The Main Themes in ‘An Inspector Calls’

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The Main Themes in ‘An Inspector Calls’

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is written by J.B.Priestley. The play is set in 1912. To understand the play fully, the reader/viewer of the play has to understand its historical context. 1912 was the year that the titanic set sail, the year that the Suffragette movement started campaigning for women’s rights in society. It was also the year that Captain Scott failed to reach the South Pole. 1912 was also the year in which the trade unions started to gain power and that there were huge technological advances like the electric lighting within homes and the cinema started its career. The life expectancy then was about 46 years old compared to about 85 now.

Within the play there are many themes, some are very obvious, some are more hidden within the text. The playwright conveys these themes through the way each character acts and what each character says and to whom in what manner. The main theme is to do with responsibility for your actions, but there are many others such as the class system, love, lies, pride, women, sex and family, but these are only the main ones, there may some more obscure ones within this text that I have not picked up. I will discuss each one of these main themes in turn within this essay.

Eva Smith is the only lower class person in the play, apart from the children playing in the street at the beginning of the play or maybe Edna, but she would be viewed as lower-middle class. She is seen as lower to the Birlings, and seen as just another employee by Mr.Birling, and as an impertinent little girl seeking help by Mrs.Birling.

The largest theme within the play is that of responsibility. The play outlines that we as a community need a sense of personal responsibility; but not only that, a sense of responsibility for other people’s actions. These views are voiced very strongly by the inspector within the play. One of the main parts that he shows this is in this ‘fire and blood and anguish’ speech when he says; ‘But just remember this. One Eva Smith is gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives and what we think and 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 when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and aguish.’ Within this speech he mentions how he thinks that we are all intertwined within each other, that lots of people doing little things to one person can lead to a very serious thing, in this case, death.

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Also within this speech he also emphasises the point that there are many people like Eva, and tries to get them to understand this an change their ways to help those others, but only Sheila and  Eric seem to understand this and act upon it, the others don’t care.

Each character takes on a different amount of guilt and reacts differently to the news of Eva’s death. Sheila Birling, daughter of Mr and Mrs Birling, feels very guilty about the whole escapade, whereas Mr and Mrs Birling do not really care and try to pass on the blame to everyone ...

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