...marry him because he didn’t love her. He gave her fifty pounds which he stole from Mr Birlings office, to support her. Eric’s relationship with Eva Smith was very demanding a they used each other and they also didn’t treat each other it respect. When Mr Birling asks where the fifty pounds came from, Eric denied that he took it from his MR Birlings office. When his father asks him why he didn’t just ask him for help, Eric replies that he’s not the “kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.” The Inspector leadingly asks Eric if the girl found out that his money had been stolen, and Eric says that she had and that she refused to see him afterward, but then he asks how the Inspector had known that. Eric turns to his mother to blame her for the girl’s suicide and begins to threaten her. The Inspector states that he does not need to know any more, and reminds the family that each member is responsible for the death of Eva Smith. He tells them to never forget it. Mr. Birling offers the Inspector a bribe of thousands of pounds, but the Inspector refuses it. The Inspector deduces a moral from the investigation—though Eva Smith has gone, there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths still alive, who have hopes and suffering and aspirations, and who are all implicated in what we think say and do. He insists that everyone is responsible for each other, and then walks out. The Inspector speaks in the vein of the people...
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...'Inspector Goole is little more than a staging device to explore the sins of the major characters.' Discuss the role of the Inspector in the play. Is he more than just a staging device? Below is a possible answer to this question. It is not a model answer, and has several things wrong with it, but it would achieve a grade A if it was entered as a piece of English literature coursework. Read through the answer and see if you can understand why it should gain an A. Here are the criteria it needs to match: • sustained knowledge of text • structured response to task • personal involvement/empathy • appropriate comment on meaning/style • effective use of reference/supporting textual detail Specific criteria for 20th Century drama: • explore dramatic effects of character and action • use detail to explore effects of dramatic devices and structures • explore relevance of aspects of the social/historical setting of text Response Describing Inspector Goole as a staging device implies that he is not a character in his own right but exists simply as a way of exploring the personalities and lives of other, more fully rounded, characters. Whilst it is true that An Inspector Calls would not work without Inspector Goole's central role, it reduces him a little to call him 'just' a staging device. In order to understand the full significance of Inspector Goole, it is worth exploring how his primary role works and then looking at what further significance...
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...An Inspector Calls - Key Scene/Turning Point/ Theme A major theme in the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J. B. Priestley is that of responsibility. The author’s message in the play is that society is interdependent and that we are each responsible for the welfare of all its members. He develops this theme through the experiences of the family of a wealthy, influential and ambitious industrialist, Arthur Birling. To understand the significance of the key scene and its relationship to the theme we must first set the scene in context. The stage directions at the beginning of the play describe the Birlings as ‘pleased with themselves’. At first sight they have good reason to be: Arthur Birling is expecting to be knighted in the next honours list and his daughter, Sheila, is engaged to be married to the son of another wealthy and titled industrialist. This appeals not only to Mr Birling’s social class aspirations, but also to his capitalist values of ‘lower costs and higher profits’ through a potential merger. The key scene occurs as Mr Birling is lecturing his son, Eric, and future son-in- law, Gerald on the nature of society: . . .a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own. His point of view is self- centred and entirely the opposite of the responsibility Priestley wishes his audience to adopt. As Mr Birling utters these words the Inspector of the title calls to show the Birlings that this attitude is both wrong and immoral. The...
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...Question: Act II ends with Mrs. Birling finally weakening. What is the cause of this? How does the Inspector trap her into condemning her own son? At the end of act two, Mrs. Birling realises that the Inspector knows a lot about all of the family. She realises that if she lies to him he will already know the correct answer and will know she is lying. Also after hearing everybody else's story before hers she is probably quite shocked and thinks that her story won't be of any significance. However she could not be more wrong. She tells the Inspector how a girl, who tried to call herself Mrs. Birling, came to her institute for help but she turned her away because she didn't believe the girl and told her that she was lying and she didn't have time for her. After Mrs. Birling explains her story to the Inspector he tells her that the girl wasn’t lying and then asks Mrs. Birling who she thinks was to blame. At this point to audience are starting to work out that it was in fact Eric that had got the young girl pregnant, but Mrs. Birling does not yet know this. In answer to the Inspectors question Mrs. Birling says that who ever got the girl pregnant was definitely to blame and gave a number of reasons why. The Inspector continues to ask questions about why Mrs. Birling thinks that the boy who got Eva Smith pregnant is to blame. Finally Sheila realises that Eric is the reason for the pregnancy and starts telling her mother to stop. But Mrs. Birling is stubborn and doesn’t listen....
