Priestley's character's usually represent social attitudes and political views (Nightingale). How does Priestley convey his beliefs through the Inspector and Birling family? Priestley conveys his beliefs through the Inspector and the Birling family in various ways. Priestly believed in ?social conscience? that we are all responsible for each other. Priestly never believed in the class system as he thought it was very unjust and divided everyone, especially poorer people, in a poorer way. Priestly?s view is shown through the Inspector in a rather convincing way which makes the audience think like an inspector. The inspector is the voice of reason, justice and socialism. In the play Birling believes in the ?Survival of the fittest? …show more content…
They first focus on money and care about how other perceive them. Birling also believes he is going to get a knighthood, ?I might find my way into the next honours list. Just a knighthood, Of course? Birling casually throws in ?just? when referring to his knighthood which shows that it is not a big thing for a man like him to get. Birling is worried when the inspector leaves in case anybody finds out what happened and is also worried about the knighthood. Again, this shows us he is worried about his ?social status? because he believes that life begins and ends with it ? believes his future is going to be a comfortable world. Birling also is very uncaring and unsympathetic towards Eva. ?she?d had a lot to say- far too much- so she had to go? This could indicate that Birling was sexist and makes us consider whether he would do the same to a male worker. It also reveals Birling?s self centeredness and how cold-hearted he is. He does not care about the social classes below him and believes they have no right to ask for anything. If this was Birling?s ?political world? he would try to impress the community to receive the knighthood but he cant give the people who put him in that position a few shillings more. He also does not seem to care that Eva Smith has lost her life, we learn this through the tone of his voice and dismissive language when he speaks. He shows no interest or any sympathy. On numerous
Priestley creates Mrs Birling as an unlikeable character to try and get across the message of the play, that the rich should treat the poor better. He does this by making
Mrs Birling is described as "…her husband's social superior". She is a snob and is very aware of the differences between social classes. She tries to deny things that she doesn't want to believe a prime example would be Eric’s drinking she says at the beginning of Act 3 “you don’t get drunk” this line really emphasises the extent at which Eric is not only insignificant to the older generation but ignored. The reader is shocked by this statement as we know at the beginning of the play he is a drunk by the way he responds and sits in his chair ‘half at ease’ and it is ironic that his own mother is oblivious to it. As they are higher class than Eva Smith they also feel as though the death is less important, as Mrs Birling states 'Girls of that class -” this shows that she was prejudice towards the girl due to her class and her position (getting pregnant and not being married) she was therefore in Mrs Birling’s eyes not worthy of receiving any money from the charity, this is echoed when she says “I'm Mrs Birling, y'know” using a patronising
He relates these ideas to the Birling family although the family members are stereotypes representing people at the time. Mr. Birling is ascribed very Capitalist views and believes "A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself. " These clearly contrast the views portrayed by the Inspector, Priestley's mouthpiece in the play, which are very socialist. "We don't live alone. We are members of one body - we are responsible for each other.
Mr Birling is shaken by the investigation. He doesn’t learn any lessons during the course of the play. When it seems that the Inspector might have been an imposter he is overjoyed and mocks the others for having been 'tricked' by the investigation. Inspector Goole drives forward the drama, with his questions creating shocking moments and gripping cliff-hangers for the audience. By the
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
Priestley's main aim was perhaps to make an audience aware that no one person can live in a society without being
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.
Mayor two years ago – and I’m still on the Bench – so I know the
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
Priestley represents Mrs Birling, as a very posh and high class woman. She, like her husband, can be very self-important, for example, when the Inspector says, "You're not telling me the truth" and she replies, "I beg your pardon!" She seems horrified that somebody could speak like that to a lady of her class. This is not only an example of how she is portrayed as self-important but also
soon find out that Eva worked in his factory, and how she was fired by
How does JB Priestly explore and present the theme of gender in the play ‘An Inspector Calls”?
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.