An Inspector Calls By J.B.Priestly

An Inspector Calls By J.B.Priestly By Antony Phillips

The play “An Inspector Calls” was set in 1912 but was written in 1945. The play was set in a fictional town called “Brumley.” In the year 1945 the audience would have been of the same class as the people in the play, they would have been middle upper class. At this time the only thing people thought that mattered was how people saw you and what kind of class you were in. When the play was written the country was in the middle of a change, for the better, after the Second World War.

The main characters in the play are Mr Birling, Mrs Birling, Sheila the daughter whose parents won’t let her be exposed to the real world and is living a surreal fantasy world. There is also Eric the son who is an alcoholic. The other main characters are inspector Goole and Gerald, Sheila’s fiancé.

The playwright J.B.Priestly was proud of his humble beginnings. He was very critical of people who were in positions of authority he always said they should be more responsible and look out for those who are not so privileged as them. Priestly had a certain fascination with Ouspensky’s theory. Ouspensky’s theory was that people would keep making the same mistakes in life until an exceptional person (In the case of this play the inspector) comes along to point out where you are going wrong. He uses this to illustrate that society is in need of a particular change. People like the Birling family are even more in need of a change. Priestly uses hindsight in the play where in turn each character recalls the interaction and involvement with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. Mr Birling says that Britain is full of peace which what he actually means is he is full of peace. Due to his narrow-mindedness he thinks that because he at the time is peaceful then the rest of the country is also peaceful. Mr Birling suggests that there is no time for war in the modern day society and that no country wants to fight a war because it is too expensive. He couldn’t be more wrong because only two years later World War One breaks out and Britain becomes economically unsettled and politically restless.

As the play progresses the Inspector interrogates each character separately in what appears to be a particular order. He very careful words the questions and says very little causing the characters to answer questions he hasn’t actually asked. The inspector very carefully never gives too much information away he lets the suspects uncover everything. I believe this is to make them feel guiltier. He seems to do this more to Mr Birling and Gerald Croft and points out their social significance. He points out their association with Eva Smith more so than the other characters.

Even before the inspector arrives, Sheila is a little put out this is due to the fact because the subject of the fact that Gerald stayed away from her all last summer is brought up;

“Yes-except for all last summer when you never came near me.”

The Inspector later reveals the answer to why Gerald was away in the play. There is already a small sense of tension. Tension increases dramatically as the inspector arrives especially for Mr Birling because no one knows why the inspector is here.

“Well, what can I do for you? ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Even before the inspector arrives, Sheila is a little put out this is due to the fact because the subject of the fact that Gerald stayed away from her all last summer is brought up;

“Yes-except for all last summer when you never came near me.”

“Well, what can I do for you? Some trouble about a warrant?”

“No, Mr Birling.”

“ ...Well what then?”

This is where the tension starts to increase, why is the Inspector here? They all consider themselves model law-abiding citizens. Mr Birling is especially irate as he has his reputation to think of, the most important thing to him. Mr Birling becomes even more unsettled as the Inspector asks Mr Birling about his involvement with Eva Smith.

“ Do you remember her Mr Birling? She was employed at your works at one time.”

The tension continues to rise as the Inspector interrogates Sheila. All the questions the inspector asks he already knows the answers to but asks them to prolong the guilt. This is to make the realization of there faults more intense.

“All she knew was a customer complained and she had to go.”

Eva was sacked because of her jealousy and immaturity.

Mr Birling tries to get rid of the inspector as he becomes more worried about the incident and the tension continues to increase.

“All right I knew her, lets leave it at that.”

“We can’t leave it at that.”

Replies the inspector. The audience now knows the Inspector came more than to see if Mr Birling knew Eva Smith, so does Mr Birling.

When Gerald is being interviewed the inspector makes him worried by hinting that he will need to answer all the questions. It starts to become clear that there were more than a few characters involved with Eva Smith, everyone is. As the inspector continues to question Gerald it becomes clear that he wasn’t near Sheila all last summer because he was having an affair with Daisy Renton. Tension builds even more as Sheila calls off her engagement to Gerald on the account of the fact that she now knows he had an affair.

The Inspector starts to quiz Mrs. Birling. Mrs. Birling doesn't take any responsibility for the girl’s suicide, insisting she was a liar and in her opinion she couldn't grant the girl help because she didn't deserve it. Mrs. Birling says that the father of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton's baby should take responsibility and should be blamed solely. It becomes evident that people like Mr. and Mrs. Birling think people should look after themselves and be grateful for what they have. The audience begins to realize the differences between the younger and older generations. Mr. and Mrs. Birling-the older generation are very narrow minded, and selfish, whereas the younger generation-Sheila and Eric are eager to change and take responsibility, and learn from their mistakes.