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...development and Priestley’s intentions for An Inspector Calls. Mr. Birling is a large pompous man in his mid fifties, a successful business man and the father of the Birling family. Throughout the play, Mr. Birling is shown by Priestley to be a narrow minded and unjust character. His uncaring view towards factory workers and cold-heartedness both contribute to Eva Smith’s death – who symbolises many other women who, like her, live in poverty and are treated unfairly by the upper-classes. Mr Birling on the other hand symbolises self-serving and materialistic Capitalism. This is demonstrated when Mr. Birling says ‘A man has to make his own way – has to look after himself’. Mr. Birling was not born...
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...An Inspector Calls When we are first introduced to Inspector Goole, he gives us the impression of being a very imposing figure. We can see this with one of his first stage directions “(cutting through, massively)”. Not only does the inspector permit himself to interrupt Mr. Birling, who is an important figure in society, but also does so massively. By using this adverb, J.B. Priestley creates an overpowering, imposing, and important image of the inspector, also emphasizing the power that the inspector already has over Arthur Birling. Secondly, the inspector manages to contradict Birling’s orders, imposing his own rules in their house. When Arthur Birling tells Sheila to “run along”, the inspector imposes himself and says, “(n) o, wait a minute, Miss Birling.” Once again, this quote has connotations of authority and superiority, encouraging the reader to understand how much importance to give to this man. Knowing that, during the time the play was set in, women weren’t as respected as they are now, this quote could also be controversial. First of all, Inspector Goole disrespects Mr Birling, who is the man of the house, by making his own daughter disobey his rules. Furthermore he speaks politely to Sheila unlike her mother, who calls her a child (on p 185), and calls her Miss Birling, which is a sign of respect. Finally, when the Inspector, with the help of a stage direction, says “(impressively): I’m a police inspector, Miss Birling.” The use of this adverb brings a lot of power...
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...Classwork 29/04/2016 An Inspector Calls Mock Exam 1. How does JB Priestley create mood and atmosphere for an audience here? JB Priestley creates mood and atmosphere through a variety of literary techniques, used throughout the extract. The stage directions on the first line state that Birling speaks to Gerald 'confidentially' which suggests that he lowers his tone, and is about to say something shocking. For the audience, having Mr Birling lower his voice, and speak to Gerald in a confidential manner creates a tense mood and atmosphere, as the audience feel that they are being privy to something that should be contempt from knowing. The fact that Mr Birling speaks to Gerald in a confidential manner shows the audience that he is trying to be dissumulative from the women in the household, which in turn creates a tense mood and atmosphere. A few lines down, this tense mood and atmoshphere is reinforced when Mr Birling blatently belittles Gerald and undermines his social standing. He informs Gerald that his mother, "Lady Croft", feels that Gerald has, "done better for himself socially." We know that Gerald feels embarassed by this, as the stage directions state that Gerald feels "RATHER EMBARRASSED". The reaction from the audience at this point in the play would be one of sympathy for Gerald and contempt for Mr Birling, which will be further reinforced later on in Mr Birlings speech, when he states that he is recieving "just a knighthood." The fact that Mr Birling talks about a knighthood...
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...An Inspector Calls is a parable on the responsibility of the individual toward one’s fellow beings, and it succeeds in spite of its heavy-handed sermonizing. Arthur Birling and his family are celebrating their daughter Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft. This will also merge two corporate competitors, resulting in higher profits. Priestley relies on the audience’s knowledge of recent events to color Birling’s optimism with irony as he extols the wonders of the Titanic, which is about to set sail into a world that will avoid war. These ironies also foreshadow the impending disaster about to strike the Birlings when Inspector Goole unexpectedly arrives. True to his name, the inspector resembles a ghoul as he glares at the family, relentlessly repeating his message that a young woman has killed herself by drinking disinfectant. The details of the woman’s hideous and painful death are described repeatedly as Goole methodically reveals how each member of this respectable family was partly responsible for her untimely death. Birling fired her for requesting a small raise. In a spoiled rage, Sheila Birling insisted she be fired from her next job. After Croft had an affair with the girl, she picked up with a wild young man who left her alone and pregnant. Mrs. Birling used her influence to deny the girl charity, contending that the “unknown father” should be found. The drunken father is her own son, Eric. The inspector condemns them all for their part in this tragic suicide. It...
