J.B. Priestly, during the Second World War, said that “Britain was in the middle of a war”, he continues to say, “the first World War was supposed to be the War to end all Wars”, and asked “If the nation hadn’t learnt enough&
J.B. Priestly, during the Second World War, said that "Britain was in the middle of a war", he continues to say, "the first World War was supposed to be the War to end all Wars", and asked "If the nation hadn't learnt enough" so that the "country must use the opportunity of the Second World War to learn enough to prevent another war. Comment on how this idea of Priestly is shown in his play "An Inspector Calls".
In the early 20th century, when the play "An Inspector calls was set", the working class made up about 80% of Britain's population. J.B. Priestly was concerned that, socially, they came to nothing. They were ignored, mistreated and made the scapegoat for all of Britain's problems. Anyone with a high status or a large sum of money to their name would have nothing to do with "that class".
Priestly wanted to portray his hopes and thoughts in "An Inspector Calls". It was written at a time when the progression from "ignorance to knowledge" was necessary.
He had to show the public the wrong in their ways but wanted them to realise that the aftermath of a war was the perfect opportunity for a change. People had started to get used to working together and abiding each other. The first and second world war had thrown the classes together. There still was segregation but the "butterflies and drones might as well be worker ants". Everyone had a part in the wars, and they had begun to realise that they were responsible for each other, not just themselves. This is also what Priestly tried to show in his play.
The play was written across three time scales, 1912, the year the play was set in, the 2nd World War, when the play was written and written to show the threat of a 3rd World War.
In 1912, society was, if anything, worse at being able to live together harmoniously. The top classes were content with where they were in society, and didn't feel that anything needed to change. The working class was relied on for everything. They worked long hours for very little pay. That was the main aim for the employers, as Birling says, "Work together for high prices and low wages". The employers didn't care about their workers. The workers had hard, strenuous jobs and earned barely enough to keep their families alive. Often, the jobs led to severe health problems, such as back problems. Often people would die, but their bosses wouldn't care, apart from that it might make them look bad. In 'An Inspector Calls', Mr Birling is worried that he might not get his knighthood, he doesn't care that Eva Smith has died, he doesn't want to admit his responsibility.
The play was first shown during the Second World War in Moscow (as there were no theatre in London at the time) to show people that there was a threat of a Third World War unless they changed their attitudes. This was portrayed by the loss of 'Glory' in the Birling family. One by one, each member of the family, and Gerald, were forced to feel at least partially guilty. During the First World War, the classes had started to integrate, the men had to work together in the army and the women had to help each other to run the country. They began to realize their responsibility for each other. But after the War had finished, all this seemed to have been forgotten and life went back to being unfair. So by writing the play for the Second World War, he wanted to show the nation that they had a chance to change. He wanted them to change. So he had to show them what they were doing wrong and encourage them to change their bad ways. He used the threat of a Third World War to change this. A War is greatly feared as it massacres many people and forces people into rationing. Neither of which people liked.
Priestly wanted to change everyone's views on how the world was run. The higher classes owed everything to the working class, but were too arrogant to admit it to themselves. The working class did all of the work and their 'superiors' just laid back and enjoyed themselves at the cost of the labourers.
Any problems were the fault of the 'peasants'.
If a low class person needed help and went to an aid society (like the one Mrs Birling runs) they would be turned away without a second thought, after all, it was probably their fault ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Priestly wanted to change everyone's views on how the world was run. The higher classes owed everything to the working class, but were too arrogant to admit it to themselves. The working class did all of the work and their 'superiors' just laid back and enjoyed themselves at the cost of the labourers.
Any problems were the fault of the 'peasants'.
If a low class person needed help and went to an aid society (like the one Mrs Birling runs) they would be turned away without a second thought, after all, it was probably their fault that they were in this predicament anyway.
A quality, such as being able to stand up for yourself may seem good to us, would have been impertinence. And the slightest fault would have been blown up out of all proportion.
Mr Birling represents a typical employer of the working class. He is new money; he worked his way to the top by working hard. He wanted to work for high prices and cheaper labour. He feels he owes the world nothing because it gave nothing to him. He wanted as much profit as he could get and didn't care about his employees. He was outraged when Eva and some of the other girls that worked for him went to him to ask for more pay, though it was only a few extra pence to keep them alive. He saw her high spirits as being a threat to his prosperity. He might have an important, high status but hard working military job, such as a General.
