The 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

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.

In the play An Inspector Calls, Priestley uses different characters to portray women. At the start of the play, Sheila is seen as fragile, materialistic and inferior to the men in her life, which is typically the view of higher-class women. This is followed by the perspective of lower class women having excellent morals yet being disposable, which is seen through Eva Smith’s character. This contradicts to Mrs Birling’s control on others and her strong social class views.

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.

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

An Inspector Calls is a play written by J.B.Priestly in 1946 and is set in 1912 in Britain. The predominant amount of the play takes places in the Birling family’s sizable sub-urban house. The house belongs to the affluent ex mayor and current manufacturer Arthur Birling and his wife, daughter and two children. The family rejoicing and marking the occasion of the romantic (though for Mr Birling commercial) engagement of Sheila and her fiancé, who happens to be son and heir of Arthur Birling’s industry rival, Gerald Croft. However, their celebrations are cut short when; an Inspector literally calls, and suddenly they are in a situation being morally berated about their views upon the lower classes and their place and function in society by a

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.

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.

The inspector right from the moment he is introduced is commanding of the situation and already has that authority he displays later on in the play. “at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”. As the play progresses the inspector continues to make this impression on the family by his interrogations and speeches. The inspector does this by keeping composed

In Act 1 of An Inspector calls, Priestly makes it crucial that he sets out hints of conflicts and tension that later become clear to the reader. He is careful in his creation of tension through themes that occur throughout the play, which guide the reader through the text in what reveals itself to be a cautious downfall of an apparent secure and wealthy family structure.

At the start of the play in an inspector calls by Priestly the Birling family is celebrating happily Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft. However the mood changes when Inspector Goole arrives and informs them about the suicide of a young women named Eva smith. Eventually all the characters discover how they all played a part in the death of Eva smith.

The play “An Inspector Calls” by J.B. Priestley is about a wealthy family in pre-war England. At this period at of time, society was capitalistic, with very strong inequalities between the middle and upper class and distribution of wealth. The playwright t refers to this family as the father Mr. Birling is a wealthy manufactory owner and his wife Mrs. Birling is an aristocratic woman who sees herself as the most powerful, because of her social position. The family is celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila when suddenly the whole atmosphere changes as a mysterious inspector arrives. Priestley’s aim was to reinforce the main themes: Responsibility, Generational gap, Inequality.

Throughout Act One of An Inspector Calls, the unremarkable setting and staging focus the audience’s attention on the characters, who form a microcosm of 1912 society. Priestley first introduces the Birling family, and viewers quickly discover the unique attributes and opinions which will shape the play’s plot. Arguably the most striking character, Arthur Birling dominates the dialogue of the opening scenes, as he brashly proclaims his capitalist views. His primary focuses, on ascending the social ladder and running a financially successful business, are noticeably ignorant of others’ wellbeing, establishing him as unlikable and disagreeable, which is only reinforced by his increasingly grating remarks.

In the play ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley included 2 main themes: the general contrast and responsibility. The first theme: general contrast was perhaps the most applied throughout the play, such as in: the young age vs. the old age, the upper class vs. the lower class, the reality vs. the predictions of the characters, in addition to socialism vs. capitalism. The young characters: Sheila and Eric sympathized passionately with Eva unlike the elders: Gerald, Mr. and Ms. Birling. At an unpredictable move, the young ones turned out to be matured enough to realize their guilt, to the extent of them arguing and shouting at their own narrow-minded parents.