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...ways he writes? (30 marks) Birling: (jovially) But the whole thing's different now. Come, come, you can see that, can't you? (Imitating Inspector in his final speech.) You all helped to kill her. (pointing at Sheila and Eric, and laughing.) and I wish you could have seen the look on your faces when he said that. // Sheila moves towards door.// Going to bed, young woman? Sheila: (tensely) I want to get out of this. It frightens me the way you talk. Birling: (heartily) Nonsense! You'll have a good laugh over it yet. Look, you'd better ask Gerald for that ring you gave back to him, hadn't you? Then you'll feel better. Sheila: (passionately) You're pretending everything's just as it was before. Eric: I'm not! Sheila: No, but these others are. Birling: Well, isn't it? We've been had, that's all. Sheila: So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did. Mrs Birling: Well, why shouldn't we? Sheila: I tell you – whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now you've stopped. You're ready to go on in the same old way. Birling: (amused) And you're not, eh? Sheila: No, because I remember what he said, how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk, and I can't listen to any more of it. Eric: And I agree with Sheila. It frightens me too. Birling: Well, go to bed then, and don't...
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...What Is The Function Of The Inspector In 'An Inspector Calls'? Inspector Goole is the eponymous character in An Inspector Calls' by J.B Priestley who has many functions. Primarily, he is introduced to the play to interrogate the Birling Family and Gerald Croft, but Priestley also uses him to move the plot forward and as a device for the writer to voice his opinion, furthermore he controls movement on stage, encourage the characters and audience to learn from their mistakes and to create moments of tension and mystery. The Inspector makes the characters confess their actions and reveal what he seems to already know for example, at the end of Act One, when Gerald is discussing to Shelia about the time he spent with Daisy Renton last summer. He already knows that Gerald has something to reveal and that it is just a matter of time: The door opens and the Inspector walks in looking steadily and searchingly at them. Inspector - Well?' He uses a brilliant technique of giving a small part of the next bit of the story and watching how the Birlings and Gerald react to it. This is used to great effect when he mentions the name Daisy Renton, Inspector First she changed her name to Daisy Renton' Gerald (startled) What?' Inspector (steadily) I said she changed her name to Daisy Renton.' Gerald Do you mind if I give myself a drink Shelia?' As soon as the Inspector hears this startled expression, he knows that Gerald is hiding something that may be of use to the investigation. Nevertheless...
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...How does Priestley use time as a dramatic device in ‘An Inspector Calls? An Inspector calls can be seen as one of Priestley’s ‘time’ plays because it explores the relationship between the past, present and future; some schools of thought have even suggested that the Inspector is some form of ‘cosmic time-lord’ or have compared him to ‘The ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ from Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. At the beginning of the play, time is used to undermine Arthur Birling, as he makes a series of misplaced predictions about the future. This dramatic irony serves not only to belittle Birling, but to criticise the idea of capitalism, which he represents. The first audience to watch the play in 1946 would be well aware of his miscalculation when he states that the Titanic, a ship that sank in its maiden voyage in 1912, the same year that the play was set, was “absolutely unsinkable”. Time is also used to highlight the theme of contrast or opposition in the play. The Inspector enters the play just after Birling claims “that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”. Placing the Inspector's arrival here is a dramatic device, which challenges Mr Birling's capitalist views on society. In the exposition, we only really get a sense of the capitalist viewpoint, as Arthur Birling, due to the fact that he is head of the house, is allowed to spew his message unchallenged. The “sharp ring” on the door bell interrupts Birling’s speech on social...
