“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.” What is Priestley’s main aim in An Inspector Calls and how well does he achieve it?
Priestley’s main aim in An Inspector Calls is to get across his socialist view that “we are all responsible for each other.” Through the revelation of the plot and the development of the characters he manages to say that we may not play a big part in ones’ life, but a simple passing by comment to the person can affect them both mentally and emotionally. Even if the impact is not so great at first, many people repeatedly commenting can influence them to do something, possibly out of control. In the play Priestley represents the situation through Eva Smith and the Birling Family. He sets the play in 1912 yet the script was written in 1945, this creates ironic tension within the beginning of the play. The reader may feel a sense of unease when references are made about war. Birling makes a comment that “the world’s developing so fast that it’ll make war impossible,” but of course there was to be a World War only 2 years later in the play. “The Titanic…unsinkable,” yet another dramatically ironic reference, as we the audience all know that the Titanic did in fact sink. These comments set a mood of rich arrogant pigs mocking the idea that anything can go wrong in their ‘high-class’ society. The irony is that anything can go wrong and their lives are about to change drastically because of this.
Sheila’s character somewhat develops the most throughout the play. She is a vulnerable woman and therefore easily ‘brain-washed.’ This is not necessarily a good trait but in this situation it is vital for Priestley to achieve his aim in the text. In the beginning of the play Sheila seems quite snobbish and patronising, “I’d hate you to know all about port – like one of these purple-faced men.” The important word here is “these,” it shows that Sheila feels it in her right to be able to address people with such a meaningless word. Many times in the play Sheila’s parents call her “child,” this is quite inappropriate as she is a grown woman, soon to be married. It is also quite ironic since her character matures a great deal during the development of the play but still her parents continue to call her “child.” This reference portrays the parents as hypocrites as they are the ones acting like children during the Inspector’s presence, not Sheila. Sheila seems to be rather self-obsessed when the Inspector arrives, “I cant help thinking about this girl – destroying herself so horribly – and I’ve been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you hadn’t told me.” This clearly shows that all she really cares about is her self. She does not mention we once in her response to the girls death, instead she only takes about her feelings. But we know that she cares about the girl and is curious to find out more, “what was she like? Quite young?” This is when her character begins to understand and think more in the eyes of the Inspector and not her ‘pig-headed’ parents. Sheila’s change in character is important as it shows the impact Inspector Goole has made on her. The contrast of her arrogance and then realisation of the situation towards the end highlights her parent’s immoral attitudes, making the Inspectors words seem even more relevant.
