Relationships Between Characters In An Inspector Calls And Of Mice And Men

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How do the relationships between characters in An Inspector Calls and Of Mice And Men reflect the writer's messages and backgrounds? The two stories; An Inspector Calls and Of Mice And Men are conveyed differently; one is a play and one is a novella. However they both contain a message that the author believed and connects to the developing relationships that he crafts in his respective book. Steinbeck had personal experience from working in the time that his novel was set, this means that he had insight into what the life of a rancher was actually like. J.B.Priestley also had firsthand experience of the time however his class was lower than those he wrote of. 33 years later Priestley lived in the more accepting society of 1945 brought about by the two world wars. This provided him with a more well-rounded outlook and saved him from much of the criticism he would received had …show more content…

The truth forces Shelia to change and, in the light of those new circumstances, she comes out of the evening as a more mature individual. In antithesis to this, Mr Birling remains with his original capitalist views and refuses the idea that he could be involved with the death of a person who worked for him years ago. His fixed harshness shows a business man that rejects small responsibilities. Their contrasting views cause conflict in the Birling family resulting in their heated arguments over who is morally correct. This supports Priestley's message that the younger generation of an upper class family can become more empathetic towards the lower classes. Shelia's sympathy and compassion and Mr Birling's lack thereof show how the characters differ as the play goes on. Shelia becomes more caring and Mr Birling refuses to move both in his ignorance and after the truth has been revealed to him by the