BOOKREPORT "An Inspector Calls" by J.B. Priestley Short plot summary: The play deals with an inspector‚ named Goole‚ who arrives by the Birling family‚ who is celebrating Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft. He tells about Eva Smith’s suicide. After lots of questions it turns out that they are all more or less responsible for this tragically death and after the inspector left they find out that he wasn’t a real inspector and that no girl died. The play opens with the engagement celebration
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All of the characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ are in some way responsible for the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. Eric Birling is described as ‘not quite at ease‚ half shy‚ half assertive’. He seems embarrassed and awkward from the start. The very first mention of Eric in the script is that he guffaws and he is unable to explain why he is laughing. This may mean he is nervous about something. It is soon clear that he is a heavy drinker when Gerald admits‚ “I have gathered that he does drink pretty
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he was not responsible for Eva Smith’s death. Mrs. Birling had almost a 100 percent mirror of Mr. Birling except that she flexes her muscles as head of the charity organization to refuse help to Eva Smith. She felt that it was impertinent of Eva to call herself Mrs Birling. Furthermore‚ she was a liar (as her children soon found out) as she had refused to acknowledge the photo of Eva and was adamant about not having met her. However after repeated questioning‚ she admitted that Eva had came to her
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of the false sense of security amongst the characters and consequently the audience. Originally the characters feel secure because they feel that Eva’s death had nothing to do with them. In particular Mr and Mrs Birling’ s nature is one in which they only believe what they want to‚ rather than looking at the facts‚ " I don’t believe it. I wont." However as the act continues‚ as Sheila has previously predicted‚ the inspector is ’breaking down the walls’ that Mrs Birling has set up between her and Eva
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don’t think we can help you much”. She says this before hearing anything the inspector has to say. This shows that she doesn’t have any interest in what it is that she has been told and that she doesn’t think she has done anything wrong. Mrs Birling’s reaction makes her disliked by the audience as the play moves on as she never takes responsibility for her actions and denies she has done anything wrong. When the inspector tells Mrs Birling that the girl was pregnant she tries to pass on any blame
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To what extent is “An Inspector calls” a socialist play? J.B Priestley uses his play as tool to get across his message of socialism. Priestley was a well known socialist and so would obviously want to express his views in some way. Priestley uses “AIC” to convey his views on capitalism and socialism: he uses the Inspector and some of the other characters as his mouthpiece of socialism‚ and uses some of the more arrogant and ugly characters to represent capitalism. Priestley would obviously be
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An Inspector Calls‚ by J.B. Priestley‚ is set in Brumley‚ England; ‘an industrial city in the North Midlands’ (p.XIV). The play starts at the dinner table one evening in Spring‚ 1912. The Birling’ s were celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila to Gerald. Their ‘large suburban house’ and ‘good solid furniture’ (p.1) shows the Birling’ s high living standards. At the dinner table‚ Mr.Birling is sitting ’at one end‚’ and Mrs.Birling ’at the other’ (p.1). This shows that Mrs.Birling has a
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J.B Priestley wrote the play an inspector calls to promote capitalism and socialism. He portrayed his and opposing political views through the different characters. Although his play was written in 1945‚ he chose to set it in 1912. He set the play in this particular era as the date represented an era where all was different to when he was writing. At the start of the play‚ Sheila is described as being dressed in an evening dress‚ a "pretty girl in her early twenties‚ very pleased with life and
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An Inspector Calls is saturated with the theme of responsibility. Throughout the play by J.B. Priestley‚ various forms of responsibility are used to act as a source of tension. These include the character’s reaction to blame and the shifting of it‚ testing the reactions of each character to its fullest extent. Creating a simulation where the readers‚ Priestley’s so called new generation‚ has a possibility of encountering. The inspector is a representation of an authoritive figure of the law‚ the
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How is the theme of responsibility Explored in ‘An Inspector Calls?’ There are many theme in the play in ’An Inspector Calls. This was written by J.B.Priestley on 1945 and set on 1912. The play begins with the engagement party of Sheila and Gerald. Sheila is the daughter of Birlings’‚ who own a successful business. During the party an Inspector comes and started to enquire about a woman who has just committed suicide. From the course of the play we know that each members of the Birling family
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