ipl-logo

Social Responsibility In J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

1121 Words5 Pages

An Inspector Calls is a play concerned with the idea of social responsibility. The play was set in 1912, a time when there was a strict class division in Britain. People were expected to know their place in society and not attempt to disrupt the status quo. At the same time, these notions of class and one’s position in society were beginning to be challenged, with the increasing popularity of socialism, suffragetism and the development of trade union politics in Britain. Priestly’s play was written and first performed in 1945, just after two world wars had ended and Britain had endured years of hardship, rationing and the destruction of its previous social strata. The Labour government had been elected to power after years of Conservative rule, which ushered in a new period of social change, including the …show more content…

Priestley’s audience had endured all of this hardship, and by the end of the war, the Birling’s attitude towards social responsibility and society would have been seen as out of date and potentially dangerous, given the political climate of this time. Priestley was trying to give the audience a retrospective view on social classes and conditions pre ww2. He explores the theme of social responsibility inter-generational, through the selfish, indifferent older Birlings and the younger generation, who perhaps represents the change post ww2.

In the play, Birling is a symbol of capitalism and is used by Priestley as a device to illustrate people’s views on social responsibility in 1912, where there was a rigid class system ideology. He is depicted as an arrogant character who believes that ‘every man is for himself.’ The constant use

Show More
Related

How Does Priestley Present Money In An Inspector Calls

1538 Words | 7 Pages

Priestley implies that higher social class makes people greedy, through creating Mr Birling as a symbol of pomposity of capitalists in Edwardian society. He is constantly insecure in his own position and comes from the nouveau riche, making him socially inferior to the Crofts. Priestly illustrates how even Mr Birling experiences class prejudice despite being middle-upper class which provokes him to work harder and explains why he cares so much about being a ‘practical man of business’ and expanding his business to earn more money to decrease his insecurity. This is displayed when he says ‘There’ll be a public scandal... and who here will suffer for that more than I will’ indicating how significant money and his business is to him that he cares for his reputation before anything else. The desire of being associated amongst a higher class is the crucial reason for Mr Birling’s perspective on life, he is constantly striving to make more and more money to be able to live happily.

Read More

How Does Priestley Present Injustice In An Inspector Calls

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

Exposure And Poppies Comparison

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

How Does Priestley Present The Character Of Mr Birling

514 Words | 3 Pages

This shows what Mr Birling is like as a whole however, he fails to show any remorse towards the less fortunate as it is not his responsibility. Overall Priestly encourages the reader to dislike Mr Birling and to disagree with his idiotic ideas,he also could be using him as a symbol of how corrupt capitalist men act during this period in history.

Read More

Individualism In An Inspector Calls

2206 Words | 9 Pages

An Inspector Calls, written by J.B.Priestley, was first performed in 1945. It was a time of great economical, social and political disorder, having just won the Second World War, Britain was in crippling debt. Furthermore, two main views took on the general population, collectivism (favoured by lower class) and individualism (favoured by middle and upper class). Priestley favoured collectivism, as he explores this through the imaginary girl Eva Smith (a lower class) and the individualistic Birling family. Warning the audience what reprobate effects individualism has caused to British society in different classes.

Read More

Morality And Double Standards In J. B Priestley's An Inspector Calls

504 Words | 3 Pages

In the play An Inspector Calls written by J.B Priestley, the use of morality and double standards gives us an insight into the society of the early 1900s; which remains relevant in social stratification, cultural and deviance aspects. Through the story of Arthur Birling, Mrs. Sybil Birling and their children Eric and Sheila. The upper-class family, with untouchable reputation, enjoy of an intimate party soiree in honour of Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft. Son of a well-known business man, Sir George Croft from Crofts Limited. When Inspector Goole pays a mood-changing visit, resulting in the systematic manipulation of the presumably respectable characters.

Read More

The Role Of Lighting In J. B Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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

Responsibility In J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

498 Words | 2 Pages

How is the theme of responsibility presented in act 1 of An Inspector Calls? The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in a turbulent 1912 filled with threats of war and catastrophe. Priestley used this play to send a message to the generations in 1945 about how each one of them caused the war, and how we are all responsible for each other. There are many ways responsibility is presented within each character, depending on their generation, gender and class.

Read More

An Inspector Calls Social Responsibility

1551 Words | 7 Pages

Mrs Birlings character is shown as being an arrogant and selfish person. Mr Birling is presented as a cruel and selfish character who doesn’t accept his role of social responsibility. This is evident when an idiom is used

Read More

Religious Imagery In An Inspector Calls

234 Words | 1 Pages

Inspector Goole is a mouthpiece for Priestley in the didactic play An Inspector Calls, as Priestley frequently interweaves Socialist messages in the Inspector’s dialogue. In the final act of the play, the Inspector warns the Birling family “We are members of one body”. We are responsible for each other.” Here, the use of the metaphor “members of one body” conveys the message that our lives are in a way intertwined with one another, emphasising the need to demonstrate a sense of compassion and consideration for others in society; this could have religious connotations as the body symbolises the “Body of Christ”. Hence, Priestley chooses to incorporate religious imagery to persuade the contemporary audience, who were mostly of Christian belief,

Read More

Compare And Contrast Mr Birling And The Inspector

237 Words | 1 Pages

Mr. Birling and the Inspector are very contrasting characters in the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ with Mr. Birling portrayed as a symbol of capitalism and the Inspector as a socialist advocate. Priestley has contrasted these two characters to represent the political conflict in 1945 society. Both Mr. Birling and the Inspector also try to assert their dominance over each other throughout the play however, Mr. Birling does this in a very aggressive manner while the Inspector remains calm and gains authority by mainly focusing on his job. Mr. Birling is presented as hypocritical and ignorant from the beginning of the play while on the other hand the Inspector is someone who speaks the truth and holds a credible moral compass. Priestley has done

Read More

Social Responsibility In An Inspector Calls By J. B. Priestley

888 Words | 4 Pages

In J.B Priestley’s didactic play ‘an inspector calls’ responsibility is a theme shown throughout the play, as Priestley believed society needed to take on more social responsibility, this is shown through the inspector who acts as Priestley’s mouthpiece in the play, for his socialist message; with the play first being premiered in socialist Russia in 1945 it is clear to see Priestley wanted to teach an audience about socialism through the importance of responsibility. At the the start of the play we are introduced to the Birling family who are an upper-middle class family who made their money through the capitalist system, an ideology that Priestley is highly critical throughout the play. Its a sensible view to say that Mr Birling is a personification

Read More

Differences Between Stalin And Churchill

77 Words | 1 Pages

Feb. 1945, Roosevelt met with Stalin and Churchill to discuss Germany and Poland. They all agreed on the division of Germany into American, British, French and Soviet occupation zones. Stalin demanded that Germany pays the Soviet Union $20 Billion in war damages but Roosevelt and Churchill declined it.

Read More

Inspector Goole Character Analysis

1642 Words | 7 Pages

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

Read More

The Birling Family Analysis

1009 Words | 5 Pages

Priestley cleverly uses the contrasting personalities of all of the characters in the Birling family along with the socialist Inspector who is a mouthpiece for Priestley’s view in the morality play. The inspector is seemingly the most responsible in his ideas, as we can see by the connotations of his speech as well as his judgement of the Birling family. He also offers supernatural themes to this otherwise normal play. Priestley sets the scene within the Birling household of a rich family who are very self- satisfied and somewhat ignorant sitting at the table discussing future prospects with the family.

Read More

More about Social Responsibility In J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

Related Topics

Open Document