'An Inspector Calls' - John Boynton Priestley
John Boynton Priestley or probably better known as J.B Priestley is widely regarded as one of England's greatest play writers. As well as writing and creating brilliant plays Priestley was also known for his great intriguing novels. As an English novelist Priestley published more than 100 hundred novels most notably 'the good companions' in 1929. However, away from his successful novels, Mr Priestley was also the author of the famous and fascinating 'An Inspector Calls' play. J.B Priestly was a playwright who found inspiration from his life and experiences during world war one and two to create such egocentric but ordinary characters at the time, which eventually resulted in change in society. This essay will be exploring why and how J.B Priestley presents Arthur Birling in this remarkable play 'An Inspector Calls'. J.B Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire on the 13th September 1894. From early age Priestly studied at the Bradford school, however his education and career was interrupted due to service in World War 1. Priestly then made his breakthrough in 1927, where he published 'the good companions' which was very popular and gained huge success in the US and England.
Though his play was set in the spring of 1912, the actual play was written in 1945. This is purposefully done by Priestley to convey an important message about the morals and common social beliefs at the time. It is a play that attacks the social mores and attitudes of the time. In the time of Priestley people only seemed to look after themselves, their time and attention was not spent on the community but on themselves, Priestley had believed in social welfare and caring for the vulnerable. Mr Priestley was a socialist who believed that every person had the responsibility to look after others and not see any difference in classes. To portray his thoughts and beliefs he set his play in 1912, a time where there was a big division between the rich and poor. The play was then written and published in 1945 just after world war two had finished. This was a time where change occurred and reconstruction of Britain had started to take place with the setting up of the welfare state. The play helped people realise that there is no difference between upper and lower class and that together they comprise the community.
Priestley portrays his message through the use of the Birling family, typical characters for people in high society. Through the Birling family, readers come to recognise different attitudes between the new (Sheila and Eric) and the old (Arthur and Sybil Birling) generation. The most notable character in this play and a strong example of the older generation is Mr Birling. Birling is represented as foolish and self-satisfied through the use of dramatic irony. Another reason why this play was purposefully set in 1912 and a benefit of Priestley's use of dramatic irony is that the audience have the advantage of knowing what has occurred after 1912; therefore when Mr Birling states that the Titanic was 'unsinkable' and that world war would never happen, the audience have the knowledge that both events have actually happened. This makes Mr Birling look really foolish and this is made worse as he seems to be smart and confident.
Mr Birling is described as being 'pompous' and 'portentous' by Priestley. The use of such negative words portrays Birling as an unlikeable person. The audience can learn more about Mr Birling through the way he interacts with other characters in the play. The way Birling is presented in the play, gives readers the impression that he is one of those who like many others at the time believed that men were superior to women. This is shown when he says "women's clothes are a token of their self respect", it is evident that Birling is not a man that holds interest in women and regards them as being inferior. Life has changed a lot over the years and the idea of male superiority is obviously not considered in the modern generation. Once again another reason why the play was written in 1945 but set in 1912, is that the 1945 audience may have also disliked the idea of male superiority as during the years of war the roles of women changed and they were made to work hard and take on male type jobs. Therefore many may see Birling's statement as disrespectful and Birling himself a bit of a dinosaur as the idea of male superiority is now a thing of the past.
Another example of Mr Birling's ruthless and uncaring character is where he is asked a simple question by Inspector Goole about the dismissing of Eva Smith and wage demands in which he replies "...if you don't come done sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the Earth". This illustrates his poor treatment of his employees. In addition, the fact that he refers to his employees as 'these people' demonstrates how he has separated himself to his 'lower class' employees and this further shows how he is portrayed as arrogant through interaction with other characters. One clever thing that Priestly did was to present Birling as an extremely foolish person. For instance, where Birling makes a very strong confident speech in which he replies "fiddlesticks" to rumours of a potential war. However the audience knows that a war has occurred not once but twice, making Birling look silly. This is a technique that is used by Priestly so that when the 1945 audience read or watch the play, they can almost compare the old generation to the new and recognise the different attitudes.
It is evident that Mr Birling is a man of money and it seems that he is only driven by money and success. The way Birling is presented also gives the audience the impression that he would whatever it takes increase the capital in his business, "Birling and Company". A very good example of this is the "arranged" marriage between Gerald Croft and Sheila Birling. Mr Birling saw an opportunity here to boost his financial projections with his company to merge with Gerald Crofts Company, "...working together for lower costs and higher prices". Once again, the benefit of ...