Eva and Edna represent the working class in 'An Inspector Calls'. Eva's misfortunes reflect upon the whole of the nation's working class. If you watch or read the play, you immediately feel sorry for her, because she is vulnerable and is always misunderstood and mistreated.
Gerald represents the "toffs", the very top class who have a high status name. His father is a Lord and his mother is a Lady. He has a wealthy family background and inheritance. He would have an important military job because of his important background.
At the beginning of the play, Birling is shown as an over exuberant, but loving father, he is also shown as a hardheaded businessman with only his wealth in sight.
In the National Theatre production, we immediately understand Priestly's views on the social structure when the curtain goes up. The set has a little house that is high up above the main street. The Birling family are sitting inside with a hot dinner and plenty of drinks, Edna; their servant is sitting below them out on the street in the cold, dark, rainy night. This shows that a member of the working class is far below the upper class.
The style of the house is light an ivory tower, where the Birlings are protected from the world. The lighting is pink and intimate, which could represent the romance of Gerald and Sheila's engagement or it could represent the saying 'rose tinted glasses' meaning that they only see the nice things in the world, and that is certainly true for the Birlings.
Mr Birling is talking to Gerald out on the balcony (he is still high above the street), he is talking about the joining of their business' and mentions his possible knighthood "there's a very good chance of a knighthood-so long as we behave ourselves and don't get into the police court or start a scandal", which is what happens. He is just saying that "a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own", when the inspector walks in as if to say that he is wrong.
Edna introduces the Inspector Goole (possibly meaning ghost), and the house opens, as if to show that the Birling family is being opened up for examination. Mr Birling is forced to go down on to the street to be questioned.
He is the first to be questioned. He tries to distract the Inspector, by offering him a drink and tries to pass him off and make it sound like he could do no wrong by saying that he used to be an Alderman and was Lord Mayor two years ago. He asks if there is a problem with the warrant, he knows nothing about Eva's death, and becomes impatient (which perhaps shows his true nature) when Goole doesn't tell him what is wrong. When Goole does tell him that a girl committed suicide, and how she committed suicide, he becomes even more impatient and says that it's a "horrid business" and that he doesn't understand how it affects him. Goole tells Mr Birling that the girls name was Eva, he recalls her name but doesn't know where from. This shows perhaps that she wasn't worth remembering. When Birling is told that Eva used to work for him, he vaguely says "Oh that's it is it? Well we've several hundred young women there and they keep changing", this implies that he has fired a lot of people and doesn't care. He is shown a photo of Eva and immediately recognizes her. He admits to her being an employee and that he discharged her two years ago, in 1910, this makes sure that the audience know the era in which the play was set. Goole asks Gerald to stay, which surprises both Gerald and Birling so Birling says that there was nothing mysterious or scandalous as far as he's concerned as it happened two years ago, he said that he had nothing to do with the "wretched girl's" death. He doesn't care about what has happened and is afraid to talk about it.
Goole tells Birling that he was not purely to blame; he was part of a chain of events that caused Eva to commit suicide. Birling does not want to accept responsibility. He tells Goole a bit about the girl and said that he naturally refused to increase their wages because he felt it was his duty to keep labour costs down (or in other words, he didn't want to fork out more money for them). Eric is upset about his father firing Eva for the sake of a few pence. Inspector Goole snubs Birling and the whole of the upper class by saying "It is better to ask for the world than to take it" (p15). Mr Birling becomes impatient and irritable.
Next, Sheila enters and is questioned.
Sheila, at the beginning of the play, is a selfish, spoilt brat. She is quite modern as she uses modern phrases such as 'squiffy' (p3). Sheila is the hope of Britain's future. She is the generation that need to learn how to accept their responsibilities for everyone. During the war, she would probably be a land girl and a suffragette. At the beginning of the play, the Birling family are celebrating her engagement to Gerald. Gerald presents her with the ring and she says that she would never take it off. She goes back on this later in the play when she finds out about Gerald seeing Eva (or Daisy Renton) behind her back. She was aware that something was going on, as she picks up on things quickly, but was curious to know what.
