An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An tester CallsAn Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley is a form about an testerquestioning a family about the suicide of Eva Smith. At the beginningof the behave the logrolling are celebrating the engagement of Sheila andGerald. They are interrupted by Inspector Goole who informs them thatan Eva Smith has committed suicide. The Birling family all deny aninvolvement but Inspector Goole manages to piece together the factsthat in some way they were all involved in her death. When InspectorGoole leaves they all question whether he was a real inspector or not.Gerald, who had left the house, comes back with the information thathe wasnt a real inspector after all. Then at the very end of the playthe Birling family receive a telephone call that an Eva Smith has justcommitted suicide and an inspector will be coming to question them.John Boynton Priestley was on of the most popular, versatile andimportant authors of his day. Although he never wrote a bona fidemasterpiece his work was still hi ghly valued. he wrote sixteen novelsbut it was as a playwright and political/social thinker that Priestleywas especially important. Politically Priestley was a patrioticsocialist and he was passionately disposed of the need for social diverseness to benefit the poor. During World War II his weekly broadcastsexpressed his faith in ordinary people and he felt that An InspectorCalls helped labour develop the election after the war (1945). As asocialist Priestley believed that we are all responsible for eachother.I think that Priestley has written this play to convince people thathis views as a socialist are correct. The fact he wrote the play in1945 yet set the play in 1912 was so he could make the ideas of Mr.Birling seem ridiculous with the use of hindsight. Mr. Birling talksabout how there wont be a war, no problems with worker relations andhow hearty the Titanic is. All of Birlings ideas are shot downbecause there was a war with Germany, there was a general strike andthe Titanic sank on its foremost voyage. In turn this makes theInspectors and Priestleys ideas of socialism seem correct.Priestley also wrote this play to make people realise that they areresponsible for their own actions. Some of the characters in the playdo not accept the fact that they were partly responsible for the deathof Eva Smith. Eric and Sheila knew they had done wrong and regrettedtheir part in her death. Sheila says,And I know Im to blame-and Im desperately sorry.This indicates that Sheila wants to variety show her ways.