ipl-logo

How Does Priestley Present The Inspector In An Inspector Calls

1316 Words6 Pages

An Inspector Calls Explore how Priestley presents the character of the Inspector in this text. Priestley presents the Inspector as working class through the Inspector’s use of language. This can be seen on page 184 (Act One), where the Inspector says, ‘...never did anybody no harm.’ The Inspector’s use of a double negative implies he had a bad quality of education, something which was common among working class families in the early 20th century. Presenting the Inspector as working class causes the working class portion of a 1946 audience to empathise more with him as they most likely had at some point faced financial troubles because of the great depression. Alternatively, an upper class 1946 audience would instead look down upon the Inspector …show more content…

This can be seen on page (Act 3) where the Inspector says, ’And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish’. The usage of strong nouns such as ‘blood’ and ’anguish’ give the audience the impression that the Inspector already knows about World War One. This would cause both a modern and 1946 audience to believe that the Inspector is prescient as that is the only way in which he could know that World War One will happen. Further proof of the Inspector being omniscient can be found in how he somehow knows what the Birling family and Gerald have done to Eva Smith, despite not being at the scene of any of the incidents. This can be witnessed on page 174 (Act One), where the Inspector says ‘No, wait a minute, Miss Birling.’ This shows that he already knows that Sheila is involved. This would cause both a 1946 and modern audience of any background to wonder how the Inspector would be able to know that Sheila (Miss Birling) is involved and eventually come to the conclusion that the Inspector is omniscient. However, some members of both 1946 and modern audience may not come to the same conclusion- they may instead think he is a ghost. Proof of this can be found in how the Inspector’s name, Goole, is a homonym for ghoul, a type of evil spirit. This would cause those members of the audience to think that the Inspector is a ghost, as the things he does would also be possible for a

Show More
Related
1131 Words | 5 Pages

Book Report: Hidden Agenda: How The Duke Of Windsor Betrayed The Allies In the Biography “Hidden Agenda: How The Duke Of Windsor Betrayed The Allies” by Martin Allen, many different aspects of the Duke Of Windsor’s life, and the treachery he commits during his time in power through manipulation of his political status. The author’s purpose in writing this novel is to show the corruption of the Nazi Party, and that of the English upper Parliament. While showing so, many topics come up, one example is how the Nazi Regime had their eyes set on making an idyllic system of manufacturing, even making great working conditions for their workers by having pools and break rooms at the factories far before practices like this had occurred in the U.S.

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

Dallas Winston or also known as Dally came from New York and was in some of the most appalling gangs. Now Dally is with the greasers he is the tough and troublemaker of the group. Dally and his gang does have troubles with another gang the Socs and is very bitter because there is absolutely no way that they could defeat them. Dally has an elfish face, with high cheekbones, appointed chin, small sharp animal like teeth, ears like and lynx, hair so blonde it looked white, and he hated haircuts and oil he just left his hair natural and let it fall in front of his forehead. Dallas Winston was very reckless, foolish and reliable.

Read More
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

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

Yi 11/13/16 Global Pd 7 Industrial Revolution Essay The Industrial Revolution was a time, 1750 to 1914, where a mass amount of new inventions were created which lead to the dramatic changes. The new inventions made difficult work easier, as machines were able to complete these tasks in few minutes. Societies also became rural and tightly packed as many were moving to these cities in hope of job offerings. In Europe, the Industrial revolution lead to social inequality as new inventions were created demolishing smaller businesses, factories were unfair to their workers and some might say that the industrial revolution brought advancement to society due to the

Read More
997 Words | 4 Pages

An Inspector Calls explores the effect of class, age and people’s attitudes to responsibility and how prejudice can prevent people from taking responsibility in society. Arthur Birling, a wealthy capitalist and pretentious man, began the cycle of events that led to Eva Smith’s suicide. Mr. Birling runs his own factory and believes that survival of the fittest. Priestley emphasises his beliefs on capitalism through Mr. Birling dealing with Eva Smith demanding a pay rise.

Read More
931 Words | 4 Pages

Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls" is a complex one, and opinions differ on whether or not he is a hypocrite. Some argue that he is inconsistent in his behavior and actions, while others believe that his actions are justified by his overarching mission to expose the hypocrisy of the Birling family. In this essay, we will explore the evidence for and against the idea that Inspector Goole is a hypocrite. On the one hand, there are several instances in the play where Inspector Goole's actions could be seen as hypocritical.

