Contrast And Message In J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

During the play, most of the characters use the word responsibility at one point or another and each member of the family has a different attitude to their responsibility towards social issues and Eva Smith. The inspector can see that the Birling family dislike the working class and their society as they see themselves as better off and higher than them in society.

An Inspector Calls is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in 1912, and focuses on the Birling family, who live in a wealthy but not particulary homely house in Brumley. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family. The idea of the play, and particularly the role of the inspector, is to try to bring the Birling family to understand that they have a moral responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, if not a legal one. In Act Three, the Inspector tells the Birling family: “The girl killed herself and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.” But who was really the

see that this is true by looking at his speech and at the manner in

In the play An Inspector Calls, Priestley uses different characters to portray women. At the start of the play, Sheila is seen as fragile, materialistic and inferior to the men in her life, which is typically the view of higher-class women. This is followed by the perspective of lower class women having excellent morals yet being disposable, which is seen through Eva Smith’s character. This contradicts to Mrs Birling’s control on others and her strong social class views.

He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others. He uses the downfall of Eva Smith and a chain of events to demonstrate this. This leads to a very convincing and well-devised play, which puts across JB Priestley’s views clearly and precisely. In Edwardian Britain there was a

In An Inspector Calls the theme of gender inequality is explored comprehensively. In the play, most of the women are portrayed as feeble characters, unable to make decisions for themselves. Many people often think this of Sheila, who the men feel needs protecting from lots of things, like the information that a girl has committed suicide. The play was set in 1912 when the patriarchal society was the norm. So the women that were in the play would have been seen as possessions to their husband and therefore did not work or have careers. However it would have been accepted for women to participate in charity work as Mrs Birling was. Apart from that, women would have been simply seen as wives and mothers not workers and fighters. Women did not have the same rights as men most notably women did not even have the right to vote. The

In the play 'An Inspector Calls', many contrasts and paradox's are present and at the centre of them all is the character known as Inspector Goole. However, the inspector is not any ordinary inspector. I believe that the inspector is used as a device by Priestley to explore the wider themes of the play and to depict other characters true personalities. This essay will explore some of the techniques Priestley presents the inspector in An Inspector Calls.

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in the North Midlands, the industrial city of Brumley in 1912. The play revolves around the death of a young girl named Eva Smith and the wealthy, middle class Birling family. The Birling family consists of four main members. In addition, there is Gerald Croft who is engaged to the daughter of the family, Sheila Birling, and the maid Edna who plays a small role in the play.

Mayor two years ago – and I’m still on the Bench – so I know the

command at the end of Act I and the start of Act 2, and the end of Act

An inspector calls is a morality play that challenges the ideas of an upper class Edwardian audience,preistley achieves this both through the attitudes of the play but also through his implementation of personal morals. Sheila is initially presented as the stereotypical Edwardian daughter but soon freely presents her emotions, without the need for approval from her parents.

A number of other issues that were around at the time the play was set

characters in the play, he is trying to use her as a way of making

A major inequality that has been highlighted in the play is gender Inequalities. Before the unexpected arrival of Inspector Goole, Sheila is presented to be very outspoken about her ideas to Gerald and the rest of her family. ‘I’d hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced old men’ As Sheila tells this to Gerald it shows how she openly expresses her views to Gerald. The simple language emphasises how confidently she is able to voice her opinion without a second thought. This is something that wouldn’t be expected from women in the early 1900s so it shows how from the very beginning, Sheila is different to most women in the early 1900s. However, she is also quite similar to them in terms of her power because she had no power in the start of the play and despite the fact that she voices her opinion, it has no impact on anyone in the family in comparison to the effect it would have if Gerald or Birling said it. During the Inspectors visit Sheila increasingly breaks down the inequalities between

this is his role in the events of the play. This, and the fact that