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It is evident that Mr Birling is a man of money and it seems that he is only driven by money and success. The way Birling is presented also gives the audience the impression that he would whatever it takes increase the capital in his business, "Birling and Company". A very good example of this is the "arranged" marriage between Gerald Croft and Sheila Birling. Mr Birling saw an opportunity here to boost his financial projections with his company to merge with Gerald Crofts Company, "...working together for lower costs and higher prices". Once again, the benefit of setting the play in 1912 is that the modern audience may see this arrangement as peculiar as the marriage between Sheila and Gerald was just business, although the pair did have feelings for each other, Birling is more interested in the fact that it's an advantageous match. Another example which reflects Birling's attitude is where he learns that Sheila, his daughter may have some involvement in the death of Eva Smith. Birling acknowledges that if Sheila is found to have a part in Smith's death, it could affect his business dearly. Therefore in an attempt to prevent this from happening, he attempts to bribe the inspector with money. "Now, inspector, perhaps you and I had better go and talk this over quietly in a corner". As a money minded man Mr Birling believes that money can buy him out of trouble. "I'd give thousands...yes...thousands"
Not only does Priestley use language to create an image of Birling, Priestley also uses the stage directions to help the audience understand Birling's persona even more. At the very beginning of the play, Birling is described as "heavy-looking" by Priestley. This gives an impression of largeness and greed, which further emphasizes Birling's arrogant attitude. Priestley also employs cliff-hangers to build up a tense atmosphere in Mr Birling's living room. For instance in Act 1, the scene ends with Gerald revealing all and confessing to Sheila that he knew the girl, not as Eva Smith but Daisy Renton. Priestley also very cleverly uses the stage directions as an advantage to assist in creating tension. "He does not reply...she looks at him almost in triumph...the door slowly opens..."
Mr Birling's self-centred is further demonstrated when he attempts to advise Eric Birling (son) and Gerald about life stating "a man has to look after himself - and his family too". Birling almost hesitates to say "- and his family too" it seems that his family was an afterthought, and this again shows his uncaring attitude. Another example of his ignorance is when Mrs Birling reveals her involvement in Eva Smiths suicide. Mr Birling immediately replies "I must say Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquest, it isn't going to do us much good, the press might easily take it up". While most of the modern audience would show remorse, Mr Birling shows that he has no regret for his part in the sudden death; he does not seem to be fazed by the situation. Birling only cares about appearance of respectability not reality. Overall Mr Birling is a selfish, cold hearted and arrogant character. He is described using negative attributes which portray him as a dislikeable person. Through the use of dramatic irony, stage direction, tension and dramatic hindsight, Priestley uses Mr Birling to convey message of equality, class and position in society. Priestly effectively shows this by showing attitudes of Birling that are believed to be morally wrong to the modern audience.
The characters, each and every member of the Birling family were all somehow linked to the death of Eva Smith. Priestley tries to make each member of the Birling family feel remorse for what they have done and feel empathy for their part in Smith's suicide. Priestley wants the characters to carefully and remorsefully reflect on the events and eventually accept responsibility. Priestly presents Mr and Mrs Birling as traditional parents, who are very conscious of their social ranking, and are determined to maintain their class and popularity. Throughout the play, the character's relationships with one another change and deteriorate. The younger generation seems to be more sympathetic, partially because they are closer to Eva's age and partially because at such a young age they have yet to learn, therefore feel quite shocked from the events that have occurred.
Priestley very cleverly creates the character 'Inspector Goole' to almost imitate and represent himself. Acting almost like a messenger, Priestley uses the inspector to reflect his own message and social beliefs through the use of interrogation. The "chain of events" first started with Eva Smith's sacking at Mr Birling's company as a result of requesting an increase in her salary. After a stroke of luck Eva gets another job, this time she was taken on at a high-class shop (Milwards). Sheila Birling, a pretty young girl in her early twenties, is very pleased with life and rather excited about her engagement with Gerald. Sheila was envious of Eva's beauty one time, when she went in to the shop to purchase a hat. Sheila feels angry at Eva because she smirks when Sheila tries on a hat, knowing that it doesn't suit her. This triggers Sheila's temper immediately and she uses her power as the daughter of a wealthy businessman to get Eva fired. The inspector questions Sheila on this event, "and was it the girls fault?" Sheila immediately answers "no, not really, it was my own fault" and then snaps at Gerald "I expect you've done things you're ashamed of too" Sheila is one of the characters to accept the blame and is ashamed of it too. There are also signs of agitation as she snaps at Gerald showing guilt. The inspector's goal seems to be achieved by putting the characters in a position to want to change, "If I could help her now."
