An Inspector Calls
To the casual reader, the play An Inspector Calls may appear to be just like any other typical dramatic mystery, but when examined in the context of the time and the beliefs and motivations of the author, it actually serves as a message for social change.Priestley's goal in the play is to ensure that life after the war is better than before and he hoped that through his writing he could influence people's ideas and help to change society for the better. Although he wrote an Inspector Calls in 1945, just a week after the end of the Second World War, he deliberately set the play in 1912, a time which represented the sort of society people thought better left in the past. The message of the play would be particularly effective on the audiences of the mid 1940s. Priestley expresses his message directly to the war-weary audiences of the era without a thought to its staying power. The "fire and blood and anguish" reference to the First and Second World Wars would be very easily related to by his target audience. These were a people that had experienced the horrors of war and were not eager at the prospect of a repeat. Priestley hoped that they would follow his message and he could somehow play a small part in the prevention of any fur
In the play, the Birlings are wealthy middle class landowners and proprietors of a large factory that was built up by Mr. A stark contrast to the beliefs unknowingly held by the Birlings. Once the Inspector exposed his underlying message, Eric seems to obtain a very clear understanding of the principle of that message and attempts to assist Sheila in the effort to make the older Birlings come to the same realization. Husband and wife were regarded as one, with the woman the "possession" of the man. He uses the inspector to symbolize the principles of a nation, and through him, challenges each of the characters in their representations of social class. Like Sheila, Eric is a character whose ideals change considerable as the play moves on. He has hopes of obtaining a Knighthood due to his service as a magistrate and as Lord Mayor, which he sees as his opportunity to climb the social ladder to the lower rungs of the aristocracy. If nothing else, we'll have to share our guilt," and that "Public men have responsibilities as well as privileges" to which Birling replies ". Priestley wants the audience to learn from the mistakes of the Birlings. Moving from one section of the class system to another was frowned upon by those in power. Women at that time were seen as being delicate, fragile, and obedient to men, this being their husbands and fathers. As such, a woman had no legal control over her person, her own land and money, or her children. This was viewed as an acceptable caring role that fitted with the idealized views of the time of women as mothers and caregivers.
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Acceptance Essays
