The play tells us how actions affect other people’s lives and that no one is above the law or even the law of their own conscience and also that upper classes believe they are above everyone else, that they are not innocent as they have caused suffering to those less fortunate for profit. The most important theme of the play, it could be argued, is responsibility. We see this by how often the words “responsible” and “responsibility” appear repeatedly throughout the play this awakens the conscience of the characters in the play and also the audience
In the play Priestley sets out an effective series of stage directions. He applies them effectively as a dramatic device, in that he uses them to show how the Birling family are cold, distant people and how capitalism has corrupted them as a family. He shows how the family are very well off, with "dessert plates" and "champagne glasses" as well as other expensive items. However there is also a sense of formality and distance between the family members as he tells us that "men are in tails and white ties" and that it is "not cosy and homelike". He also emphasises the remoteness between Mr and Mrs Birling by situating them at opposite ends of the table.
Included in the stage directions is the colour and brightness of the lighting. Priestley also uses this as a dramatic device skilfully. The lighting first used is described as "pink and intimate" showing a 'warm' and 'joyful' atmosphere. However the audience gets the sense that it is just a screen covering up secrets that the family try to hide and that they are in fact looking through at the shield they put up to cover their true character and that it is not really what it seems. This is confirmed when the Inspector appears and the lighting changes to a "brighter and harder light" which gives the impression of exposure and the revelation of truth.
Priestley sets the play in a time before there was a welfare state in the United Kingdom, and when employers had great power over their workers so the audience would feel grateful that the system was in place. 1912 represented an era when was very different from the time he was writing. Rigid class and gender boundaries seemed to ensure that nothing would change. Yet by 1945 most of these class and gender boundaries had been breached
The play opens with a scene of great luxury: a wealthy family is celebrating an engagement in a very lavish fashion. This will be obvious to an audience that has spent the years of the Second World War without the luxuries that the Birlings are so abundantly enjoying (rationing of many luxury - and basic - goods continued into the 1950s) so the audience of the time would have felt bitter about the luxury that these upper class people seem to take for granted so easily. Although Churchill (a Conservative) is seen as a war hero for leading the fight against Nazism (he led a coalition government of Labour, Conservative and Liberal elements) a Socialist government has won a landslide victory in the 1945 General Election.
Before the inspector arrives we get a glimpse of what the family think they are like but the audience has a different perception and has to decide there own opinion on each character based on what each character acts like behind there vale of intimate light
We see that birling is in control of the household as he orders everyone to do things and gives a speech. The speech provides the audience with the knowledge that he is a stereotypical upper class person, he makes himself look ignorant and pompous be declaring without a doubt that the war will never happen and the titanic will never sink, he calls himself a hard headed business man repeatedly which means he knows what he wants and wants to do things his own way,. He is worried about social reform as he knows it would change everything he had, he didn’t want to see a difference in British life or socialist/trade unions the hard headedness could also mean hard heartedness as he doesn’t actually care about Eva just about getting himself out of the dangerous situation.
The mood seems slightly forced and fragile with Sheila wondering where Gerald had been for the summer of last year and she is slightly concerned about his loyalty as she doesn’t seem to believe what he says. We also hear about a possible knighthood for Birling for his services to the conservative party which in Priestley’s mind stands for everything he is against. He tells this to Gerald as he wants to gain his respect so he can climb the social ladder as Gerlad’s parents lord and lady croft are above Birling he sees the marriage as a way of doing this. This tells us that Birling is an incredibly selfish man discounting his daughter’s happiness in order to move up in class
In this way, the character of the Inspector has also been used as a dramatic device. He is used to convey a message, as a mouthpiece to Priestley's views. He makes it seem as if socialism is the true and honest way to live. The Inspector does not use euphemisms and instead uses graphic imagery in order to shock the Birlings into giving him information, "she'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out of course".
He also has a feeling of omniscience and an almost ghostly presence. His name, Inspector Goole, indicates this as Goole sounds like Ghoul and Inspector sounds like spectre. The Inspector is used to 'correct' the capitalists and makes a strong statement in favour of socialism in his final rhetorical speech. In this speech he states that for lower class, "Eva Smiths and John Smiths" there is a "chance of happiness" in socialism. The Inspector also makes the audience realise that they are "members of one body" and that they should try their best to help people like Eva Smith, otherwise, as the Inspector implies, "they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish". This almost acts as a threat to the audience and forces them to recognize the value of Priestley's message.
Dramatic irony is also used in many ways as a dramatic device. It is used to promote the Inspector yet mock Mr Birling. In Mr Birling's speech at the beginning of the play, he proudly states that "as a hard-headed businessman" he thinks that "there isn't a chance of war" and that the Titanic is "absolutely unsinkable". With the play being published after two world wars and the sinking of the Titanic, Priestley makes the audience think that Birling is a fool. Whereas the Inspector, who states in his final speech that "they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish" indicating that there will be a war, is elevated by the use of dramatic irony. This makes the audience believe the socialist views of the Inspector instead of the 'foolish' views of Mr Birling. As we can see for ourselves Birling himself is just wrong and that the inspector is right, the both represent the two different sides capitalism and socialism. Socialism is believed to be the best by the audience because of this reason
When the inspector enters the whole mood of the play changes , the lighting becomes more intense and the irony that he arrives on this day of all days as they are most vulnerable as they are celebrating. The word inspector also ties in with this as 'spector' is still following the supernatural theme. The timing of his entry adds further to this as Birling has just explained that he needs to keep his head down to get a knighthood.
