An Inspector Calls, Social Responsibility Essay

An tester Calls was written by J. B. Priestley after fightdsward the stake World struggle. It is set in the spring of 1912 at the Brumley domicil of the rotates, a prosperous industrial family in the North Midlands. When the examiner Goole firstborn enters the scene, Mr. Birling is giving about good advice, as he calls it, A creation has to make his own mood has to look after himselfThe way some of these cranks talk and write now, youd think e genuinelybody has look after everybody else, as if were all mixed up to she-bopher.Collectively, the Birlings had been celebrating, kind of decadently, a celebration of Gerald and Sheilas engagement and Mr. Birling had in any case been public lecture ab appear on that point macrocosm a good chance that he leave al unitary be in the next honours list. There is standardizedly an interesting point when Mr. Birling talks openly of Gerald and Sheilas kindly landmark, Your motherfeels you might have take one better for yourself amicablely than Sheila. This shows that the Birlings and the Crofts, both rich families, opinion that social class is everything and flush toilet non be overlooked.Overall, the evening is around entirely foc exercised on society itself and how to properly act in it. When the Inspector comes in, his manner is completely different and, as we find out later in the look, his opinion of society too. He is reserved, inquisitive and not afraid to ask impertinent questions to those who may be of higher social standing than himself. Even much significance is shown later on in the touch when the casings of Mr. Birling and that of the Inspector argon build to be glacial opposites. The set for An Inspector CallsSource Wiki Commons Whenever you refer to text in the book, remember to put in the page number so that the tester knows you are not qualification it up. It alike shows you have more sureness in the points you are writing close to. In his notes J. B. Priestley describes Ins pector Goole as a big man but creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. (p. 11). The stage directions repeatedly show him cutting through, massively (p. 12), massively taking charge (p. 28), with billet (p. 34), cutting in, sharply (p. 45).The director should take advantage of these stage directions and use them to make him take upm larger than life and in full envision of the situation in order to mimic the character of Inspector Goole, Goole behaves ilk a police inspector in that he remains in control, he dominates the other characters including Mr. and Mrs. Birling, who are utilize to dominating others and being obeyed (As Birling tries to protest, turns on him) Dont stammer and yammer at me over again, man. Im losing all my patience with you people He has no treasure for them and this comes as a shock to the Birlings who are very highly see throughout society, Mr.Birlings whole reply being, what did he say? , after this burst Mrs. Birling is r ather cowed. Aside from a fewer uncontrolled outbursts, Goole is forever calm and unruffled and speaks firmly (p. 51) and imperturbably (p. 31). Goole is unusual and intriguing, however, in that he makes his close, personalized feelings known to the Birlings. He represents Priestleys good view, the moral dimension of allowing others to see they can find forgiveness though future good way makes him different from a normal police inspector because he is more concerned with morality rather than legality.Furthermore he is outraged and revolt about what has been done to Eva Smith and he lets the Birlings know this throughout the play, She died in misery and agony hating life (p28). His language is sometimes blunt, deliberately vinegarish and he defies Birlings attempts to rebuke him. Goole reminds Mr. Birling that he has responsibilities, Public men, Mr. Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges (p. 41), this shows Gooles feelings towards the upper class which we learn a lot more about further on in the play.Goole is also unintimidated when Mr. Birling tries to worry him by telling him that Colonel Roberts is an old companion of mine. (p. 16). The inspector, however, is unaffected and continues determinedly, refusing to be misled or diverted form his aim to get for separately one person to admit their part in Evas death, its the way I like to work, One person and one follow of enquiry at a time. (p. 12). It is because of his unusual qualities that the sense of hearing is led to funny that Goole is not a normal police inspector.The Birlings also come to a homogeneous conclusion and Mr. Birling and Gerald believe the whole affair to be a hoax. The earreach is not so sure and we are left to reconsider when the phone call at the end of the play suggests the actual inspector is about to arrive. This leaves us with the question that if the inspector isnt real, thence who is he? J. B. Priestley was very clever in the way he created the charac ter of the inspector, he used Goole as a tool to represent his tender moral view of society and the way people think and do things.Priestley had strong collectiveic views, and firmly believed that we are all members of one body, he saw the world as a community where everyone should be dower each other. An Inspector Calls is an informative play with a clear moral and political message which Priestley wanted the audience to accept. He efficaciously used Goole to voice the views he had. Mr. Birling says the inspector was probably a socialist or some sort of crank- he talked like one (p. 60) This tells us a lot about what message Priestley was trying to give to the audience as he himself was a socialist.in the beginning the inspector tells us we are all links in the drawing string and we should look out for each other, the audience sees enacted before us exactly what might happen if we tell apart to ignore this view of society. Each of the Birlings is a link in the chain of events that lead to Eva Smiths suicide, even Gerald who has only middling recently been engaged to Sheila. When Priestley, kind of suddenly, reveals exactly how all the Birlings and Gerald are interconnected in Eva Smiths suicide, he overtakes immediately his message that We dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. This sudden disclosure is very effective because it makes the audience themselves aware that even they could have brought about similar tragedies without even knowing it, or at least become aware that thither are Millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left, meaning that there are a multitude of people in the world to whom similar circumstances have transpired, people that are so often forget in modern society, the audience suddenly becomes aware of these people, a revelation no doubt infinitely given weight and significance by the sudden manner that the Birlings involvement with Eva Smith is do clear. Furthermore, this rather socialist concept and the situation that if it is ignored, the time leave alone soon come when, if men do not learn this lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and railway contrast and wound. is