How Is Birling Presented In An Inspector Calls

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

How does JB Priestley present the older and younger generations differently throughout the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ (45 mins)

Mr Birling makes long speeches at dinner about things that the audience would know were incorrect. For example, he claims war will never happen and that the Titanic is unsinkable. “And I say there isn’t a chance of war. The world's developing so fast that it'll make war impossible." He is confident that there will not be a war. The audience, (knowing that two years after his speech, World War One will begin), see that Mr Birling is wrong. This makes the audience lose trust in him as a character - if he’s wrong about this, what else could he be wrong about too? However to contrast with Mr Birling’s thoughts, as the Inspector delivers his closing speech, he prophesies a terrible future. "And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish." The Inspector predicts a future of hell, filled with a vision of ‘fire’ and ‘blood’. Priestley experienced war first hand, so some suspect that what he saw in wartime influenced the Inspector's final speech.

He shows we must all look out for each other and think before taking actions. Priestley uses Eva Smith’s death as an example of the suffering of lower class women in Edwardian times and directs the blame at the whole family caused by their small but consequential, chain of events. Priestley cleverly brings in the inspector at a strategic moment, just after Birling has stated ‘that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own’. This is the speech that Birling has just made, which reveals his true character. That of a narcissistic, unsparing old man.

By constructing the Inspector as just and omniscient, Priestley encourages the audience to view left-wing values as morally virtuous. Through the Inspector's authority, commanding presence and stature Priestley makes a direct jab at the audience with the Inspector's last

he a question he will now answer it, he will just ask a question back.

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.

Mrs. Birling, in the opening stage directions by Priestley is introduced as a “rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior”. This is important since readers realise early on in the story that Mrs. Birling is a representative of the aristocracy and her cold nature would be reflective of her pride on that fact. She is portrayed to be very conscious about her social status and extremely authoritative. She clearly likes being in control of things and demonstrates this trait repeatedly in the play. She is also constantly seen correcting flaws and contradicting members of her family. An example of this would be when she responds to Arthur’s statement about the cooks reproachfully, stating, “Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things”.

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.

This is evident in “We are responsible for each other.” The inspector implies that everyone is responsible for one another, utterly contradicting Mr. Birling’s speech before he came in. The inspector is the most conflicting character in the entire play as he stands cool and hard before the Birlings and the audience and unveils the consequences of their actions on those below them. The dramatic irony reinforces that the inspector is in fact voicing Priestley’s message out, therefore emphasizing the effect. Furthermore, the inspector is presented as the figure of authority in the play. This is reinforced in "massively taking charge as dispute erupts between them." He is the only character that calms down the household when an argument breaks. He also expresses no interest towards Mr. birling’s authoritative friends and disregards his threats. The stage directions reinforce that when capitalism destroys everything, socialism is the only answer. Both contemporary and modern audience is left in a conflicting situation as he creates conflict in the play between other

To what extent do you agree with this description of the role of the Inspector?

Mrs Birling uses very distinctive language that is always class conscious. At the beginning of the play, Mr Birling asks the maid to give his compliments to the cook but Mrs Birling immediately replies, ?Arthur, you?re not supposed to say such things?? showing that she is very aware of the divisions between classes and the language used within these classes. Another

Throughout the play An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley, it is clear that Priestley strongly believes in the importance of a caring society and the consequences of our actions. He presents these views on inequalities through the presentation of Sheila Birling. This is done in various different ways using numerous techniques.

And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in blood and anguish.” This passage shows that Priestley wanted to make the Inspector the law bringer and the authority in this play because the audience has to agree with what the Inspector is saying for Priestley’s message to be effective. The quote refers to World War 1 and World War 2 and so Priestley uses the power and knowledge of the Inspector to scare the audience by using powerful sentences such as “they will be taught it in blood and anguish” which reminds the watchers of the pain and suffering they have already gone through. The inspector tries to persuade the audience that trying to pursue wealth is dangerous and destructive such as the case of Mr Birling starting the “chain of actions” for Eva Smith. Priestley had completely opposite views on the world to the main characters, mostly Arthur Birling. The Inspector is there to represent the views of Priestley and so is shown to be much of a better person and man than Birling and his family and whereas Mr Birling is shown to be greedy and selfish in his actions, the Inspector is shown to be the opposite. This shows the main role of the inspector is to present Priestley’s ideas.