Critical evaluation of An Inspector Calls Essay

"I behaved badly too. I know I did. I'm ashamed of it. But now you're

Published in 1945 and set in 1912 “An Inspector calls” is a play that holds a lot of social and political messages. The writer of the play, JB Priestley was a strong believer in socialism and used his work to convince the public to his way of thinking. He wrote this play when Britain was ruled by a labour government and socialist policies were seen as the ideal way to go. Although socialism was a common way of thinking during that time period, there were still some members of society that believed differently, and with "An inspector calls" Priestley intended to convert their views. Priestley's main aim was to bring attention to the problems that society faced in 1912, and through this play he expressed the importance of taking responsibility

This progresses to a more obvious display of emotion “I think it was a mean thing to do” this openly criticizes her father, something which would have been heavily unexpected and seriously punished ,with the inspectors presence Sheila can present the change of attitudes of the younger generations. Priestley was attempting to show that the change in attitudes of the upper class will not be instant; the younger generation will be the catalyst for the change in attitudes towards the lower classes.

“An Inspector Calls” is set in the 1912 although it was written during 1945. It is based upon an apparent suicide of a girl called Eva Smith. The reasons for her death are revealed to the audience through a sequence of events that happened before she died. The people who contributed to her death are the members of the capitalist Birling family. The main reason for Inspector’s appearance in the play s to reveal the truth not only about the crime but also to make The Birlings feel collective responsibility for actions or inactions that led to Eva’s death.

Inspector calls is a play written by the author J.B priestly. Set in 1912, but performed in 1945, after 2 world wars, this play evolves around the suicide of a pregnant working-class girl whose name is Eva smith. An inspector by the name of Goole, questions the involvement of a family business with the name Birling.Co and its upper-class owners. Priestly, being a socialist, writes this play to prevent a social divide between classes. I believe Eva Smith is the most important character in AIC even though she never appears during the play. Priestly uses her as a metaphor for socialism, catalyst for responsibility and highlights the corruption of men.

An Inspector Calls is an immediate post-war drama written by J.B. Priestley in 1945. The play surrounds the wealthy Birling family in the fictional town of Brumley. The storyline follows each of the Birlings and their individual part in the ultimate suicide of a young girl named Eva Smith. Even though the play was written after the second world war, Priestly made the decision of setting the story to take place in the Edwardian Era of 1912. This decision was a significant one as it allowed Priestley’s audience to reflect on the political climate and moral issues that were subject to the time. His success could be attributed to his accurate portrayal of the selfish and pessimistic views of people going into the First World War. Priestley’s choice of location and demonstration of severely-lacking social responsibility in the Birling family accurately reflects the political climate of 1912 and the attitudes of the higher-class.

An Inspector Calls is a play written by John Priestly in 1945, about a wealthy family, the Birling’s, who is questioned by a mysterious inspector about the suicide of a young woman, Eva Smith. In the play, Mrs Birling is most to blame for Eva’s suicide, in fact, in the play Eric, her son, blames her for Eva’s death, saying ““Then- you killed her. She came to you to protect me- and you turned her away-yes, and you killed her-and the child she’d have had too- my child- your own grandchild- you killed them both- damn you, damn you-”. Three major reasons why Mrs Birling is most to blame are that she refused to help Eva when she was her last hope, she showed no remorse or blame for her actions, and she blamed others for Eva’s death.

audience in his play. I will be analysing act one of the play to try

“An Inspector Calls” written by J.B Priestley is about the unexpected suicide of a lower class working girl called Eva Smith. Every character in the play played a big part in her demise. Mr Birling fired her from his own business, Sheila got her fired from Milwards, Gerald had an affair with her, Eric raped her making her pregnant and Mrs Birling rejected her from her charity when she was desperate. At the end of the play Eva is shown to be desperate because she is in the Palace Bar, J.B Priestley reflects society in each and every character. In this play its shown that the lower class have to obey and be in awe of the upper class.

An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 the year the second world war ended but set shortly before the first world war in 1912 because he wanted to show the class divide before the war and the arrogance that the upper class or upper middle in Mr Birling’s case had and to try to stop us from going down that path again like the Inspector did with Eric and Sheila. Priestley uses the play to show others his socialist views and how he wants everyone to work together and look out for one another. Priestley opens the play in the Birling’s dining room “dessert plates and champagne glasses, ect.., and then replacing them with decanter of port, cigar box and cigarettes” many of the things on the table such as the champagne glasses and the port shows that the Birling’s must have been wealthy as they wouldn’t have been able to afford it all without being rich.

The fact that Sheila and Gerald are ready to start their relationship anew tells the audience that the Inspector has made a profound difference in their lives, and after splitting them apart he has allowed them to be brought back together into what promises to be a better relationship.

‘An Inspector Calls’ was written by J. B. Priestley in 1945, and was set in 1912. One of the main themes throughout the play is the theme of responsibility, and the consequences of our actions. Another important theme in the play is of the contrast between the younger and older generations, which again links into responsibility, as the younger generation are willing to accept responsibility for what they have done wrong, whereas the older generation are not.

An Inspector Calls is a play written by JB Priestley. It was set straight after the Second World War where the men and society was completely different to the ones nowadays.The society would be capitalist and the rich would be rich and the poor poor. In this play he presents a wide range of themos.

him off starting off a chain of events, which led to the death of Eva

An inspector calls is a play written by John Boynton Priestley. The play was premiered 1945 but the play takes place on a single night in April 1912. The play was focusing on the Birling family who were in the upper middle-class. The family is visited by a man calling himself Inspector Goole who is questioning different members of the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman, Eva Smith (also known as Daisy Renton). The family were inspected and revealed to have been responsible for the young woman's death through desertion and neglected which effectively leaded to her death. The author uses different techniques to display tension in the play “An Inspector Calls”. The tension is created using the characters, the girls past, and by social classes