Priestlys view on Society in an Inspector Calls
... uk Priestlys view on Society in an Inspector Calls ` I am to comment on how Priestly uses the characters of Arthur and Sheila Birling to represent his own views on society. The play "An Inspector Calls" is set in 1912 but was written in 1945. Edwardian society at that time (1912) was strictly divided into social classes and over two-thirds of the nations wealth was in the hands of less than 1% of the population. ... This is where we meet inspector Goole. ... All of their morals are tested and they are all put to the test because none of them really know the truth about what they have done until the inspector brings it out of them. After the inspector goes the family finds out that he was a fake and that no girl had died. ... The phone rings and someone say Some girl has died on the way to the hospital and an inspector will be on his way round. ... " The upper classes stood a much better chance of survival than the lower classes when it sank, as indeed was the case in society itself. ... Birling immediately appears in a bad light although to be fair his view was that of everyone in 1912 and so he is a stereotype of society then. ... Mr Birling tries to "make everything better" by using his money, "Look inspector, Id give thousands…" I think this may be a "domineering" attitude, because he wants to dominate people, and do all he can to do it, which reflects on how he treats his employees. ... When the inspector asks questions to/about his family, he tries to protect his reputation by acting the innocent to the questions, even though we know, that he knows the answers to the questions, but wont tell them, to protect his reputation. ... I think Sheila is aware of the mystery surrounding the inspector, yet realizes there is no point in hiding the facts from him, which is also a totally different attitude to Birling, because Birling seems to think he can hide the facts, and it will be okay, but Sheila, unlike Birling is not bothered about impairing her reputation, she is only bothered about the suicide. Sheila is amazed that her parents have not learned anything from the episode, and thinks that even though the inspector may be a hoax, I think she is convinced that her parents behaved in an entirely unsuitable manner, the way they were hiding facts, etc.