Juxtaposition In 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

Written in 1947, J.B. Priestley's didactic murder-mystery, An Inspector Calls, accentuates the fraudulent Edwardian era in which the play was set. Britain in 1912 was inordinately different to Britain in 1947, where a country annihilated by war was determined to right the wrongs of a society before them. In 1912 Britain was at the height of Edwardian society, known as the "Golden Age". A quarter of the globe was coloured red, denoting the vast and powerful Empire and all Britons, no matter what class

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.

Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself.

The play "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as

“An Inspector Calls” is a morality play by the socialist playwright J. B. Priestley written in 1945 but set in 1912. The play is based on the wealthy Birling family, who is questioned by a police inspector regarding a young woman’s death. Using characters of different ages to represent the contrast of political stances and attitudes, Priestley attempts to educate the audience. He believed that Capitalism was the sole reason for the start of world war one and therefor also the cause of the great economic depression and the second world war. Priestley uses the age in the play, to tell the audience that capitalists don’t have any social responsibility, as they do not accept any responsibility for Eva Smith’s death. The behavioural contrast between the Birling parents and their children demonstrate that if you are capitalist, you can still alter your beliefs and become socialist.

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.

In An Inspector Calls, one of the main themes is responsibility. Priestley is interested in our personal responsibility for our own actions and our collective responsibility to society. The play explores the effect of class, age and sex on people's attitudes to responsibility, and shows how prejudice can prevent people from acting responsibly. In this essay I am going to explain how Priestley presents the theme of responsibility and how he uses structural and language devices to do so.

You feel that the Inspector knows everything already, and that by telling him, you are not giving information, but confessing to what you have done- which he already knows. This makes Sheila and Eric in particular give a lot more information than is necessary to the questions that the Inspector asks. The Inspector sets up a scene, and then inserts snippets of information that two parties will both be able to individually interpret, and will reveal more than necessary. The Inspector makes the information he gives ambiguous in order to draw the largest reaction. In this way, he is able to play off their response and extract more information from them. In some aspects, Inspector's character seems to be ahead of his time. The manner in which he conducts his questioning seems to be more advanced than the way in which they are received. Also the way in which he conducts himself gives the impression of being ahead of the family that he is questioning. He also has the sensibility of someone who lived during the 1945/46, after the wars. The Inspector does not ‘fit' in with the way in which things where done during the time of this play. Priestley makes the Inspector seem ahead of his

In this essay, I am going to discuss how the character Eva Smith in the play An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley is treated in the play and the relation of this to the socialist views of the playwright. I will look at the historical context of when the play was written and when it was set, describe what happens to Eva Smith throughout the play and then link this to a socialist viewpoint.

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.

The arrival of Inspector Goole in JB Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ creates a feeling of uneasiness and completely changes the course of the play. The inspector represents an almost ominous and mysterious being that suggests a manifestation of each of the character’s guilt and certainly calls to the fact that each of the Billings had a role in Eva Smith’s tragic death.

‘What do you think is the importance of inspector Goole and how does Priestley present him?’

Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young