Sheila is introduced to the interrogation in the same way as her father, Goole tells her about Eva's death. Maybe he always says this first to make them feel guilty as they reveal more. Sheila is sickened and says, "I've been so happy tonight, I wish you hadn't told me" which tells us that Sheila is selfish. But she warms later on as she hears about Eva's misfortunes after she was discharged from Birling and Company. Sheila is upset to find that her father sees the girls as cheap labour. This is when she begins to see the wrongs of the past generations. She recognises the girl from Milwards and realizes to her horror that she had the girl fired. Birling is again shown as selfish when he told the inspector that he'd made a nasty mess of their nice celebration, when the same could be said about Eva's life.
Sheila then returns and tells her part of the story, about how she got Eva fired from her last job for smiling at her, she was being impertinent. She feels guilty and very sorry for her actions.
At this point in Eva's story, Eva changed her name to Daisy Renton. Gerald recognizes that name, but tries to hide the fact that he knows her to protect Sheila because he feels that young women should be protected from unpleasant as disturbing things if possible. This is why he rescued Daisy from the bar and gave her a place to live, he was the only one that did her a good turn. He wasn't in love with her but he looked after her. She became his mistress and after a little while they broke up, and she left the home. But she was happier than she had ever been before, and she knew it wouldn't last. It was wrong socially.
He leaves, taking Sheila's engagement ring with him but with a promise that they'll get back together.
Mrs Birling is questioned next. She acts innocent and even when she recognizes the picture of Eva/Daisy, she refuses to accept her responsibility. She at first denies all knowledge of Eva. Then after Sheila explains about accepting responsibilities and putting on airs, Mrs Birling tells the Inspector about her rendezvous with the girl. How she used her power to get her woman's aid committee to reject help for the pregnant Eva Smith, because she used the name Birling when asking for help which Mrs Birling thought of as impertinence. Mrs Birling represents the social opinions of the upper class; she would be the average upper class lady. She is a gossip and helps herself feel good about herself by working in an aid group. During the Second World War she would probably sit around and watch everyone else do the work. She is a snob and looks down on everyone, and she does not like being told what to do.
After she tells her part of Eva's story, she "blames the young man who was the father of the child" and that "he should be made an example of", she wants the young man to be punished as it is purely him that is responsible for the girls death. Suddenly it becomes clear to her that Eric is the father. He walks in on cue.
The curtain drops for the end of the act, raising a couple of seconds later, which gives the audience a moment to think about everything, it is also for dramatic effect.
Eric is weak and stupid; he is too familiar with drinking which perhaps compelled him to start his relationship with Eva. In the war, he would possibly be in the trenches as a corporal, he is too weak too be in the offices. He would probably be killed fairly quickly.
Eric admits to using the girl at the end of a drunken evening, getting her pregnant then stealing money from his father's office to keep her and the baby alive. But she refused the money.
When Eric finds out that Mrs Birling refused Eva help, he goes into a violent rage and accuses her of killing his child. Then he gets upset and says that his parents never understood him, they didn't want to or try to understand him.
There is a lot of friction between the family members at this point, representing the friction between the generations and opinions of the people in the early 20th century.
This is the end of the investigation into the Birlings lives. The inspector concludes it by going over each of their stories and emphasizing their faults.
Birling offers money but not a change of treatment to Eva Smith if she was alive.
The Inspector retorts it by saying that the one Eva Smith is gone but "there are thousands of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left, their lives, hopes, fears, suffering and chance of happiness all intertwined in our lives and what we think, say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will come soon when if men will not learn their lesson, then they will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish".
In the theatre production, the house falls apart, as though it had been bombed, to represent fire, blood and anguish.
These reflect Priestly's own thoughts and it is an appeal to the audience to change their ways for the good or they will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish, or in other words, the war.
The Inspector may represent Priestly or the War. He has Priestly's views and hopes. He has the same compassion for equality. But he also may represent the war because he destroyed the Birling family so that they could never return to their old ways. Maybe it was the Inspector leaving that caused the house to fall apart.
He wants to get his message through to the world so that the social structure changes. He shows this in the writing, in the stage directions and by implication.
This is an effective method of getting an idea across, because the best way to point out a fault is to show it face to face and show the solution.
This was J.B Priestly's aim and he accomplished it successfully.
