J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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

The character Mr Birling in ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B Priestley is a greedy, arrogant and selfish ‘hardheaded businessman’, father of two, Sheila Birling and Eric Birling. Through Mr Birling Priestley shows what upper middle-class men were like in 1912. I believe Priestley set the play in 1912 and first performed it in 1946 because this date represented an era where everything was different. In 1912 there was a strict class system and gender roles, Priestley took the chance the end of the war had given them to create a different, more equal 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

In ‘An Inspector Calls’, social responsibility is the key theme. Priestley is interested in our personal responsibility for our own actions and our collective responsibility to society, to take care of one another. Throughout the play, Priestley explores how the different characters of the Birling family accept social responsibility. Priestley reveals the theme of social responsibility through the character of Sheila.

John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire on September 13th 1984. The play “An Inspector Calls” was written by him in 1945, and came onstage in 1914. An Inspector calls, is a play that revolves around the apparent suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. In the play, the unsuspecting Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole. Priestley uses a variety of different techniques, especially language and quotations, to contrast and elicit differing responses to Mr Birling and Inspector Goole.

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.

In his play, An Inspector Calls, JB Priestley explores numerous ideas of responsibility. Priestley utilizes the setting of the play (1912) when socio-economic disparity between the upper and working class was high, and juxtaposes it with the social context of when the play was performed (1945), when aspects of socialism were growing rapidly in Britain. This creates dramatic irony and reflects the view of audiences first attending the play. He achieves this by using the mysterious nature of Inspector Goole, who pressures the upper-class Birling family to admit responsibility for the death of Eva Smith (a working class woman), to embody socialist Britain; exploiting the affluent and pompous Mr Birling to represent the unwillingness of Capitalism

are adverbs to tell the actor how to say the text. This can be slowly

J B Priestley's Main Ideas in An Inspector Calls In the play "The Inspector Calls" by J B Priestley many views are put forward for the audience to contemplate. Priestly uses the characters to portray the views and changes that were happening and going to in the time when the play was set 1912. Mr Birling & Mrs Birling are a classic example of the typical upper-class citizens.

Birling tries to shirk off all responsibility of Eva Smith’s death by saying ‘obviously it had nothing to do with the wretched girl’s suicide’ (When he was referring to the sacking of Eva Smith and the link to her death)

How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course of the play An Inspector Calls? How do you think this change reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?

This was written in 1945 but was set in 1912. The play is written about a girl called Eva Smith who dies of a suicide consequently, The Birling family are questioned about her death. Mr Birling is shown as a capitalist because he only cares about himself and his business rather than his workers and his community around him. 'An Inspector Calls' is a play about morality which teaches the character and the people who are watching or reading the play, not only to care about themselves and how to treat others around them. J.B Priestley uses An Inspector Calls play to show how in 1912 the class system was very strict and always associated with the higher classes.

“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.

This should interest the viewer and help to involve them in the play, they should go away hopefully taking note of the plays main themes maybe the play taught them something they will remember and apply to their everyday life. This is what I think 'An Inspector Calls' should do to the viewer. In my production I would have Mr. Birling as a portly, pompous but well experienced man in his late fifties with a large, greying moustache, a balding scalp and a few strands of hair trying to disguise this fact. He should look as though he knows a great deal about business and how to achieve targets which gain him wealth and respect.

In An Inspector Calls, Preistley conveys Mrs Birling as the most unsympathetic character in the play. He does this by having the inspector say to Mrs Birling '[Eva] came to you for help at a time when no woman could have needed it more.’ We know that Mrs Birling turned her down and did not offer any help which shows the reader that she does not care about other peoples needs, even when they are clearly in distress.