What was Priestley's aim in writing an Inspector Calls? How successfully does he achieve his aim?

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What was Priestley’s aim in writing an Inspector Calls? How successfully does he achieve his aim?

        Priestley had more than one aim in writing ‘An Inspector Calls’ however he did have one main aim, which was to voice his own socialist views. From 1939 to 1940 Priestley broadcast his own radio show that he used to express his opinions about society and morality. This BBC radio show was banned in 1940 because many people did not agree with socialists and their ideas of equality during the Second World War. Priestley then had to find another vehicle for his own moral and social views: his plays. In his plays Priestley could make his message more subtle than in a radio show. This way of voicing his views let Priestley involve the audience in them therefore trying to teach the audience a lesson by making them question their own behaviour. Priestley’s ultimate intention was to make ‘An Inspector Calls’ entertaining but also didactic, which was a much more effective way of presenting his opinions than preaching them through the media.

Another of Priestley’s aims in writing ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to illustrate the division between the upper and lower classes. When deciding the date that the play would be set in, Priestley obviously thought of a time when this division was more obvious than in 1946 when the play was written. This is why it is set in 1912. This helps Priestley to explain the relationship between the two classes and how the upper class treat the lower class in a less than moral way demonstrating that there is no link between class and morality. By this the audience can see what life was really like for the lower class. This also uncovers the hypocrisy of the upper class and how they put on a respectable front.

Priestley also has more than one way in which he achieves his aims. One way is through the characters in the play. Priestley does not fully develop his characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ as they are only used as devices to explore certain attitudes and issues. The Birlings, Gerald Croft and Eva Smith are a good example of this as Priestley uses them to represent their social classes and the moral behaviour of them. The Birlings and Gerald Croft are representatives of the upper class.

Near the beginning of ‘An Inspector Calls’ Priestley intentionally tries to make the audience unsympathetic towards Mr Birling when he doesn’t seem to care who his daughter is marrying. He only cares about how it will improve his business by uniting Crofts and Birlings so they are ‘no longer competing but are working together-for lower costs and higher prices.’ This response from the audience is also wanted by Mr Birling’s belief that what he says is always right:

‘people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say – fiddlesticks!’

and:

‘the Titanic – she sails next week….. and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’

The audience, having already experienced the first and second world wars, and the tragedy of the Titanic, would realise how wrong he is and think of him as a fool. It is possible for Priestley to do this because of the chosen time frame of the play. Mr Birling typifies the attitudes of large company employers and how they often abuse their power as he shows in his involvement with Eva Smith when he ‘told the girl to clear out, and she went.’ He is only interested in the profit that he makes so he sees the lower class workforce as ‘cheap labour’.  Mr Birling is not willing to take any responsibility for his actions when the Inspector questions him, as he believes that he did his ‘duty’ and what any other employer would have done:

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‘Still, I can’t accept any responsibility.’  

Mrs Birling is firmly rooted in the ways of the upper class and how women of the upper class can behave with the power they possess. She is very prejudiced against people of the lower class and believes that class determines moral behaviour and values, which she proves to the audience, does not:

‘She was giving herself ridiculous airs. She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.’

This is about how, when Eva asked for help from the Brumley Women’s Charity Organization, Mrs ...

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