The Signalman

An Inspector Calls is a play with many social and political messages. J. B. Priestley believed a great deal in socialism and he used several of his plays to try and influence people to be Socialist as well. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen as the way forward. It was a popular way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was probably to teach the unconvinced.

The Inspector in J. B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the most thought-provoking and mysterious characters that modern day literature has yet produced. It is this mysterious element that contributes greatly to making him a very interesting character and one that may be perceived in many ways. The audience does not find a great deal out about the Inspector and nothing is explicitly told to us; we are given hints and clues from the way he acts and what he says and are forced to piece these together to form our own ideas about his identity and his intentions. In this way, Priestley has asked his audience to act as a judge and to reach personal conclusions about him.

Each of the Birlings and Gerald have done things to Eva that were wrong. However, Sheila and Eric are very regretful and seem to have learnt from their mistakes and immediately become more likeable and seem less at fault. The Inspector implies that the Birling parents and Gerald Croft are the ones more at fault because their Edwardian ideas about class and Capitalism do not change. Priestley and the Inspector think that 'Public men... have responsibilities as well as privileges' which suggests that Priestley thinks that those who forget their responsibilities also cause social problems.

Eric behaves much the same as Sheila. He seems to have respect for her because he does not directly argue with his parents about the way they are acting but instead supports Sheila in what she says by saying 'Sheila's right,' and 'I agree with Sheila.' He and Sheila are both there to give us hope for the future; the younger generation have better attitudes and can improve society. As the Inspector said, children are 'more impressionable.'

The Inspector leaves the family and the audience feeling awkward because he uses a lot of emotive language such as ......... and he speaks with real passion. In this speech he, and therefore Priestley, try to make people understand just how serious problems can get when we do not realise that 'We are responsible for each other.' This speech gives an opposite message to that which Birling gave whereby he said that 'a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.' It was at that point where the Inspector entered, as if to prove him wrong. In his speech, the Inspector makes reference to the forthcoming war with the idea that if people do not learn that 'We are members of one body.... then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish.' This is a very powerful statement and it would seem that the Inspector is implying that the war was sent to punish people for not working together, and at the same time forcing them to do so. The war did break down barriers between classes and people had to all work for the country, not for personal gain, so what the Inspector spoke of was accurate. I think Priestley used the idea of war to convey his message because it was a major issue when the play was written and everyone would have suffered from it and would care greatly about it.

Mrs. Birling is not present for the majority of the questioning, so she is unfamiliar to the Inspector's abruptness. She describes him as 'a trifle impertinent'. She, like Arthur Birling, seems to be used to receiving nothing but respect. This is because she is of a high-middle class. The Inspector treats the characters with the same disregard as they gave Eva Smith. Mrs. Birling becomes increasingly annoyed at how the Inspector treats her. This is shown when the Inspector says, 'You're not telling me the truth', and she replies 'I beg your pardon!' She seems horrified by the way she reacts that somebody could speak in that way to a lady of her class.

The Birling parents represent the older people who follow the dated Edwardian ideas. Arthur Birling is a rich businessman who thinks very highly of himself, even though he is often wrong. Arthur's family respect him and listen intently to his ideas that 'there isn't a chance of war' and the Titanic is 'unsinkable.' As the play was written in 1947 and set in 1912, this is an example of dramatic irony and the audience would know that Arthur was very wrong in his opinions and might even think him to be stupid. When he says 'the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else', he explicitly says that he is strongly Capitalist and is narrow minded. Priestley wanted the audience to have a low opinion of Birling because he was discouraging his Capitalist politics and trying to show people like Birling to be at fault.

When Gerald tells his story, he is questioned mainly by Sheila who is angry with Gerald for betraying

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