1st draft How does J B Priestly use the characters in Act Three of An Inspector Calls to explore the theme of social responsibility.

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1st draft        How does J B Priestly use the characters in Act Three of An                                                                                                         _        Inspector Calls to explore the theme of social responsibility

By Chris Butler

        

        Guilt is not the major issue put forward in the play. The major issue is
how class-conscious England has been put forward in the play and how the
Capitalists and Socialists are shown. Birling is a ruthless industrialist who
worked extremely hard to make his money. Birling is almost the stereotype/caricature of the capitalistic businessman.

        As Eric re-enters the dining room the atmosphere is very tense and distressing. It is now clear to the audience why the Inspector chose his interrogation method- encouraging Mrs Birling to tell him how to punish the person who did it.

 “The young man who got this girl into trouble”

And how “He should be made an example of”        

It is only after Mrs. Birling has finished saying that sentence that she realises that Eric is the ‘young man’ and she is utterly shocked and appalled that Eric could do such a thing, as well as worried what impression Gerald is getting, Gerald’s opinion is very important to Mrs. Birling as he is from a socially superior background.

        As Eric retells his story Mr and Mrs Birling are shocked to learn that Eric drinks heavily where as Sheila appears to have know for a few months. This shows just how close the parents are to their children.

 “No, that’s not fair, Eric I could have told her months ago but of course I didn’t.”

The audience would not see any thing wrong with Eric’s drinking habit as they could afford to drink, and they would have realised at the end of Act One as they watched Eric slowly getting more and more drunk.

        Whilst Eric retells the story he asks for another drink which his father denies, but the Inspector overrules and allows him to get another drink, maybe to calm him down. But in my opinion it is to loosen his tongue a little more, (as he is already on the drunken side) into just blurting the truth out rather than thinking.

Mr and Mrs Birling are understandably upset, by his story as they no longer can trust him. He steals money, drinks and sleeps with strangers of a lower class.  I think Sheila is closer to her brother and knows that he does drink but is shocked to hear that he thinks he can mistreat a girl and steals money for his own parents who would have probably lent him some money. The Inspector Listens carefully, asking more questions to get a fuller picture, or if he knows that Eric is holding back some information.

        The socialists in the audience would be shocked that the whole family could do something so unpleasant to a girl for such trivial reasons such as smiling as if mocking Sheila, or wanting an increase in wages from twenty-two and six to twenty-five shillings! Whereas some (probably most) of the audience would see it from Mr. Birlings point of view, and totally agree what they did was completely justified.

        As the Inspector is drawing his investigation to a close he addresses the family, he is less stern towards Sheila than to Mr Birling because Sheila is showing remorse for what she has done and wishes that she had not. Where as Mr Birling is goes back to what he was saying in Act One before Inspector Goole entered.

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 “A man has to make his own way, has to look after himself and his family too, of course.”

 He is blaming every one else for what has happened. He also says things like

 “You helped – but didn’t start it. (Rather savagely, to Mr Birling) You started it.”

 Birling is still thinking like a businessman this is evident when he says things like

 “There’s every excuse for what both your mother and I did – it turns out unfortunately, that’s all”

This is another way that J B Priestly gets across his opinions

 He is still ...

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