An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls By Katie Cook 10S1 J. B. Priestly was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, 1894. After surviving the First World War, he went on to study literature, history and political science at Bradford and at Cambridge. Priestly wanted to ensure life after the First World War was better than before and he hoped that through his writing he could influence people's ideas and change society. 'An Inspector Calls' is a play set in 1912 about the capitalist Birling family who are visited one night by an Inspector, Inspector Goole, who reveals that a young woman, Eva Smith, has died after swallowing a lot of strong disinfectant. He questions all the Birling family who are all revealed to have played a part in Eva's downward spiral of depression and ultimately, suicide. J. B. Priestly wrote 'An Inspector Calls' in 1945 but deliberately set it in 1912, a time where socialism was often losing out to capitalism. He was particularly concerned about the living conditions of the lower classes, represented by Eva, and the way the upper classes behaved, represented by the Birlings' and Gerald Croft, Sheila Birling's fiancé. Priestly believed that we should all help each other, which is the total opposite from what the Birlings believed. Priestly set the play 33 years after he'd wrote it, this gives the audience a knowledge that the characters don't have. Priestly often uses this
An Inspector Calls
First, I think it is appropriate to discuss the structure, which is apparent throughout the production and also whilst reading the text. In many ways, 'An Inspector Calls' is a 'perfect' play as it has elements that are essential for producing a successful production. Throughout the play there is suspense and quite often, I think, an element of shock at the numerous 'discoveries' at so many different stages in the production. There is consistently the infamous 'whodunnit' factor, which helps to keep the audience interested and excited about the whole production in general. There is also a clear moral message given in the production, perhaps even more than one message. I think that this message is given through the actions of all of the Birlings, but particularly Mr Birling. His 'look after number one' attitude was emphasised at the beginning of the production when he was telling Gerald and Eric about 'the point' in life. So it seems that Priestly's message is that we all live in one community and that it is our duty to help our neighbour. We should not behave like Mr Birling and we should not live in isolation. I think that all of the Birlings are played to behave in the opposite way to this so that we, the audience, can see how stupid and false they look as it is hard to see ourselves like this in everyday life when we are behaving the same. 'An Inspector Calls' is such a
How does Priestly create suspense and tension at the end of act 2 of "An Inspector Calls"?
How does Priestly create suspense and tension at the end of act 2 of "An Inspector Calls"? Ben Davis ~ 10ic ~ Mrs. Wood An Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestly, is the story of the visit by an Inspector to an apparently normal, rich family, the Birlings. They are celebrating Sheila Birling's (Mr. & Mrs. Birlings daughter) engagement to Gerald Croft (A young man who's father owns a large factory and is very well off), who is also present, when the Inspector arrives telling them of the suicide of a young girl called Eva Smith. At first they deny any knowledge of the girl, but as the play goes on the Inspector manages to show that they all helped kill her. Mr. Birling had her fired from his factory for demanding a small increase in wages; Sheila ordered her to be dismissed from her job in a shop simply because of her pride, and she felt that Eva found her appearance humorous when wearing a hat; Gerald Croft kept her as his mistress before leaving her suddenly; Eric Birling (Mr & Mrs Birling's son) also had an affair with the girl and stole money from, his fathers office to keep her living; and Mrs Birling used her influence to deny help to Eva Smith when she needed it most, all of this eventually drove her to suicide. Mr. Birling is a successful factory owner, ex-Lord Mayor of Brumley and a local magistrate. He doesn't take into view the concerns of his workers, and the world
An inspector calls
An Inspector Calls 'The play is a rather simple class play, the middle class being all bad and the working class being all good.' Do you agree with this statement? Discuss. An Inspector Calls is a play set in Edwardian England in the spring of 1912, just before World War 2. The plot of "An Inspector Calls" is about a police inspector who interrupts an elegant engagement dinner to question the family and their guests about an unusual suicide of a young working-class girl called Eva Smith. In 1912, social class was divided into separate classes, working class was one of them. The working women were expected to do long tough days in the factories working by harsh rules and then were still expected to look after the family and do housework. In those times though social class was everything, middle class had power over the working class and the men had power over the women. Eva Smith was a working woman who hadn't had a very fair life, her parents had died, she had no money and when she finally got a decent job she was fired from her work place for asking for a raise. She the afterwards got a new job in Milwards, where she had it slightly easier until Shelia Birling got her fired from there. Arthur Burling is the main man in the Burling family, and seems to control it, i.e. whatever he says goes. Mr. Burling has a selfish attitude towards life, and he seems to only care for
An inspector calls - An introduction
An inspector calls The play "An Inspector calls" was written by J.B. Priestly in 1945. It was set in a Midland Industrial town in 1912. The plot of this dramatic play is based around a visit by an inspector to an apparently normal and well-respected family. All the characters are affected by the death of Eva Smith, but Sheila Birling shows the greatest remorse and changes the most. In this essay, I will discuss how Sheila changes during the play and her role in the death of Eva Smith. I am also going to briefly discuss about the other characters. In the play "An Inspector calls", each character reacts differently. Mr Birling, Sheila's father is arrogant and outspoken about his self-centred beliefs of the world "a man has to mind his own business and look after his own." He is less vocal as the inspector starts questioning them and appears somehow ashamed as the story develops. His involvement In Eva Smiths' case is that he sacked her from a job she needed dearly. The inspector mentions that this plays a part in her suicide. However at the end, when the inspector departs he returns to his old self, choosing to ignore the inspector's lesson. He puts it aside stating the fact that Goole was a "hoax". He is only concerned on how it might have Affected his knighthood. Lady Birling, is the most reluctant to admit her guilt in the girl's Death. She is portrayed as
An Inspector Calls.
