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Gender Differences In J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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How are the differences between younger and older generations presented in the play? In “An inspector calls”, one of J.B. Priestley's intentions was to demonstrate the treatment of the lower classes and the reactions of higher members of society predominantly by highlighting the differences in attitudes and values between the older and younger generations in Edwardian society. Whilst Mr Birling and Mrs Birling are representations of the older generation, their children Sheila and Erik, both young adults, are symbols of the younger generation who are portrayed favourably by Priestley in comparison to their parents. Towards the end of the play, these conflicts gain prominence. Morality is an obvious theme the author sets in the piece and one of the most prominent disparities between the age groups is that the two siblings both show the ability to take responsibility and are willing to learn from the experience, in contrast to their elders who do not feel the need to, only having concern for their own narrow personal interests. …show more content…

At the beginning of the play, Mr Birling is characterised as a very self-assured and self-described "hard headed businessman", who stubbornly holds his own statements as undeniable truths. Priestley uses dramatic irony to mock Birling's self-righteousness in the following quotation: "Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable", Birling says of the Titanic. His repetition of the word “unsinkable” and the use of 'absolutely' to assure certainty convinces the audience of the opposite – that his statements are unreliable – as An Inspector Calls was written in 1946 after the Titanic sank, and the audience surely knows this. His years of experience have led him to the pompous belief that he is always correct, and this arrogance prevents him from accepting or developing other points of

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(pg 261)Even though I am the oldest I can still relate to his thoughts of when it’s hard standing up to people especially when it comes to my parents. Being the oldest it’s hard explaining to my parents the type of freedom I need while being an adult. For so long I had just brushed it off my shoulder and made sure whatever they said went. However with me being an adult now some of the rules they have for my other siblings who are younger still include me in them. Not sitting down with my parents and actually having a conversation with them is very difficult because the lack of my self -confidence in standing up to my parents.

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1425 Words | 6 Pages

In An Inspector calls, Priestley uses The Inspector to present injustice in society through his questioning of the Birling family and Gerald Croft. The Inspector gradually uncovers the selfish and unjust acts which the family enacts upon the lower classes through their abuse of their power and status over people, not showing the slightest bit of care for their wellbeing, barely treating their workers as individual beings with their own lives and emotions, just caring about the money they are making for them, and treating the lower class in general as lower beings in general, not being worth the time to understand or sympathise with. The Inspector exposes the acts of injustice by the upper class towards the lower classes through his questioning

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994 Words | 4 Pages

How does Priestley Present Gerald in An Inspector Calls In his didactic play ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley presents Gerald, and the upper class as a whole, to be extremely callous and unwilling to accept the opportunity for redemption. He explores themes and ideologies such as patriarchy in order to excoriate those for living protected in an ‘ivory tower’ of wealth, luxury and, most significantly, denial. The methods used by Priestley to do all of this encourages the audience in a contemporary society to look at themselves with an inverted eye and strive for equality.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

AMDG Inspector Calls 8/6/24. “Choose a play in which the writer creates an interesting character”. “An Inspector Calls” written by JB Priestley is a play which takes place within the Birling household. These main themes include: forgiveness, honesty, taking accountability for your actions, as well as having compassion for others. The storyline follows the unfortunate life of Eva Smith, and the events which prompted her suicide.

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1681 Words | 7 Pages

The playwright initially explores the significance of confessions in An Inspector Calls through Mr Birling, who is a successful and wealthy businessman. Priestley portrays Birling as selfish because of his attitude towards the severe and intense investigation led by Inspector Goole. Birling, who is extremely pig-headed, claims that he “can’t accept any responsibility [for the suicide of Eva Smith]”. This highlights Birling’s ignorance because he started the “chain of events” when Eva Smith was fired from her job in his factory. In addition, Priestley shows that Birling clearly does not understand what he did was wrong.

