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 manifestly normal family, the Birlings. They atomic number 18celebrating Sheila Birlings engagement to Gerald Croft, who is alsopresent, when the Inspector arrives telling them of the self-annihilation of ayoung girl called Eva Smith. At first they deny all knowledge of thegirl, but as the play goes on the Inspector manages to state that theyall helped kill her. Mr Birling had her dismissed from his factory fordemanding a minor(ip) increase in wages Sheila ordered her to bedismissed from her air in a shop simply because of her pride GeraldCroft kept her as his mistress before leaving her suddenly EricBirling (Mr & Mrs Birlings son) also had an mapping with the girl andstole money to keep her living and Mrs Birling use her influence todeny help to Eva Smith when she needed it most, driving her tosuicide. later on the Inspectors visit we can see which of the characters selectlearned their lesson from what the Inspector has say and which aresteadfastly clinging to their old beliefs. The differing attitudesbetween the older and younger characters are shown by theirconversations following the Inspectors departure.It is Birlings speech in Act 1 that sets the look for the action inthe play. Birling is confidently talking to Eric and Gerald about 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 flock who preach 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 o f the indorsement macrocosm 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 leadership to Eva Smiths death and how they learn the responsibility for their actions. The older characters aretoo exacting to change but the younger ones are able to see their faultsand accept what they have done is wrong. The play also echosvarious cultural, social and historical, which reflect on the timeboth in which the play is set in and when it was written.