An Inspector Calls- Essays Exam Questions And Answers
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An Inspector Calls- Essays
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An Inspector Calls- Essays
An Inspector Calls- Essays Exam Questions And Answers
How does Priestley use the Inspector to voice his message on Social Responsibility? - answersIndeed, 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...
An Inspector Calls- Essays Exam Questions And
Answers
How does Priestley use the Inspector to voice his message on Social Responsibility? -
answers✔✔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? - answers✔✔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
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