Discuss this view of responsibility, guilt and blame in ‘An Inspector Calls’ and discuss how the Inspector functions as a dramatic device.

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'The Inspector does not condemn- his job is to warn- he is more concerned with the principle of collective responsibility. "We'll have to share the guilt." (PG 28) He is only concerned with individuals in so far as they help or hinder society as a whole. "We are members of one body." (PG 54)

Discuss this view of responsibility, guilt and blame in 'An Inspector Calls' and discuss how the Inspector functions as a dramatic device.

Priestley wanted to ensure life after the war was better than before and he hoped that through his writing he could influence people's ideas and change society. Although he wrote an Inspector Calls in 1945, (a week after the war ended) he deliberately set it in 1912 because that time represented the sort of society everybody wanted to leave behind. The message of the play was particularly effective to the audiences of 1946. Priestley knew that the message of his play would reach the war-weary audiences of the era more effectively than it would reach the audiences of a different time. The "fire and blood and anguish" reference to the First and Second World Wars would be very influential to the audience. The audiences had experienced the horrors of war and were not eager to experience them again, so they may think that if they followed JB Priestley's message, they would prevent yet another world war.

Priestley wrote this play intentionally as he saw an urgent need for social change and used the play to express his desire for social equality. The time span between the dates used (1945-1912) is to make us aware of what has happened and learn from mistakes made. Priestley hoped his play would give society the chance with hindsight to look back on the past and not just carry on life in the same way as before. He was particularly concerned about the living conditions of the lower classes, represented by Eva Smith (the name "Smith" being cleverly used: a common name being used to represent all other people), and the way the upper classes behaved, represented by the Birlings and Gerald Croft. Mrs Birling, especially, was used to highlight the social differences between classes, with constant references to etiquette and behaviour: "Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things-" (pg 2) Mrs Birling consistently corrects the expressions said by other members of the family.

People were expected to know their place in society and stick to it and moving from one section of the class system to another was frowned upon by those in power.

Workers were beginning to let it be known that they wanted to have a say in what happened to them and did so through strikes and the formation of trade unions to co-ordinate these actions.

This was a strange idea to those who owned the factories and workplaces, who expected to have complete control over all aspects of their workers lives. The bosses wanted things to stay as they always had been, with them in control of the labour, jobs, conditions and pay. The bosses, being of a higher class than the workers, believed that they knew best and should make decisions for the masses. These were mainly based on how much profit they could make and they rarely considered the welfare of the workers.

In the play itself the main family, the 'Birlings' are wealthy middle class landowners and proprietors of a large factory that was built up by the father of Mr. Birling. He has hopes of gaining a Knighthood, due to his service as a magistrate and as Lord Mayor, which he sees as his way to climb the social ladder to the lower rungs of the aristocracy. This is shown in the way in which he compares this to the mother of his daughter's fiancée, Lady Croft, who is already, part of the aristocracy. Therefore, it can be seen that by marrying Gerald Croft, Sheila is playing a part in the families' social climbing.

Another aim of writing the play was to comment on the changing role of women in this era.

Women at that time were seen as being delicate, fragile and obedient to their husbands or fathers. Women were trying to get rights the same as men, beginning the Suffragette movement.

Under Roman law, which influenced later British law, husband and wife were regarded as one, with the woman the "possession" of the man. As such, a woman had no legal control over her person, her own land and money, or her children.
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Mrs Birling is a middle class woman of considerable influence - involved in good work, considered a suitable occupation for a lady in society. Women of higher classes did not work, but did only charitable work. This was seen as acceptable as it was a caring role that fitted with the idealised Victorian view, still held then, of women as mothers and carers.

Sheila follows this path by not working, the only occupation mentioned which she does is shopping. However, Sheila is starting to see that women should not always have to assume the role of their ...

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