An Inspector Calls – Essays Graded A
How does Priestley use the Inspector to voice his message on Social Responsibility? ️️Indeed, it
may be said that An Inspector Calls is a play more centered on themes and ideas than one driven by
plot. Hence, Priestley uses a number of devices throug...
How does Priestley use the Inspector to voice his message on Social Responsibility? ✔️✔️Indeed, it
may be said that An Inspector Calls is a play more centered on themes and ideas than one driven by
plot. Hence, Priestley uses a number of devices throughout the text to convey his ideas about social
responsibility - juxtaposition being perhaps one of the more significant strategies employed by Priestley
to highlight his ideas about the community and social responsibility. Thus, when Mr Birling - a
stereotypical construct of Aristocratic English society - presents his monologue about the "unsinkable
Titanic" and the "scaremongers making a fuss about nothing", the audience are immediately made
aware of his ignorance and self-inflated, pompous attitude, thus casting doubt over his capitalist ideas
about "mind[ing] his own business". This, then, is in direct contrast to the Inspector's message on
socialism, further highlighted by the clever timing of the doorbell which is designed not only to unnerve
the audience and the characters, but to create a conflict between Mr Birling and the Inspector.
This conflict between the Inspector and Arthur Birling serves as a powerful dichotomy of ideas -
between capitalism and socialism - and is thus amply exploited by Priestley to highlight both the way
things were in British society during the Pre-World War 1 era, and the immense need for change. This
juxtaposition and power play, thus, add strength to the ideas presented by Priestley. The use of the
Inspector as author surrogate gives further credence to the socialist ideal and is enforced through
Priestley's clever crafting of characters; Birling who is set up as a sanctimonious, arrogant, yet ignorant
fool is juxtaposed by the Inspector - a modest, yet informed individual who represents the common
people; Mrs Birling who is clearly disliked by Priestley himself, is portrayed as an egotistical, uncaring
and self-import
How does Priestley use the character of the inspector to suggest ways that society could be improved?
✔️✔️The inspector is used as a proxy for Priestley and embodies his socialist views to criticise
Edwardian society and perhaps more subtly as a propaganda tool to convince the Upper Middle-class
audiences to vote for the Labour Party.
Priestley uses the Inspector as a dramatic device to shatter the arrogance of the Birling family, who act
as a microcosm of Edwardian society. Priestly utilises the stage directions during the exposition of the
play commanding how the stage directions switch from "pink and intimate" to "brighter and harder".
The adjectives 'pink' and 'intimate' reflect the Birling family's rose coloured, simplistic views of the world
and society, and the switch to 'brighter and harder' acts as a device to foreshadow the arrival of the
inspector and increase the tension of the play. More importantly, this arrival is characterized by the
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