Inspector Calls English Coursework - 'We are all members of the one body'. Show how Priestley conveys this message to the audience
27/05/2006
An Inspector Calls is a play that is written by J.B Priestly. J.B Priestly was born in 1894, therefore he lived through the first world war. When the First World War first broke out he signed up for the army. He was send to France to fight in the Battle of Loos where he picked up an injury and was sent back home to England. He stayed back in England for six months while he recovered. After he had fully recovered he went back to the army where he suffered from a gas attack from the opposition, he survived the attack and was treated but he was seen as being unfit to keep fighting in the war and so was changed to help in the entertainment section of the British army. I would say that this would have encouraged him to perform entertainment for a living, hence doing things such as writing plays.
When Priestly left the war he went to a university in Cambridge. In university he wrote "the Cambridge review". This could be seen as another stepping stone that led Priestly towards taking entertaining as a professional. Priestly eventually writes the play an Inspector Calls in 1945. Although this after the first world war Priestly decided to set the play before the world war. I think that the reason that he may have this is because is wants to show that before the war, he saw the whole of the country as being very much selfish and only concerned about themselves. This is shown by the way in which the inspector in the play makes all of the characters in the family feel guilty and feel responsible for the death of Eva, instead of looking after her and protecting her. This is links to responsibility, which is a big theme throughout the play. The responsibility of looking out for each other, or "We are all members of the one body". This is the message that Priestly was trying to convey to the audience in the play.
27/05/2006
An Inspector Calls is a play that is written by J.B Priestly. J.B Priestly was born in 1894, therefore he lived through the first world war. When the First World War first broke out he signed up for the army. He was send to France to fight in the Battle of Loos where he picked up an injury and was sent back home to England. He stayed back in England for six months while he recovered. After he had fully recovered he went back to the army where he suffered from a gas attack from the opposition, he survived the attack and was treated but he was seen as being unfit to keep fighting in the war and so was changed to help in the entertainment section of the British army. I would say that this would have encouraged him to perform entertainment for a living, hence doing things such as writing plays.
When Priestly left the war he went to a university in Cambridge. In university he wrote "the Cambridge review". This could be seen as another stepping stone that led Priestly towards taking entertaining as a professional. Priestly eventually writes the play an Inspector Calls in 1945. Although this after the first world war Priestly decided to set the play before the world war. I think that the reason that he may have this is because is wants to show that before the war, he saw the whole of the country as being very much selfish and only concerned about themselves. This is shown by the way in which the inspector in the play makes all of the characters in the family feel guilty and feel responsible for the death of Eva, instead of looking after her and protecting her. This is links to responsibility, which is a big theme throughout the play. The responsibility of looking out for each other, or "We are all members of the one body". This is the message that Priestly was trying to convey to the audience in the play.