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637 Words | 3 Pages

In the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, there is a sibling rivalry between two sisters: Dee and Maggie. Although we do not know who is older than the other, we can assume that Dee is older than Maggie, because Maggie is in constant “awe” of Dee (46). One of these sisters is spoiled almost too much. Another sister is more academically intelligent. However, only one out of the two sisters cares about her family more than herself.

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Throughout one’s life, one tends to adapt to the traditions of their family, and gain a significant bond with their loved ones, including their siblings. However, that connection a person gains can either be diminished or forgotten due to a sense of different mindsets between family members. The two stories “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff and “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin indicate that sibling rivalry occurs when each member does not understand or acknowledge their sibling’s perspective, and this builds a wall barrier between the siblings.

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Thus allowing the audience to reflect how problematic it was. One way this is done is through Birling’s speech “the Titanic… forty six thousand eight hundred tons… unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. The Titanic represents the greatest technological advancement at that time frame and thus could represent the Birling family, as Mr Birling is an industrialist, and thus the middle class. The repetition of the word “unsinkable” may portray their true and ingrained belief in the Titanic and through it, themselves. The word “absolutely” may show the lack of consideration for other options and thus shows the unchanging and narrow visioned nature of those individualists such as Mr Birlings, which will be their undoing similar to how the Titanic sinks.

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Mrs Birling shows no mutual respect to Eva Smith because Eva is working class. “girls of that class” suggests that he

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Being the oldest sibling often has the added pressure of being the role model for one’s younger siblings. There is pressure to be there for them and to protect them from anyone who might want to harm them. However, being only a child oneself can make this pressure feel insurmountable and even unfair. Although the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and the short story, “Your Move” by Eve Bunting take place in different time periods and settings, the two older brothers face similar challenges in caring for their younger siblings.

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In both stories, they have older and younger brothers that learn from one another. During each story, the older brother ends up taking care of the younger one, the troublemaker, during their life. Throughout each of the stories, both of the older brothers appreciate their mothers and take to acknowledge anything she tells them, especially about caring for their younger brothers. They eventually learn through their mother’s advice about their brothers and help them to get turn around their lives. Despite the fact that in each of these stories, they both have a

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561 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning of the play, Priestley presents Sheila Birling as an immature , jealous and superficial character as she refers to her parents as “mummy/daddy”. These words can be seen as words a child would say which shows her immaturity and that she is childish. Moreover, this could potentially show that she is spoilt as she refers to call them in that manner and that they would take care of all of her needs and wants. Priestley then talks about how in the shop (Milwards), Sheila Birling gets jealous of the worker called Eva Smith because of how pretty and beautiful she is.

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505 Words | 3 Pages

What dramatic techniques does Priestly use to create tension and suspense in “An Inspector Calls”? To understand the theme and the complexity of “An inspector calls”, a play where a young lady called Eva Smith dies and an inspector , with a strong and aggressive personality and tone, makes a whole family realize what they’ve all done to affect or cause Eva’s suicide; first we need to understand how the personal traits of each character affects the way in which they behave and we need to take in consideration the dramatic devices the author uses to keep us interested and wondering what happens next. Throughout the play the character development is notorious because we can notice that as the play advances, the characters start changing their

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1233 Words | 5 Pages

To the governess, their innocence deems the children too perfect to punish. She finds this purity both endearing and unsettling. It seems to distance them from the realm of normal childhood misbehavior. The children’s extreme

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747 Words | 3 Pages

One of the several themes that Priestley has introduced to the play is ‘Time,’ and this theme not only interlinks with some others like ‘Age and Youth’ and ‘Social Responsibility,’ but also introduces a very important drama technique into the play for the audience called the dramatic irony. In Act One, Mr. Birling, as a representative of the older generation of the play and the head of the family, is talking to the others about the progress humanity is making and mentions the liner, Titanic saying it is “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” The word ‘absolutely’ in this context shows just how confident in his words Mr. Birling is, without understanding that it will all change. As the play is set back in 1912, but is performed much later in 1946, after the audience knows, and finds it ironic that Mr. Birling, thinking he is an old, wise man says such nonsense, as time will show.

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