An Inspector Calls’ applies the theme of social and moral responsibility to express how the capitalist views of 1912 can ruin them. With Priestley being an advocate and socialist for equality, he purposely evokes the thoughts and actions of the prototypical capitalist communities of the 1900s, critiquing them for their unsympathetic and self-centred mindset, which are some of the most significant factors that disagree entirely with the idea of social responsibility. The character of The Inspector is critical in encouraging the Birlings’ to be accountable for their actions and change the way they treat others, highlighting one’s sense of social responsibility, thus enabling the audience to reflect on the theme of duty.
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This is illustrated in Mr. Birling’s unruffled response to Eva Smith’s death as he replies “(rather impatiently) Yes, yes. Horrible business. But I don't understand why you should come here, Inspector –” which undoubtedly emulates his capitalist views that “A man. has to look after himself”. The stage direction indicates Mr. Birling’s symbolism of capitalistic views of limited interest in the death of anyone he does not know. The repetition of “yes, yes” further accentuates his lack of compassion, followed by the use of economic language in a simple sentence of "horrid business". The fact that the death has been referred to as “business”, connotes that Mr. Birling’s capitalistic ideology does not attach any personal feelings to those he does not consider significant to him. The use of the adjective ‘horrible’ is significant because it contrasts with how his daughter views the death of the ‘young girl’. Mr. Birling’s cold use of the adjective highlights how capitalism is very dismissive, showing the lack of social responsibility in those views. The semantic field of the individual is shown through the lexical choices such as “man” and “himself”. This reinforces the idea that capitalists have a fixed mindset about their lives. In addition to that, when Priestley constructs The Inspector and has him accuse Birling of being a link to the death, Birling speaks “(somewhat impatiently) Look - there’s nothing mysterious - or scandalous about this business. obviously it has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide.” which in turn further supports the connotations of capitalism that come with Birling “as a hard-headed businessman” denoting that they are self-centred and cruel. The stage directions reflect Mr. Birling’s typical capitalistic
This is illustrated in Mr. Birling’s unruffled response to Eva Smith’s death as he replies “(rather impatiently) Yes, yes. Horrible business. But I don't understand why you should come here, Inspector –” which undoubtedly emulates his capitalist views that “A man. has to look after himself”. The stage direction indicates Mr. Birling’s symbolism of capitalistic views of limited interest in the death of anyone he does not know. The repetition of “yes, yes” further accentuates his lack of compassion, followed by the use of economic language in a simple sentence of "horrid business". The fact that the death has been referred to as “business”, connotes that Mr. Birling’s capitalistic ideology does not attach any personal feelings to those he does not consider significant to him. The use of the adjective ‘horrible’ is significant because it contrasts with how his daughter views the death of the ‘young girl’. Mr. Birling’s cold use of the adjective highlights how capitalism is very dismissive, showing the lack of social responsibility in those views. The semantic field of the individual is shown through the lexical choices such as “man” and “himself”. This reinforces the idea that capitalists have a fixed mindset about their lives. In addition to that, when Priestley constructs The Inspector and has him accuse Birling of being a link to the death, Birling speaks “(somewhat impatiently) Look - there’s nothing mysterious - or scandalous about this business. obviously it has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide.” which in turn further supports the connotations of capitalism that come with Birling “as a hard-headed businessman” denoting that they are self-centred and cruel. The stage directions reflect Mr. Birling’s typical capitalistic