After hearing what her father had to say about his part in Eva Smith's death, Sheila is rightly shocked and immediately makes it clear that she is saddened by what her father did. She questions her father after dismissing Eva, "Did you, dad?" She also shows compassion and thought for Eva after hearing of her father's treatment towards his employees. "But these girls aren't cheap labour- they're people." It is at this point where the audience's negative attributes of Sheila at the start of the play take a u-turn. After showing care and thought, she is now looked at as a caring and honest young girl, and this is largely because she acknowledges her part in Eva's Death and is ashamed. The audience also see's Sheila from a different but positive prospective after her reaction to Mr Birling's unfair dismissal of Eva Smith. Sheila feels as if the least she can do is be honest to herself and open up cleanly which would make herself feel better, "At least, I'm trying to tell the truth." She knows that she's done wrong but she shows maturity to be honest and truthful about the whole incident. She takes full responsibility and is deeply saddened by her actions. It is evident that Sheila has learnt an important lesson because she is first to hold her hand up and say sorry, "It was my own fault." She also warns her family, "You're not telling the truth", "You're making matters worse." This shows that she thinks that her family should own up too.
Eric Birling, son of Mr Arthur Birling, Is an ignorant young man at first due to his parents and childhood; but eventually is another character who shares similar thoughts to Sheila after discovering the prejudice in the world they live in. From watching the play, the audience can gather that Eric is a very heavy drinker. Although his parents may not know of his drinking habits, Gerald certainly does. "I have never seen much of him outside this house but, I have gathered he's a pretty heavy drinker". His addiction to alcohol may suggest depression, loneliness or even greed. He is also shown as insecure and is shown to have a low self esteem by Priestley. As a lonely figure, he will obviously attempt to seek company and he successfully does this by drawing the attention of the vulnerable Eva Smith. At this point he is drunk and eventually faces the consequences as under the influence of alcohol he rapes Eva Smith who later becomes pregnant. Priestley uses the Inspector again to try to prompt emotion in the characters so that they can learn from what they have done. The Inspector uses harsh and unsympathetic language and is very direct in his speaking, not caring if he might upset the characters, "Two hours ago a young girl died in the infirmary" and "burnt inside out of course." He uses this severity to shock the Eric and the others.
Eric is a capitalist to start off with, along with the rest of the family but like his sister Sheila he disagrees with his father's view of workers. "Why shouldn't they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices. And I don't see why she should have been sacked just because she'd a bit more spirit than the others. You said she was a good worker. I'd have let her stay." This shows thought by young Eric; he is disappointed with his father's actions. Eric is a difficult character to understand, the audience at first may see Eric to be a replica and younger version of Mr Birling, their views of Eric then change when he demonstrates that he doesn't approve of his father's treatment of employees. However the impression of Eric then take another twist when he reaveals,"Yes, I wasn't in love with her or anything - but I liked her - she was pretty and a good sport", he tells the inspector, proving he wasn't in it for a long term relationship, just for a bit of company. After the inspector reveals that Mrs Birling denied Eva help, Eric seems to lose it showing signs of anger. "Then - you killed her. She came to you to protect me - and you turned her away - yes, and you killed her", the use of repetition here emphasises Eric's anger, he is evidently not happy at this point. Here there is an impression that Eric does actually feel emotionally affected, not only because his unborn child is dead but because Eva Smith is as well, which shows sorrow and distress from Eric. Similar to the way Sheila changed her attitudes, Eric changes his views to be more of a socialist, after much baffling views of Eric, he eventually is shown to be a much more compassionate, caring and considerate young man, rather than the selfish ignorant boy he was at first, which shows he has matured. His anger and depression may also reflect his guilt and remorse for his part in the suicide, getting Eva pregnant.
