J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

Inspector Calls –Coursework â€Å"An inspector calls† is considered a mystery play and is intended to force the audience to think about themselves and the society in which they live. However, it is written in an entertaining way. The play is set in 1912. This is two years before the First World War. The play was written in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. Priestly wanted society to learn from its mistakes. In 1912 there had been rigid class divisions, women were considered inferior and working conditions for the poor were often unbearable. At the end of the First World War, life did not improve much. Priestly was concerned that people should learn from the mistakes of the First World War. He felt that people should learn to look after one another. After the Second World War there were signs of change-Priestly felt that people should make the most of these changes and build a more caring society and welfare state. Mr Birling is a central character because he is the type of person Priestly wanted to teach a lesson. He is too concerned about his social standing, business interests and is totally selfish. He believes a man has to â€Å"look after number one† and â€Å"make his own way†. Mr Birling’s physical appearance is he is â€Å"heavy looking†; he is a man in his 50’s with good manners but rather narrow minded in his speech. He believes he is always right and every action him and his business do are the best that could have been done. He also believes that he works for the good of his family. He is heavy looking because he would stand out in a crowd with a big grey beard and I can imagine Mr Birling being overweight. Mr Birling likes to be in control. He likes to think he is the dominant force of the family. Maybe sometimes he is a bit too controlling. Sometimes he can be very bossy: â€Å"Give us the port Edna†. Often he acts like a snob. He thinks that men are superior to women and thinks he and his family are upper class. He treats women like he cannot trust them. Respect is something that he lacks to lower class people. The characters behave to him differently. His wife and children respect him and do not stand up to him: â€Å"just let me finish Eric!† The inspector does not treat him the same at all. Just because he is upper class the inspector speaks to him a normal person. This gives me the impression that the inspector feels that everyone should be treated