Sheila's Development; Inspector Calls

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

J.B. Priestley's Use of Dramatic Devices to Convey His Concerns and Ideas in An Inspector Calls

When the audience first sees Sheila in the play she is described as "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited." At the beginning of the play, she is sensitive and very easily moved, the audience can see this when she is told by the inspector about the

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

The beginning of the play exhibits Priestley characterizing women as gentle, being inferior to men and possessive of their luxuries; “I think it’s perfect. Now I really feel engaged.” The fact that Sheila needed to have a ring to set her engagement suggests that the ring matters

The moral of the play is that everyone is part of a community, and everyone is responsible for each other, it does not matter whether they are lower class or upper class (‘[W]e don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’). Priestley believed in socialism, he uses the Inspector to express his thoughts about this. This is the main message that he wanted the audience to take away.

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

The play also arguably acts as a critique of Victorian-Era notions of middle class philanthropy towards the poor who believed themselves to be socially superior and had severe moral judgements towards the poor. It also represents the differences and the struggles between the younger and older generation. “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine and that I see him fairly frequently.” This quote clearly suggests that Mr. Birling is trying to bully the inspector through his status and authority in society and the power he has over him, Mr. Birling is comprehending that he is more important than the officer. He believes that having political and social power over people makes him all-powerful, even when he refers to the working class or the middle class. He thinks that the working class is just there to serve you as a labor. Mr. Birling suggests that the working class are not worth crying over, when he uses the quote ‘Several hundred women’ he sees Eva as just one of those worthless girls who worked at his money-making factory. This shows us his overall mindset that all his workers had not more value to him than that they were workers who just earned profits for him. By saying “they keep changing” he shows the readers that he wouldn’t have cared if any woman or man would’ve left his factory. Sheila also argues that her dad had a

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.

With reference to the ways Russell presents the theme of social class in the extract and elsewhere in the novel in act one, show how far you agree that there is no escape from the effects of social class for the characters in the play.

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.

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.

Sheila is the most influential and pivotal character of the play “An Inspector Calls”. Sheila shows how and to what degree a person or people in society can change and how it can affect people around each other and the world.

The Youngers are the main family in the play. Throughout the story, readers witness all of the

In 1939, Kansan teenager Dorothy Gale (portrayed by Judy Garland) decides to run away from home to protect her little dog, Toto, from her heinous neighbor, Almira Gulch. Before getting very far, Dorothy sees the error in her ways and attempts to return home before being swept into a strange world of colorful characters by a tornado. Realizing that there is only one way to return home, she sets off with a group of her newfound friends on the adventure of a lifetime. Considered to be the most popular films of all time, the incredible tale of Dorothy must be historic for many reasons. One of the most distinct reasons for the popularity of this film is the director Victor Fleming’s use of film.