Some characters are not affected as much as Eric and Sheila. Mrs Birling is described in stage directions as "a rather cold old woman - her husband's social superior". She is regarded as an arrogant woman and dominating throughout the play. She doesn't hold any remorse or sensitivity to the situation. All throughout the play, Mrs Birling shows that she has no guilt or remorse for the death of this poor girl. She feels that the death should have no effect on her family and feels the situation is buried beneath her and her family. In her view, the death of the girl is a great shame, but it has nothing to do with her and she feels she has nothing to worry about. When being questioned by the inspector, she tries to intimidate him and force him to leave. She claims that she does not recognise the photograph the inspector shows her. However it is later revealed that Mrs Birling and Eva met two weeks before her death. Eva came to the Brumley Women's Charity Organization appealing for money and help to support her child. As Eva's child was conceived with Eric, she chose to take his surname. Mrs Birling took this offensively, thinking that the girl meant to be disrespectful and lost her temper, which compares to Sheila's loss of temper; this led her to become prejudiced against her situation from the start. She immediately puts Eva down "girls of that class", Mrs However, Mrs Birling obviously did not know of Eric's relationship. Therefore, when Eva took her surname she used her power as an important person in the committee to get her case rejected. She tells Eva to go and look for the father of the child.
"Go and look for the father of the child...it's his responsibility", she doesn't realise that the father of the child is her son Eric. Even when she finds out about that Eric is the father of the child she still denies any part in the suicide of Eva Smith. She tells the inspector that she was just doing her job. "I consider I did my duty", this again shows Mrs Birling stubborn and uncaring attitude. Mrs Birling sees Sheila and Eric still as "children", although they are both in their twenties, and she speaks to them as if they were little kids. She tries to deny things that the younger generation do: Eric's drinking, Gerald's affair with Eva, and the fact that a working class girl would refuse money even if it was stolen, claiming "all a lot of nonsense." Mrs Birling only cares about her social ranking and very protective to maintain her social rank. By being related to the father she has embarrassed herself and her own family after putting blame onto the father who is revealed as Eric. Eric attempts to trap his mother in her own blame and trigger emotion from her; guilt and remorse for being partly responsible for the death of his child yet she still tries to deny partial responsibility.
And then there's Mr Arthur Birling. Mr Birling's initial reaction to the arrival of the Inspector is that he must have called in for a warrant to arrest someone. At first he tries to show the inspector who is in charge and what authority he holds. Mr Birling is a very proud and confident character, and his worst fear would be to lose his popularity and respect in the community as he mentions fearfully, "There'll be a public scandal" he fears this most, as it would prevent him from gaining his higher position, or receiving a knighthood.
When the Inspector is revealed to be a fake, Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald think that it is all a joke and even laugh about it, "The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can't even take a joke." Mr and Mrs Birling represent the older, arrogant and more conservative generation and their actions result in the younger generation, who though ignorant at first from their parents eventually discover the faults of the world that they live and want change. At the end of the play, there division between generations at the Birling family is evident. As Sheila and Eric regret what they have done even when the Inspector was revealed to be a fake, Mr Birling and his wife feel that they have escaped a public scandal, they only care about themselves. Eric says, "Whoever that chap was, the fact remains that I did what I did", Eric is convinced that story is true. Sheila also feels the same about Eva's death. "Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide." On the other hand Mrs Birling says, tells Mr. Birling "they're over-tired, In the Morning they'll be as amused as we are". Mr. Birling imitates the Inspector, "You all helped to kill her". This last scene shows that Mr. Birling has no social conscience, he is just glad that he escaped a public scandal and finds the whole situation rather amusing. This attitude shown by Mr Birling encourages the audience to side with Eva Smith.
Only Sheila and Eric begin to understand that they are all people and that together they are part of the community. Mr Birling underestimates Shelia's intelligence and maturity. Sheila says "he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves", but Birling does not listen. This seems to make Sheila more supportive to her brother's views more. She is angry with her parents for trying to "pretend that nothing much has happened." Sheila says, "It frightens me the way you talk:" she cannot understand how they haven't learnt from the events in the same way that she has. The children appear to be more open to change, unlike the parents who are very protective of their ways. The relationships in the family weaken as the truth is revealed and the young are shown to be more likely to learn from their mistakes than the old who are too set in their ways.
Priestley would like us to change and uses the attitudes of Mr Birling and his stubborn wife to make the audience realise the consequences of selfish actions. Priestley wants us to realise that we must be responsible for each other and live together as "members of one body". Priestley was trying to convey responsibility and socialism to us. He shows he is very serious about it as well as he shows through the inspector, if we do not learn from this and irresponsibility keeps going on then we will be taught in "fire and blood and anguish."The emotive verbs such as "anguish" add seriousness to his speech and triggers emotion in the other characters and audience. He uses the rule of three to add force to what he is saying. With these devices Priestley can forcefully put across his message to the audience. He can easily prompt emotion in the audience like this and persuade them to change their ways.
Rezaul Miah 11v
English Literature Coursework
'An Inspector Calls'