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

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.

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