Theme Of Family In An Inspector Calls

Superior Essays
The play an ‘inspector calls’ divulges the truth and teaches the moral message about responsibility, warning the consequences if the message is not heeded. As the play was set before the First World War, it enabled priestly to refer to class division and social hierarchy through the characters and to the audience. Priestly portrays the attitudes of the characters and how family is presented in upper class throughout the play. The eccentric, Mr Birling a pretentious factory owner worries about his reputation being tarnished, which indicates he believes family is less significant to him. Each member of the household receives a different attitude to responsibility in the play.
In act 1 Mr Birling and family are holding a dinner party to celebrate
…show more content…
Furthermore, considering all the characters in the play, Mr Birling is the only one who puts business first, then family which makes him an egotistical man. However, this does not suggest the rest of the family are loving and caring. At the start in act 1 Gerald thinks that the Birling’s seem to be to be “a nice, well behaved family” but little do the audience know about the murky secrets lurking behind their polite and polished …show more content…
The irony to this is that Sheila and Eric are matured and have understood their mistakes like responsible adults whereas Mr and Mrs Birling act like children which are how Sheila and Eric were at the beginning of the play.
However at the end of the play the audience gets the impression that they are all guilty in the same way. "As they stare guilty” the word “They" implies that the Birling’s and Gerald Croft are all "guilty" in some way which makes us wonder that family in Inspector calls is not perfect instead full of lies and dirty secrets under all the richness that makes them look like the “perfect family”. The Birling’s think they have nothing to hide from but what they don’t realise is their foolish actions until the inspector makes them understand but only Sheila, Eric and Gerald feel

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