An Inspector Calls. How does J.B Priestley use the Inspector as a dramatic device?

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By Tom Spellins 10S – Miss Clee – English Coursework

How does J.B Priestley use the Inspector as a dramatic device? – An Inspector Calls essay

‘An Inspector Calls’ is an ephemeral play largely regarding the issues of responsibility, morality and the social divide  written in 1945 by the controversial playwright J.B. Priestley who’s strong socialist views are very much present in this play. The play is set in 1912, 33 years before it was first produced, and this was deliberately done by Priestley as he wanted to show how much the world had changed after the World Wars, with huge gender and class divisions being a factor in the way society was run. Priestley wanted to send a message across that we have learnt from our mistakes and that the people recovering from World War II have a caring and loving society to rely on when all seems lost. Being set in 1912 gave both the audience and Priestley the benefit of hindsight of the past, providing Priestley with an opportunity to utilise dramatic irony throughout much of the play. The play is set in Brumley, Northern England and follows the Birling family’s celebration of the engagement of their daughter, Sheila, to a reputable aristocrat, Gerald Croft. All seems fine and dandy until the unexpected arrival of Inspector Goole at their doorstep, arriving to interrogate the family in suspicion of assisting a working-class woman, Eva Smith, to her own suicide.

The Inspector is omitted from much of Act I, where we learn much more about the other characters in the play. Within the first 10 pages, Priestley has attempted to create a jolly and comfortable family atmosphere with some cold uncertainties under the skin into the mix. He introduces the characters and sets the scene, letting the audience create an opinion on how the story will unfold/ how the characters will develop This is seen in the stage directions describing the setting of the Birling family home, ‘The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike’. This shows the first instance that the family is putting everything on for show to make everything seem wonderful in the outside world, keeping their darker moments behind closed doors. It is ‘not homelike’, suggesting that the Birlings’ are a very materialistic family and rely on such extravagant works to make their house seem like a home. This façade is seen throughout the play as they try to cover up all the wrongdoings in the family and try to make everything perfect.

Priestley also ridicules the class system (as he is a socialist and believed everyone had equal rights) by showing the jealousy from upper-class Arthur Birling to aristocrat Gerald Croft and how awkward a rivalry the richer people had, they always wanted to be/ have the best things possible. Birling is mainly supporting the marriage of Mr. Croft to his daughter as he sees it as a business opportunity to merge the two best companies in the area and to join aristocracy. Birling is in it for the money, not to celebrate his daughter’s most important event in her life. This is evident in the line, ‘You’re just the kind of son-in-law I always wanted. Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business for some time now…’ Birling immediately dismisses Sheila, his daughter, and thinks about how great life will be when his business unites with his rival’s. We also see the hatred from the higher classes to the lower class people through Sybil Birling’s reaction to the death of Eva Smith. She goes so far to say, ‘I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class…’ She refers to the working class as ‘that class’, almost as if it’s a thing and completely disposable, showing how the higher classes hated and disrespected the working class.

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Priestley then goes on about gender rights and how the men did all the hard work, earned the money and celebrated whilst the material-based women stayed at home to look after the house and buy things to keep themselves amused. There were double standards at the time, men were also allowed to ‘go about town’ whilst the women were at home, giving men more freedom and power over their inferior gender. This was a very touchy subject at the time; women were beginning to get more and more power and made differences to society such as in 1918 when they ...

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