Essay Mr Birling in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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.

Sheila's Character Developement throughout the course of An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley In this essay I am going to be describing how the character of Sheila develops throughout "An Inspector Calls" by J.B Priestley. Priestley was an English writer, who was born in Bradford. He served in the infantry during world war one, then afterwards attended Cambridge University. As a newspaper essayist and journalist, he wrote on a variety of subjects, then the publication of "The Good Companions" in 1929 led to his establishment as a writer.

Critical evaluation of An Inspector Calls An Inspector Calls ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a play set in the mystery/ detective thriller genre. It is set in 1912 however it was written by J.B Priestly in 1945 and staged in Moscow. As he lived through both wars he could see what had actually happened in the time the play was set. J.B Priestly uses the characters to express his views on the issue of social responsibility, morality and about class divisions with many themes including greed, regret, guilt and blame.

The Inspector is not afraid to question Mr Birling, despite being in his house and knowing he is a contender for a knighthood, about the way in which he runs his business. This isn’t normal police protocol and Priestley makes him do so to contradict Mr Birling’s earlier speeches. The Inspector also interrupts people with force, “you heard what I said before Mr Croft” is an example in which the Inspector stamps his authority on Gerald, using intimidation that one wouldn’t expect from a police officer. There is a dramatic example of this interruption which is the Inspector ringing the doorbell and making a noise which cuts Mr Birling off mid-speech.

In ‘An Inspector Calls’ Priestley manipulates tension and suspense to give us insight on his political and social views (eg. the class system). He builds up tension and suspense during the course of the acts ending with a cliffhanger, leaving the audience curious and guessing as to what would happen next.

Birling strongly believes that “a man has to make his own way – has to

“An Inspector Calls” is originally a play by J B Priestley in 1945, and has been represented in a variety of diverse ways, as a book, a play and many films.

The Dramatic Methods Used by Priestley to Convey the Social and Moral Message of An Inspector Calls

the end of the Second World War. The play is set in 1912, just before

The Inspector is a critical part of J.B. Priestly “An Inspector Calls”. He is a catalyst in a concoction of Edwardian lies and

J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B. Priestley is set in an industrial city, Brymley in 1912, just before the First World War. The Inspector's dealings with the Birling family cause some of the characters in the play to re-evaluate their position in society, whilst others remain unaffected. J.B.Priestley criticises middle class oppression of the working class by showing how the Birlings and Gerald Croft are involved in making a young working class girl's life a misery. Act one begins by introducing the characters and presents a seemingly happy united family looking forward to the future with a degree of confidence. Arthur Birling is having an enjoyable celebration

was jealous of Eva because she was a 'very pretty girl too - with big

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley An Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestly, is the story of the visit by an Inspector to an apparently normal family, the Birlings. They are celebrating Sheila Birling's engagement to Gerald Croft, who is also present, when the Inspector arrives telling them of the suicide of a young girl called Eva Smith. At first they deny any knowledge of the girl, but as the play goes on the Inspector manages to show that they all helped kill her. Mr Birling had her dismissed from his factory for demanding a small increase in wages; Sheila ordered her to be dismissed from her job in a shop simply because of her pride; Gerald Croft kept her as his mistress before leaving her suddenly;

to believe that she would find an answer in manipulation causes her to come face to face

Since he didn’t smell alcohol on her breath, he knew she wasn’t drinking as she stumbled around the room in shock, shaking her fist, and asking, “Why would anyone murder her? Jerry, my mother’s dead.”