Priestley's “An Inspector Calls” is a dramatic play that investigates the case of a poverty-stricken girl, Eva Smith, who commits suicide. A rich family, the Birlings, and Gerald Croft are inspected by Inspector Goole to find their link to the death of Eva. Each character has a different reaction when they discover they are responsible for Eva’s death, which reveals their personality traits of egocentricity, denial, and naivety; hence, the personality traits show some of the attitudes of wealthy people towards the poor. Firstly, Mr. Birling, the father of the Birlings, reveals his attitude towards the lower and middle class society through his egocentric character. Before Inspector Goole interrogates Mr. Birling, Mr. Birling attempts to intimidate the Inspector by babbling about his prestigious position as “an alderman for years- and [being] Lord Mayor two years ago” (11). After Inspector Goole inspects him, Mr. Birling tries to unnerve the Inspector by uttering that Colonel Roberts is “an old friend of [his] and that [he] see[s] him fairly frequently” (16). These quotes by Mr. Birling show the way he tries to…
Responsibility in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley J.B Priestly wrote 'An Inspector Calls' just as the 2nd World War was coming to an end in 1945. The play was based in the time just before…
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…
An Inspector Calls is a play written by Dramatist J.B Priestley in 1945. Priestley was a left-wing socialist and this was one of the factors which influenced him to write this play. Even though the play was written in 1945, it was actually set in 1912, right before the start of the First World War. It is set in the spring of 1912 at the Brumley home of the Birlings, a prosperous industrial family in the North Midlands, getting involved in the death of a woman named Eva Smith. The Inspector uses…
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 shortly after the Second World War but set in 1912 just before the First World War because Priestley a socialist himself wanted to show how big the class divide was before the wars and everyone had to pull together and how he didn’t want us to go back to that so Priestley uses the Inspector as his voice in the play to try to teach the Birling’s and the audience about caring for each other and looking out for one another. The play opens up in the Birling’s…
In the drama, “An Inspector Calls” written by J.B Priestley, Sheila’s character is essential in enabling the playwright to convey his message about social responsibility. Sheila’s character acts as the conscience of the Birling family. Sheila acknowledges her faults and appreciates the wrongdoing her family has perpetrated against Eva Smith. Sheila’s character experiences the largest change within the play as she goes from being an immature, childish girl to a morally conscious young woman by…
Mr. Birling is oblivious to the word ‘responsibility’, his mind seems to reject it as he believes that people should care only for themselves, even as the inspector was questioning him he denies everything and still keeps his childish behaviour. Piestly finds Mr. Birling’s ideals to be insulting and he wrote this play to fight against these sorts of people. Mrs. Birling (Sybil) being Mr. Birling’s ‘social superior’ always tries to correct him ‘Arthur’; you’re not supposed to say such…
“An Inspector Calls” is a play written by JB Priestly, that revolves around a theme of blame and responsibility. To convey and show the moral of the play, it is contrasted to compare differences and to emphasize by setting responsibility as a central theme of the play but then providing a fascinating portrait of the way that people can let themselves off the hook and take no responsibility whatsoever. Priestly explicitly differentiates and portrays between those who have accepted their…
Explore the ways relationships are presented in “Of Mice and Men” and “An Inspector Calls” Society is not perfect, it never was. So it is not in any way surprising that many people would try to rectify these mistakes, and improve their society. John Steinbeck and J. B. Priestley wanted to just that. They produced works that show the effects of these mistakes if they are not rectified, in hope of raising awareness about society 's own impurities. Two of these works are "Of Mice and Men" and…
between Mr Birling and Sheila? In the play an Inspector Calls, by J.B Priestley, the 2 generations end up with very different view on capitalism and socialism with the younger generation changing towards the more socialist attitude. The relationship between Mr Birling and Sheila symbolises the differences between these two world views. Priestley wanted the change to happen from a capitalist to a socialist society. Mr Birling is represented in some ways as a hot headed…