A Person That Believed in Social Responsibility

Preistley wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ for many reasons. He was classed as a socialist, a person that believed in social responsibility, that everyone should look out for one another, in a world that was still in turmoil and chaos from the recent world wars. Priestley experienced world war one and world war two. He unfortunately lost many friends and saw terrible things, things that he believed could have been avoided if there was a smaller gap between the classes. He wrote the play in an attempt to warn the world that a lack of social responsibility could have dire consequences. This is pointed out later in the play when the inspector rants about all of the John and Eva Smiths, and how if the Birlings do not change thir ways they can look forwards to nothing but ‘Fire and Blood and Anguish’, an emotive triplet, which includes the repetition of the word ’and’ for added emphasis upon this vital point, which further conveys Priestleys’ views.

  The opening of a play is important as it has to set the scene, whilst also introducing the characters and themes. In ‘An Inspector Calls’ the introduction to the play shows the characters and their relationships with one another, and some of the reoccurring themes of the play (an example of which would be tension or appearance and reality). The play must grip the audiences attention within the first scene, and then finish with a major point or cliffhanger to the plot. This forces the audience to pay attention from the beginning, not giving them a moment to distract themselves and miss some of Priestley’s points, and at the end allows the audience to dwell upon the meanings of the hidden morals in the play, possibly converting strong minded capitalists of the day into a sudden realisation of social responsibility. This would then send a positive message to all, inspiring hope into the lower classes and consience into capitalists, which I believe was Priestley’s ultimate aim.

  The setting of the play is conveyed through...