His presence imposes its self on the atmosphere his massive impression seems to radiate power and command respect that there is no escape from him, that he cant be cracked or broken that he has strong will power and a sense of self purposefulness. His grim detailed description of the death and his detachment from the situation and from the emotion that the situation brings, he is completely focused and wants to do his job efficiently. The play is set enable Priestley to portray Mr. Birling as a man who can use his influence to stop the Inspector from continuing with his investigation, this adds strength to the idea that the audience view the idea that the rules that apply to ordinary people do not apply to the Birlings of this world. For example when he tries to impress the inspector in order for him to not bother them but the inspector brushes them away and his resolve is un-wavered. By doing this Birling tries to take authority by using his class and status but the inspector maintains control. The inspector interrogates each individual separately he uses strong direct language in contrast with the family’s attempts of questioning each other before with subtle hints and language tiptoeing around the subject in question. He lets each person talk and lets their conscience feel guilty proving that they are human people like the ordinary workers; he gives them just enough pressure to 'hang themselves'.
During the play, Priestley uses the juxtaposition between the Inspector and Mr Birling as a dramatic device showing the opposites of the politics each character represents. As the Inspector puts others first, whereas Mr Birling believes that you are responsible only for yourself. An example of this is during Mr Birling's and the Inspector's speeches. The Inspector talks about how "we are members of one body" and that we "are responsible for each other". However, Mr Birling makes a speech about how "a man has to make his own way" and how "a man has to mind his own business and look after himself". Priestley uses this opposition in order to dishonour capitalism and instead promote socialism. Another effective device used by Priestley is that of timings. He times the entrance of the Inspector so that he enters just after Mr Birling has made his speech, as if to discredit everything Mr Birling has just said.
Eric and Sheila's positive response to the Inspector's message, compared to Mr and Mrs Birling's negative response, is also greatly symbolic. Priestley uses this generation divide to show that the younger generation symbolise hope for the future which in itself is true as the younger generation then make up a large proportion of the audience at the time. The fact that they are remorseful of what they have done suggests that they (and the future generation of adults) will make a conscious effort to improve human relationships which again did occur with social reforms. Unlike their parents, who are only interested in wealth and material items, Priestley shows that the younger generation will endeavour to perform their moral duties towards their fellow citizens - especially people such as Eva Smith
Priestley constantly emphasises the difference between the upper and lower classes very strongly throughout the play.. Priestley shows how in 1912, Upper Class citizens, such as the Birlings had no respect for Lower Class citizens. He uses this class divide to convey his message and to show that the rigidity of the class system is incompatible with his views on community and responsibility.
The fact that a meaningful message is represented would indicate that An Inspector Calls, as well as being a murder mystery, in the way that Priestley uncovers the story of the death of Eva Smith, is also a moralistic play. Priestley shows the audience how not to live their lives, using dramatic devices to demonstrate this, this also makes it a political play showing the audiences the flaws of capitalism and the success’ of socialism. He makes the audience contemplate over the fact that they are actually "members of one body" and that they are all "responsible for one another" and has made them realise that socialism is the way forward instead of capitalism. In this way, An Inspector Calls is very relevant today's society where people still do need to work together and help others in need.
An Inspector Calls is a play with many social and political messages. J. B. Priestley believed a great deal in socialism and he used several of his plays to try and influence people to be Socialist as well. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen as the way forward. It was a popular way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was probably to teach the unconvinced.
The role of the Inspector is one of many levels. In terms of how he is used in the basic structure of the play, he is there to move the play along in that he encourages the characters to tell their stories. If there was not the revelation that he was not a real Police Inspector, he would only be considered as a narrator and not play a big part in the play. Because it transpired that he was an impostor of sorts, further questions are asked by the audience and different insights have become likely and it is clear that the Inspector is in the play for many reasons, each of which as justifiable as the last, leaving the audience to think about it and have their own individual opinions. This in turn gives people to discuss the play more and more and therefore recognising the clear messages that are portrayed
The Inspector leaves the family and the audience feeling awkward because he uses a lot of emotive language and pauses which gives people time to think he also speaks with real passion. In this speech he, and therefore Priestley, try to make people understand just how serious problems can get when we do not realise that 'We are responsible for each other.' This speech gives an opposite message to that which Birling gave whereby he said that 'a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.'
. In his speech, the Inspector makes reference to the forthcoming war with the idea that if people do not learn that 'We are members of one body.... then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish.' This is a very powerful statement and it would seem that the Inspector is implying that the war was sent as a consequence people for not working together and at the same time forcing them to do so in order to avoid future conflicts.
The war did break down barriers between classes and people had to all work for the country, not for personal gain, so what the Inspector spoke of was accurate. I think Priestley used the idea of war to convey his message because it was a major issue when the play was written and everyone would have suffered from it and would care greatly about it.
The play finishes with a telephone call from the police saying that 'A girl has just died.... after swallowing some disinfectant' and a real Inspector will question the family. This is an unexpected twist. The fake Inspector was there to punish them on a moral level and to try and make them feel guilty enough to change their behaviour. This was accomplished with Eric and Sheila the future generation, but not with the others the past generation. The only thing that they would be affected by was a 'public scandal,' and the real Inspector would ensure that that is what they would get. Without this twist, it would seem that the Birling parents and Gerald would escape unpunished.
In conclusion the Inspector's main purpose is to teach. In the context of the play, he told the characters what had happened to a particular girl because they had each been guilty of selfishness. In regards to the whole of society, he voiced Priestley's opinions that we cannot make any progress if we do not work together. In my opinion, those watching or reading the play today would not gain as much from the story in regards to the moral teachings because most have now accepted the advantages of Socialism over Capitalism and so do not have as much to learn on the arguments of this issue as the audiences of that time.
