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In Gerald, an 'easy well-bred young man-about-town', we see a wealthy aristocrat who perpetuates the patriarchal ideology followed by many in 1912, the time in which play was
An Inspector Calls, also known as the ‘well-made’ play, is a dramatisation of the Modern English society. Set during an ‘evening in spring: 1912’ and produced on ‘1st of October: 1946’ (after the outbreak of the Second World War), the play relies heavily on the audience's knowledge to disclose the dramatic irony. This smart use of different set time exposes Mr Birling’s words as he mentions the Titanic will successfully sail in a world where war is eluded, which makes him sound doubtful about what's to come. Priestley in general believed in social justice, growing up amongst socialist, he was aware of the harsh economic realities and was committed to assisting the poor, offered a knighthood and peerage however declined to accepting them demonstrates his solid convictions. Through An
Hakeem Priestley presents inequality in various different ways throughout the play - An Inspector Calls. He shows contrast between the treatment and living conditions of the upper class compared to the lower class. Priestley grew up in his father’s circle of socialist friends which heavily influenced his political views and hate for capitalism. The play is set in the year 1912 and starts off in the dining room of the Birlings - a wealthy upper class family.
The play An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley takes place in fictional Brumley, 1912; where the Birlings, a remarkably wealthy family who are at the top of the social class, are having a celebratory dinner due to the engagement of their daughter, Sheila. This is when a mysterious man, known as Inspector Goole, expressed certain power over the family as he accused them of being involved in a young girl’s suicide, this adding drama and tension to the scene. Through the language, structure and staging, Priestley uses the entrance of the Inspector to demonstrate his power over the different characters. As the Inspector Goole arrives, he manifests the power over the Family using very dominating language towards them.
Her portrayal in the play reinforces Priestley's exploration of social class and highlights the importance of acknowledging the experiences and rights of the working class in creating a more just and equitable
We see this when he attempts to justify himself saying "If you don't come down sharply of these people" they will continue begging for more. This portrays his up stuck view on the lower class and how he takes advantage of his position as an employer. Additionally, at the start of the play Mrs Birling is
During the course of the play the Inspector shows the audience and the characters that social classes should learn to look after each other, he also delves into the fact that those of upper classes have some social responsibility towards those of lower class. Priestley, who presents his labour vs capital views through the character of the inspector, uses the case of Eva Smith as a vehicle to show both the characters and the audience the importance of labour rights over capitalism. An example of Priestley’s use of the Inspector to put his point across would be when the Inspector states to Mr Birling ‘Public men, Mr. Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.’ Priestley uses the Inspector to make it known that he feels the higher social
Therefore, the target audience is likely the lower class. A piece of contextual evidence was Dorine, a servant who is central to the play’s story. Put together,
Birling representing the complacent, arrogant and selfish old world views of 1912 and the Inspector acting as a mouthpiece for priestlys social responsibility and community views, more related to the time the play was written. Birling absolutely cannot see that he has done anything wrong by sacking Eva rather than paying her a living wage. Birling sees Eva as a commodity, a ‘labour
The characters in the play reveal some of the gender stereotypes through the way they are presented in the beginning of the play, “The sheriff and Hale are men in the middle life… They are followed
Oscar Wilde wrote his plays against the backdrop of the Victorian English society. It therefore helps to discuss the salient aspects of the Victorian society. Victorian England is known for many paradoxes -- glaring contrasts between the rich and the poor, insistence on morality on the one hand and the practice of cynicism on the other, blooming creativity pitted against blatant constriction, imperial grandeur since Britain was then ruling almost one fifth of the total surface of the earth and domestic squalor since the majority of people did not have decent means of livelihood, and finally collectivity dictated by tradition opposed to the rapidly developing individualism. The class system denied the talented members of the lower classes access to social and economic advancement. The upper classes alone had the privilege of working in the government, the armed forces, and the church, while trade was monopolized by the rising middle class.
Priestly attempts to exemplify in Mr Birling’s character into the type of mentality that majority of upper class capitalist business men had in the early 1900s in England. It is extremely ironic that the Inspector rings the bell of the house just as Mr Birling is telling Eric and Gerald that people must look out solely for their own interests ("a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and - “ act 1): throughout his interrogation, the Inspector champions the very opposite idea - that "we are all responsible for each other.” The Inspectors view on community as a whole is considered a very socialist view. Notably, Priestly was socialist after all and used the play as a more socially acceptable way of stating his opinion on social responsibility, politics and labour rights. The
Thus demonstrating how mob mentality can impact an individual and ultimately drive the action of the play. This shows us how one person who starts
Throughout the play, the characters look at faith, race, opportunities, fatherhood and
Academia in the context of this play has major relevance to the setting as it establishes a context of