Sheila realizes that the Inspector is leading Mrs. Birling into a trap and forcing her to say things about social responsibility, which will later be used against her. The audience sees this dramatic irony and increase in tension also. It appears that Sheila and Eric are keener to admit their social faults. They understand there Parents are wrong-everything isn't as peaceful and good as their father makes out.

When Eric arrives at the end of act two we see Mrs. Birling's comments about the way the father should be held responsible for the pregnancy of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton used against her, as does Mr. Birling. The comments that Mrs. Birling made were;

“I tell you what you what I told here, Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility.”

At this moment the atmosphere becomes even more intense as yet another character is exposed in the girl’s suicide. Mr. and Mrs. Birling seem to be ashamed at the Inspector’s interrogation of Eric, when they see the reality that Eric has stole money from his father's business, got a girl pregnant and didn't marry or love her. This is a contradiction again of Mrs. and Mr. Birling's comments that the father should be held responsible for his actions. When they found out that the father was there Eric the blame changed and it was no longer the fathers fault.

In the Inspector uses the photographs very cleverly in the play, he is careful that no two people see the photograph at and one time. This keeps the tension rising, as they are not sure if they all saw the same picture of the same girl.

At the end of act three when Eric’s interrogation is over and the inspector delivers his final speech, the Inspector tells the characters that they are collectively responsible for the girl’s death. The tension rises even more because the Inspector tells the characters that they have to be told there responsibilities by a mere police inspector in there own home.

The Inspector’s final speech is the whole point of the play, and also shows J.B Priestley’s agreement with Ouspensky's theory. In this part of the speech the Inspector is the voice of the author. The Inspector’s speech also has an impact on the audience watching the play, as the Inspector talks of examining social responsibility. When the Inspector leaves, the tension reaches a peak. The Birling family and Gerald Croft have just received one of there biggest shocks, an Inspector has come into their house, spoiled a good celebration and pointed out their social wrongs.

Then as the characters discover there is no actual suicide there is a great sense of relief throughout the household. The characters realize that there was a hoax when Gerald finds out that there was no Inspector Goole at the force. He returns to the Birling household and tells them what he has found out.

The tension between them drops dramatically as they realize the Inspector was a fake. However the way it affects Mr. Birling is very different compared how it affects Sheila. Mr. Birling is the one who is probably the most relieved, because now there's no danger of his name being associated in a public scandal. He is quite happy to return to his normal way of living, and to learn anything from the Inspector's visit. Meanwhile Sheila and Eric are not happy to forget it happened, and are angry at the rest of them for not learning anything. In addition to this they are not admitting they have responsibilities that they do not take care of properly. There's also a release of tension as they discover they might not have been involved with the same girl, as the Inspector was keen not to show certain pictures to certain characters.

Then when the family thinks they are off the hook, the telephone rings. Just as the Phone rings there is a moment of complete silence. The characters are all wondering what the telephone call is about. The tension dramatically increases as Mr. Birling turns to the characters and informs then there has been a suicide and that an Inspector is on his way to question them.

Mr. and Mrs. Birling consider themselves to be high in society, yet the irony is they don’t want to admit there actions to Eva were callous. Someone of their position should be responsible for people of lower classes, yet the Birling’s exclude them from this. Their hypocrisy is underlined by Mr. Birling's early comments and ignorance of world politics, his future predictions and his advice to Gerald about being a businessman. Mr. Birling was commenting on how people should take care of themselves and that Britain is doing fine and life is good. Mrs. Birling is saying how the father of Eva Smith's child should be entirely responsible for her death. Yet when it appears the father is Eric, she has her words used against her. It shows the Birlings’ are hypocrites and selfish.

Sheila sticks out as a character particularly effected by the realization of their arrogance and social issues. Mr. And Mrs. Birling find the whole ordeal before the Phone call very amusing and shows that they are immature by a comment at the end;

“(Pointing to Eric and Sheila) Now look at the pair of them, the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke.”

This shows that the Inspectors visit has not had an impact on them and just because a real inspector has not interrogated them they are allowed to forget their callous actions towards Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. At the beginning Sheila is sheltered, immature and overprotected, at the end she becomes more mature and the audience can see she has changed for the better. Sheila realizes her faults and is willing to change for the better in the future. This to the audience represents what J.B Priestley was intending to do, make people realize what their social responsibilities are. He tries to make them change the way act in the future.

J.B Priestly uses hindsight and his knowledge of society to show the audience that every action has a reaction and if we were given the chance to change decisions would we? J.B Priestley tries to make the audience, which would be the middle class people of the 1940’s feel guilty and sorry for people less fortunate than them. He intends to make a difference on the audience.