An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Essay -- Inspector Calls Priestle

An Inspector Calls by J.B. PriestleyAn Inspector Calls, by J.B. Priestly, is the story of the visit by anInspector to an seemingly normal family, the Birlings. They arecelebrating Sheila Birlings engagement to Gerald Croft, who is alsopresent, when the Inspector arrives telling them of the suicide of ayoung girl called Eva metalworker. At first they deny any experience of thegirl, but as the map goes on the Inspector manages to show that theyall helped kill her. Mr Birling had her dismissed from his particularory fordemanding a small increase in wages Sheila ordered her to bedismissed from her job in a shop simply because of her pride GeraldCroft kept her as his mistress before expiration her suddenly EricBirling (Mr & Mrs Birlings son) also had an affair with the girl andstole money to keep her living and Mrs Birling used her influence todeny help to Eva Smith when she needed it most, driving her tosuicide.After the Inspectors visit we can see which of the characters havelearn ed their lesson from what the Inspector has said and which aresteadfastly clinging to their old beliefs. The differing attitudesbetween the fourth-year and younger characters are shown by theirconversations following the Inspectors departure.It is Birlings speech in Act 1 that sets the scene for the action inthe play. Birling is confidently talking to Eric and Gerald or so whathe thinks about the future. He thinks of everything in business terms(for example, he says to Gerald that he hopes that his firm andGeralds fathers will become partners) and also is a man who thinksthat a man should make his own way in life and does not believe inliving in a community. He disregards the people who vaticinate thisphilos... ...ia and the Germans invaded Belgium, sending Britain and Franceinto battle. The result was a hellish war in which millions died. Hadthe countries been able to live together then there would not havebeen a war. The fact that the play was written in the midst of theSecond World War suggests that Priestly was saying that the lessons ofwhat happened in the First World War had not been learned.In summary, An Inspector Calls details the differing attitudes of theBirling family to the events leading to Eva Smiths death and how theyaccept the responsibility for their actions. The older characters aretoo rigid to change but the younger ones are able to see their faultsand accept what they have done is wrong. The play also reflectsvarious cultural, social and historical, which reflect on the timeboth in which the play is set in and when it was written.