Read More
370 Words | 2 Pages

In the inspector calls the inspector shown as a all knowing main charcter. His purpose within the play is to make the Birling family take responsibility for there foul actions they took towards eve smith/daisy renton Priestly uses the quote "each of you helped kill her"this imply that the inspector wanted them to accept there and share there responsibility for each action the Birlings faimily did. Alternatively it also shows that due to the class of Birlings it took the inspectors appearance for them to realise there Responsibility as before they were very adimate that they would not take responsibility"i cant take any responsibility"In summery it shows how much the inspector wants them to see the wrong they have done and accept it. Looking specifically

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

J.B Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1945, the last year of World War 2 but sets it in 1912 a time of inequality where upper and lower class was distinguished and treated differently within society and where a big gap existed among poor and rich people. The play introduces us to the theme of social inequality and social responsibility displaying the fact that trade unions were very weak, workers had few rights, wages were very low and many other injustices where made specially towards women; they were treated very differently then men and they were looked on as less important in society. Lighting is changed at the arrival of the Inspector "The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder" this displays a contrast between scenes and atmosphere. It also shows the change in mood; suggesting a cheerful environment and a very joyfully and delight mood, everybody feeling thrilled for Shelia 's engagement and celebrating united as a family. But it changes to "brighter and harder" at the arrival of the Inspector and

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Differences among social classes are apparent in every single society; such distinctions were especially visible in the British Isles during the late nineteenth century, the setting of Henry James’s 1891 short story “The Pupil”. James portrays an employer-employee and an employee-client relationship of scorn with its roots in socioeconomic inequality by using devices such as point of view and diction. The narration’s focus on Pemberton’s point of view highlights the class disparity between the characters, thus explaining Pemberton’s distaste for his employer and student. The author writes the story from a third person limited point of view with its focus on Pemberton’s perspective.

Read More
936 Words | 4 Pages

Explore the ways in which Priestley presents social inequality in ‘An Inspector Calls’ In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley presents social inequality through the events leading to the death of Eva Smith. The play is set in 1912 and takes place in the dining room of The Birling’s – a wealthy upper middle-class family, who are ignorant to the struggles of the world around them and are self-absorbed in their own affairs. Priestly examines the reaction each individual has to the supposed suicide of a young girl – Eva Smith to highlight the prevalence of social inequality in society in order to encourage the audience to sympathise with his socialistic views rather than the capitalistic views of that time.

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

In "An Inspector Calls," Inspector Goole is used as a dramatic device; the inspector is presented as a moral mouthpiece for J.B. Priestley to convey the main themes of social responsibility, age, gender, and class. This play was written in 1945 in Britain (post-World War II). However, this play was set in 1912 in the Birlings house in the industrial heavy town of Brumley in the north midlands. Priestley deliberately set this play in 1912 due to the Edwardian era, an era where there is a hierarchy in regard to class and gender that is prejudiced against women and working-class individuals. Additionally, Priestley utilizes the Inspector to express his own ideas on social responsibility.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

The Industrial Revolution was the beginning of a new world for all of society. The Industrial Revolution first took place in England and then spread rapidly having a tremendous impact culturally and socially, the impacts were influenced by the use of machines, new sources of power, and new organizational methods to mass produce goods. Before the Revolution, most people used hand tools and relied upon human and animal muscle for power. Pre- industrial artisans workshops were not always separated from their home which meant their was not always separation between home and work. The working chain to become a master pre- industrial was a long and hard process, first you were an apprentice, which meant you worked for free and gained experience,

Read More
956 Words | 4 Pages

Eva Smith is a subject of common debate amongst the readers of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’. Priestley is a strong socialist and his views are expressed by the portrayal of the character of the inspector as well as Eva Smith. The entire story revolves around Eva which makes her the protagonist in the play. From the moment her character is first introduced in the play to later as the story progresses and unfolds the story revolving round her makes her the most central character. Indeed, when the play is over and we read back over those first few scenes, her manifestation can be felt from the very beginning to the very end: from Gerald’s ambiguous maneuvers when reminded of his evasiveness ‘last summer’ to Birling’s enthusiasm for lower costs

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

One of the best-selling authors, Barbara Ehrenreich, in her narrative essay, “Serving in Florida,” describes her personal experience working in a local restaurant called Jerry’s. Ehrenreich’s purpose is to attach importance to the low-wage America workplace. Using rhetorical strategies such as negative diction, simile, images, and pathos, Ehrenreich attempts to raise public awareness of the low-wage workers’ life in her readers. Firstly, Barbara Ehrenreich exploits connotation of words and simile to emphasize the difficult life of the lower class.

Read More
1730 Words | 7 Pages

All characters are accused and redeemed of guilt but the murderer is still elusive. Much to the shock of the readers of detective fiction of that time, it turns out that the murderer is the Watson figure, and the narrator, the one person on whose first-person account the reader 's’ entire access to all events depends -- Dr. Sheppard. In a novel that reiterates the significance of confession to unearth the truth, Christie throws the veracity of all confessions contained therein in danger by depicting how easily the readers can be taken in by

Read More

More about How Does Priestley Present The Inspector In An Inspector Calls

Related Topics

Open Document