How does JB Priestly use characters in an inspector calls to have an effect on the audience

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An Inspector Calls is a play written by J.B. Priestley in 1945, based before World War I, in 1912. The play is about a family, the majority of whom are aristocrats who live in a capitalist atmosphere; full of lies, pride and pure selfishness. Throughout the play a mystery inspector gradually reveals the characters' true identity, looking at how they all contributed to the suicide of Eva Smith. As the play progresses you begin to see that the characters start to understand their personalities, 'wrong-doings' and problems in a clearer light and each of them, despite differing degrees of transformation, move closer to being a socialist citizen. Priestley's main concerns at the time of writing An Inspector Calls was the state of society and social inequality; there was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Priestley was a socialist, whilst the characters that he was trying to convey to the audience were, in general, capitalist.
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Furthermore, Priestley's play is heavily influenced by his own experiences and emotions; he is attempting to convey the idea of social discrimination to his audience - a familiarity that Priestley knew all too well! The whole play is based in the Birlings living room where they are celebrating the engagement of daughter Sheila, to her fiancée, Gerald Croft. They are having a dinner party with the Birling family and Gerald, put on not just to celebrate the engagement but because Mr Birling is looking to revolutionize his business to join with Gerald's father, in what Mr Birling sees as a ...

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