Would You Agree That the Play Is One Big Metaphor?

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Stephanie Boot  10G     Mr. Vernon

Would you agree that the play is one big metaphor?

        

(Minimum 1500 words)

A metaphor is where you take an object and compare it with something else, either being another object or an idea. A metaphor can be simply one-liners, such as “the evening of a lifetime,” “the river of time,” or “food for thought”. They can also entail many ideas, all carefully structured to give the impression or concept of something else. A metaphor is a figure of speech that goes further than a simile, either by saying that something behaves or appears in a certain way that it could be described, using a shared quality, it also adds a new meaning.

        Shakespeare used a lot of metaphors and similes in his plays and monologues and one of his best is “All the worlds a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…”

        In my opinion, the play, “An Inspector Calls” is a very good example of an extended metaphor, which is carefully written to put over a point of view in a clever and imaginative way. Priestley uses the role of an Inspector and how he associates with the middle class Birling family, a higher level respectively of society, as a metaphor of how the social classes related in the early 20th century. The middle classes show no sign of a conscience with regards to the lower classes, there is also a great sense of superiority. A conscience is an inner voice that tells us whether we have done right or wrong, so social conscience is the way we treat and react with one another among the population.

        The author, J.B. Priestley first produced the play in 1944, but the actual play is set in 1912. In 1928 women first got the vote, but before that they were just ornaments, they couldn’t work, couldn’t vote and had to rely on a man to look after them financially, the only thing that women could have going for them was good looks. If a woman wasn’t pretty before this time, they would have a poor quality of life. This drama portrays how the middle classes related around that time, how they used the power that wealth brought them and how they reacted to social issues.

        The play concerns an Inspector calling round to a middle-class house and interrupting a celebration with news of a suicide. One by one, he interviews each family member and makes them realise that how they behave can have great effects on other people and tries to give them a lesson on moral values, on how they have acted. Deep secrets arise, causing conflicts between them and changes relationships and how they think of one another.

        Once the Inspector has gone, the family discusses their suspicions of him being a phoney and, after making a few phone calls to confirm this, they come to a conclusion that he is a hoax.

        The poor girl Eva Smith/Daisy Renton lived a poor life. Nothing ever went right for her, through no fault of her own, each episode was more devastating than the last. The victim must have had dreams and ambitions of living a high-class life, but everything she tried eventually failed. Eva represents the powerless figures in society. The influence that one rich family had was amazing! Power is gained where there is money and the Birling family oppressed the girl in question economically, sexually, stripped her until there was nothing left. As she has no money, she has no power in the community; therefore she is a no one. But, she knows her place in society and was very noble. You can have all the money in the world, but you can’t buy the self-respect that Eva has. Inspector – “So she’d come to you for assistance because she didn’t want to take stolen money.” This shows the girl had knowledge of right and wrong. She took what life threw at her and tried to make the best of things, but after a while, they started to build up and she had to break. Her way out was suicide, a bottle of bleach to end her misery.

        Her first downfall was when Mr. Birling sacked her form working in his factory. All she wanted was higher wages, for her and her co-workers, but her proposal was immediately refused. A wealthy man like Birling wouldn’t have missed a few shillings, but he was more determined to look after his own interests. All the workers had gone on strike for nearly a week but soon returned for the same wage, but Mr. Birling got-rid of the ringleaders, as he couldn’t afford it to happen again and he doesn’t like the influence she had over his staff. Arthur used his power and authority to sack the girl just because she didn’t have enough wage and wanted a raise. The saying goes, “If you don’t ask…” but just because Eva asked, she got laid off.         The way Birling sees it, if you ask for more, you are a traitor to your country, you opposing progress, stir up trouble and create unwanted publicity.

The character Birling is a shows no sympathy. Arthur is very confident and I believe that is a good thing but as long as it does not verge on arrogance. He sees himself as a “hard-headed business man” (Page 6). They family are what some people would call “Noveau Riche” (New money). His main ambition in life was to drag the Birlings up in the aristocracy, wants them to be socially accepted. Mr. Birling is hoping for a knighthood and sees everything in business terms. Birling even sees his daughter’s engagement as a wise investment for the future, “You’ve brought us together, and perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices.” (Page 4). “You’re just the son-in-law I’ve always wanted” (Page 4). Of course he is, a profit can be made from it. Part way through this speech Sheila is inattentive and has to be reminded to concentrate on what her father is saying, as she is more interested in her ring and sits there marvelling at it, “Oh! Its wonderful!” Sheila is probably used to her Father putting the world to right and doesn’t agree with what he is saying. Birling’s ideas and philosophies are total ludicrous and most of the time he is totally wrong!

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He is a snob and wants everything to evolve around him. He evolves around money and believes that money should evolve around him, but, in reality, he is a pompous prat and doesn’t have a clue. He talks to Eric and Gerald with airs and graces about how this is “a very good time/A time of steadily increasing prosperity,” He believes that they are living in the heart of technological advances and uses the Titanic as an example of this. How wrong could he be? Birling describes the great ship as being “Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable,” (Page 6). This shows how ...

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