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...In this essay I am going to be exploring the role and function of the inspector in “An Inspector Calls“. I am going to break down his role in the play, explore his effects on the other characters and analyse his stage presence and also show his intention in coming to the Birling household. I am also going to express whether I think, in the play, the inspector is supposed to be a real person or something other. When exploring the effects that the inspector has on the other characters I will describe the characters personalities and characteristics before the inspector arrives, and then after, once the moral has been introduced, to then find out whether they have engaged in becoming a better person or not. The social and historical perspective of the play is very important as it was written in 1945 and set in 1912. There are lots of events that happened between those times that the audience would have known at the time. Most of these are mentioned by the deluded Mr Birling, who says facts that the audience know not to be true, but he says them in such a confident, superior manner that it makes the audience dislike him. He says things such as “just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsense. The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folk in the Balkans. And why? There’s too much at stake these days. Everything to lose, and nothing to gain by war”. Even when Eric, who...
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...does the character of Mr Birling reflect British society in 1912? The character of Mr. Birling is very important in 'An inspector calls' because he reflects how many upper class people (especially men) treated others in different classes. His character is vital to get across Priestley's socialist ideologies. Mr Birling also reflects the older generation, Capitalism and furthermore mirrors the division in society. Firstly, Mr. Birling exclaims how he is not "a purple-faced old man.", this suggests that most men of authority were greedy, only cared for themselves and had a lot of money to waste on things like excessive food. Secondly, we can see that Sheila and Gerald's engagement "means a tremendous lot to [Birling].", this is very similar to the society at that time as many people used others for their own personal gain. The engagement will help the Birling's business by raising their social class. Next, during this time period sexism towards woman was just every day life. Mr. Birling asks "Are you listening Sheila?", this reflects sexism within society as most men felt women weren't as intelligent as them so had to be spoken to in a simpler manner. Birling thinks it's "a very good time," for the engagement. This is an excellent example of dramatic irony as in 2 years time World War one was to begin. In 1912 people with authority were blind to the devastation that was to come, as was Mr. Birling. The character of Mr. Birling is an excellent illustration...
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...Act 1: - How does Priestley create a sense of unease and suggest that Mr Birling’s optimism is unfounded? As Act 1 of An Inspector Calls continues we see that Arthur Birling seems to be a confident and powerful man who is clearly anxious to be seen as a successful businessman and the head of his family. He is apparently very pleased with the way life is turning out for him and the other Birlings. Priestley sets the play in 1912 but it was first performed in 1945. He quite deliberately proceeds to make Mr Birling speak, in these first scenes of An Inspector Calls of events which the audience would know all about. A lot of what he dismisses as ‘wild talk’ and ‘nonsense’ actually happened. This gives Birling the appearance of foolishness and over-confidence as well as creating a sense of unease as the reader loses confidence and trust in Birling’s word. The writer has used dramatic irony to make Birling’s current position look very unstable. The first example of this is when he talks about the chance of further labour strikes. He states that “just because the miners came on strike, there’s a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the near future. Don’t worry. We’ve passed the worst of it.” However there were many strikes in between 1912 and 1945 including the general strike in 1926. As this strike resulted in the country coming to a halt for nine days the fact that Birling is so complacent about this matter shows the audience how overconfident and misguided...
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...Although these texts were written more than a century apart, they both explore the changeable and intricate relationships between a parent and their child. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’ portray similar relationships between a parent and child. The structure of each text highlights the conflict and aggression, as the tension progresses. The scenes intensify when the powerful, controlling father figure feels his authority has been challenged by a child in the family. Firstly, in 'Romeo and Juliet' Lord Capulet expresses his forceful, vicious side when Juliet commits an act of disobedience. She decides to not follow her father's ‘decree’ to marry Paris, stimulating her father to act violently. Similarly, in 'An Inspector Calls', Priestly presents Mr Birling as a pompous man initially. However, as the tension increases, the atmosphere begins to change, and he becomes agitated as Sheila begins to answer back, revealing all of their crimes. There is a sense of hostility towards his children, as he feels they are to blame for the monstrosities that had occurred that night, potentially putting him at a disadvantage. Shakespeare and Priestly use a variety of techniques to present the relationships and theme of parental control and authority. Act 1: Scene 2 In this scene, Shakespeare presents Lord Capulet as a man who cares deeply for his pride and reputation, but above all his daughter. However, Lord Capulet seems to have a deceptive nature, when speaking about his...
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