very relevant since An Inspector Calls was released in 1945, the end of the Second World War, therefore much of the overlord audience might have been able to identify with the fire and occupation and anguish because of the rather turbulent past six eld.As can be seen, Priestley uses Eva Smith as a representative character pillow slip for the forgotten of society, the millions of individuals who are ignored and shunned through a series of misfortunes, hate from others and more likely a lack of capital or essence of support, generally down and outs. The fact that a World War had however ended also emphasises the pain and anguish these Smiths suffered and are still suffering.Additionally, the fact that this could happen to anyone, even the very fact t hat it did happen, gives weight to Priestleys views about looking out for each other, since a series of arguably minimum things lead the horrific suicide of a young girl. The Inspector as the questioner is a device used by Priestley to both contribute his ideas about society and to build up dramatic latent hostility, to make the play intriguing to the audience. One way in which he does this is the way in which he contrasts with Mr. Birling.Mr.Birling is extremely confident and, some would say, arrogant at the beginning of the play, dismissing the possibility of a war based on his smell in progress an, ultimately, greed Nobody wants war except for some half-civilized folks in the Balkans, The worlds developing so card-playing that itll make war impossible which, as the audience discovers later, contrasts strongly with the Inspectors own views. Also, the Inspector arrives just after Mr. Birling had blameless giving his good advice to Gerald and Eric, that A man has to mind his o wn line of credit and look after himself and his own.The dramatic timing here is obvious, and the ii characters continue to contrast throughout the play. The Inspectors character gains weight, personal appeal and actor, and therefore tension is built, throughout the play. The Inspector belittles and erodes the confidence of Mr. Birling, a man that is supposedly a powerful figure, and he is brought first to self-justification in defense of his actions, then eventually to anxiety, and this too builds tension by making the audience realise the Inspector as a formidable character, his power is such that they wonder what he will do next, what his next line of enquiry will be.One other obvious way tension is built is the way in which gradually the characters are all found to have played a part in the alleged despatch of Eva Smith, though the separate showing of the scene to each character. Obviously, if all the characters had been shown the photograph there would have been little if any dramatic tension and not much of a plot either. Finally, dramatic tension is built up through the use of dramatic irony. The audience instantly knows that Mr. Birling is untimely and his awe misguided when he talks of the Titanic TheTitanic orty six grand eight hundred tones New York in five daysand unsinkable. We also know he is fatally inaccurate when lecture of war Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsenseyoull hear some people say that war is undeniable. This gives the audience and advantage over the characters and in particular Mr. Birling, which also builds tension because it makes the audience more involved by them being in possession of noesis that the characters are not. Priestleys decision to set his play in 1912 when it was written in 1944 is an interesting one.He does this for a number of reasons. For example, in encounter 1, the beginning of the play, talks about how war is impo ssible The worlds developing so fast itll make war impossible. Before the arrival of the Inspector, Mr. Birling also states In twenty or 30 years timein 1940you may be giving a party like thisby that time youll be living in a world thatll have forgotten all these Capital versus comminute agitations and all these silly little war scares. Therell be intermission and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere The audience, of course, knows this to be untrue.In 1940 the Second World War was raging and after the war there close certainly was not progress everywhere and Capital versus Labour agitations were rife, especially in Eastern Europe where Labour (Communism) was taking hold and there would be the long lasting stand off known as the Cold War between Capitalism and Communism for many years to come. This quote, and many other extraordinary pearls of ignorance on the part of Mr. Birling, makes the audience again more involved in the play because they know more than the characters. T his also gives the Inspector more credibility because he contrasts so much with Mr. Birling.The mountain of the play also allows for the Inspector to better deliver his message. Priestley uses the Inspector to communicate his ideas of socialism and social equality, and when near the end of the play he states We dont live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each otherAnd the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they taught it in fire and blood and anguish The timing is crucial. Priestley communicates his message very well by setting the play in 1912 because two years later, The Great War, or World War One, occurred, and in 1939 a Second World War occurred.The Fire and blood and anguish almost certainly refer to these wars, in which millions of lives were lost because, arguably, nations were performing like Mr. Birling, with greed, and ignorance to the Eva and John Smiths of the world. I believe An Inspector Calls to be a very effect ive play indeed. JB Priestley communicates his ideas and beliefs of social equality and collective state through his character, Inspector Goole, who with the help of other characters in the play, shows the audience just what can happen if one chooses to ignore others and deny responsibility for ones own actions and their consequences.In my opinion, the showing of the photograph of Eva Smith to only one character at a time is an extremely effective way of progressing the play, ensuring smooth continuity, because it is subtle. It is probable that the audience does not, and did not, notice the possibility that the characters were being shown different photographs. So in this way, JB Priestley makes the characters believe, makes them know, that they are each implicated in the suicide of a young girl. Subsequently, when the characters realise that the death penalty of the girl was not, in fact, their fault, the fact that Mr.Birling, after saying he would give thousands, yes thousands f or Eva Smith to be alive again, celebrates again along with Mrs. Birling and Gerald Croft cements Priestleys ideas of socialism by making clear the spinelessness of the upper class, and making clear the social divide that exists. The very fact that the characters can brush off the responsibility if the murder and ignoring that each of them actually had treated the Eva Smiths badly is meant to shock the audience and in my opinion, this has, is and will work in JB Priestleys An Inspector Calls.