An Inspector Calls: G.C.S.E English Literature Coursework 'An Inspector calls' is a book set in 1912, 2 years before the First World War, but was actually written and performed in 1945 at the end of the world war. Although 'An Inspector calls' is a piece of entertainment. It carried many deliberate messages and a warning. It also reflected J.B Priestley's thoughts and ideas on the world. J.B Priestley was a socialist. He believed in socialism. A political system where wealth was shared equally among people and the main big industries and trade were owned by the Government. After the Second World War, there was a great atmosphere in England. England had just won the Second World War! There were two things that J.B priestly was aware of: . The First World War had passed. Many people had died against Germany. All to see who was the best country. And England had won that one. But after just nearly three decades, we were back at war with Germany again. 2. Again we had won the Second World War and people were happy. A new socialist government had come in. Everyone was happy about this too. J.B Priestley wanted to warn people to be careful. It seemed that everyone was being too naive and were being too busy being happy. He didn't want another world war. As a result, he decided to write a challenging play that would get people thinking. He wanted the audience to leave thinking a
an Inspector Calls
AN INSPECTOR CALLS An Inspector calls is a play written by JB Priestly .The main reason why the inspector came to visit the Birlings was to teach them that we are all part of a community and what we do can affect other people in certain ways ,this is why he says "We do not live alone .we are members of one body .We are responsible for each other". In the play the inspector says this because he sees that each member of the family helped kill Eva Smith in some sort of way. Priestley's main concerns was to alert the audience about how their actions could affect other people .The reason the dates 1912 and 1945 are important is that in 1912 that is the year the play was set and in the 1945 that is when it was first performed, many things happened between 1912 and 1945 and of them is that the titanic sank and there was a war , JB Priestley did this in his play so that the audience would be involved in the play by knowing what the characters in the play didn't know yet , he did this by using dramatic irony which was a very useful element in the play . The genre Inspector calls belongs to is a kind of detective, mystery play that ends up getting twisted in the end . The use of dramatic irony early in the play is very useful in a way that it gets the audience involved in the play too. Dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of a literature have a
An inspector calls
G.C.S.E. English Literatures Assignment An Inspector Calls By: J.B. Priestley Priestley structures his play to ensure that it ends on a note of high drama. How does he ensure the audience feels this tension in the final scene of the play? The play of "An inspector calls" takes place in the dining-room of the Birlings house in Brumley, an industrial city in the north Midlands. It is an evening in spring 1912. The play is about an inspector who goes to the Birling family's house about the death of a young girl called Eva smith/Daisy Renton who has just committed suicide. His name is Inspector Goole, and he went to Birling house to investigate about this girl that committed suicide. The girl drank some strong disinfectant and burned her insides out. The inspector starts questioning by disturbing a family celebration. The family's name is the Birling. They were celebrating the engagement of there daughter Sheila Birling who was getting engaged to a man called Gerald Croft. They were both rich and upper class family. The characters in "An inspector calls" are; Arthur Birling and Sybil Birling (parents of Sheila and Eric). Sheila Birling and Eric Birling are (children of Mr Birling and Mrs Birling). Gerald croft is the (fiancé of Sheila). Edna is the (worker of Birling house). At the rise of the curtain, the four Birlings and Gerald are seated around at the table and
An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls The play 'An Inspector calls' was written by J.B Priestley in 1945 and is set on an evening in spring, in 1912. This is significant because it would give the audience an underlying sense of unease by the ironic references to the impossibility of war, which of course followed in 1914, and to the progress mankind is making, as represented by the Titanic, which sank after hitting an iceberg. At the beginning of January, when Priestley had just finished writing his script, there were no London theatres available, so Priestley sent the script to Moscow, where it was produced simultaneously in two theatres in 1945. It was then produced in London, the following year, at the New Theatre on the 1st October 1946. This was possible because in 1944 the tide of World War 2 had just changed in favour of the British, so the Old Vic Company (the company who presented the play in London), were able to move back to London because there were no longer any air raids. This play is set out in 3 Acts. The main setting of the play, the Birling's dining-room, in their fictional home in Brumley, an industrial city in the North Midlands, is constant throughout. The main themes in this play are that of Women's rights, class and social responsibility. At first, the genre of the play seems to be that of a simple, detective thriller; however, after seeing the involvement of all the
An Inspector Calls
Explore the Dramatic Techniques Used by J.B. Priestly in Act 3 of "An Inspector Calls" to Convey his Concerns and Ideas to the Audience, as well as Interest and Involve Them in his Play. What Does This Reveal About the Birling Family and Their Society? J.B. Priestly has many concerns, but his main concerns whilst writing this play were to influence the public to take up a more socialistic approach to life. This was his concern because although the play was set in 1912, before the First World War, it was written in the 1940's after the two World Wars had taken place and he knew the outcome of the events that were mentioned during the play. For example, in Act 1, Birling says that the Titanic is "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable," but as we all know, the Titanic, which sailed about 18 months after this was said, sank near to eastern United States within transatlantic waters. Furthermore, the `Inspector` provides a key role in attempting to transform the Birlings from self-superiority, down to modesty and being humble. This effect eventually took place on some members of the family. After the first two acts, we, as the audience, have been left with many mind-boggling situations, such as: Why was the `Inspector's` attitude the way it was? Who did what? And why? How did the `Inspector` know everything? What has all this got to do with a girl committing suicide? Priestly
