“The fact remains that I did what I did.”
“I’m ashamed of you as well – yes both of you.”
An Inspector Calls – Themes
Capitalism vs. Socialism
o Purpose of the play
Propaganda for the Labour Party – promotes socialism (Priestley was a socialist)
Outlines the evil side of capitalist society
To highlight the social inequality and disparity caused by the class system and wealth divide.
o General character representation
Birling family represent capitalism
Inspector represents socialism
o Mr Birling
Representation of capitalism at its worst
Use of dramatic irony to discredit capitalism – audience in the 1940s, play set in 1910s.
“[The Titanic is] unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.”
“The Germans don’t want war.”
Class and Wealth
o Edna
Only representation of working class on stage
Use of maids and servants was more common in 1912 (when play was set) than in
1945 (when play was first performed)
All of the jobs she does (pouring port, opening door etc.) could be done by the
Birlings themselves
o “Show him in here. Give us some light.” (Mr Birling to Edna)
Blunt and monosyllabic sentences using imperatives – no attempt at
politeness
o Eva Smith
Flip side of Sheila – shows how much class matters due to their drastically different lives
although their only difference if their class
Common British name could represent the many other “Eva Smiths” whose lives were
similar to hers – negatively affected by capitalist society
“Eva” references to “Eve” – subtle reminder of temptation, greed and sin.
o Capitalism and Socialism
Capitalist society only heightens the wealth gap in society and higher classes only “look after
themselves”
Socialism promotes collective responsibility and equality throughout all classes
o Characters
Mr Birling only cares about his business – “lower costs and higher prices”
Mrs Birling only cares about her social status and makes dehumanising generalisations about
the lower classes – “Girls of that class”
Sheila and Eric do not explicitly discriminate but they abuse their power
Sheila gets Eva fired from her job.
Eric gets Eva pregnant.
Learning
o Learning causes change
The younger generation learn from their mistakes, so they change but the older generation
do not learn and therefore do not change
“I’m ashamed of you as well – yes both of you.”
An Inspector Calls – Themes
Capitalism vs. Socialism
o Purpose of the play
Propaganda for the Labour Party – promotes socialism (Priestley was a socialist)
Outlines the evil side of capitalist society
To highlight the social inequality and disparity caused by the class system and wealth divide.
o General character representation
Birling family represent capitalism
Inspector represents socialism
o Mr Birling
Representation of capitalism at its worst
Use of dramatic irony to discredit capitalism – audience in the 1940s, play set in 1910s.
“[The Titanic is] unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.”
“The Germans don’t want war.”
Class and Wealth
o Edna
Only representation of working class on stage
Use of maids and servants was more common in 1912 (when play was set) than in
1945 (when play was first performed)
All of the jobs she does (pouring port, opening door etc.) could be done by the
Birlings themselves
o “Show him in here. Give us some light.” (Mr Birling to Edna)
Blunt and monosyllabic sentences using imperatives – no attempt at
politeness
o Eva Smith
Flip side of Sheila – shows how much class matters due to their drastically different lives
although their only difference if their class
Common British name could represent the many other “Eva Smiths” whose lives were
similar to hers – negatively affected by capitalist society
“Eva” references to “Eve” – subtle reminder of temptation, greed and sin.
o Capitalism and Socialism
Capitalist society only heightens the wealth gap in society and higher classes only “look after
themselves”
Socialism promotes collective responsibility and equality throughout all classes
o Characters
Mr Birling only cares about his business – “lower costs and higher prices”
Mrs Birling only cares about her social status and makes dehumanising generalisations about
the lower classes – “Girls of that class”
Sheila and Eric do not explicitly discriminate but they abuse their power
Sheila gets Eva fired from her job.
Eric gets Eva pregnant.
Learning
o Learning causes change
The younger generation learn from their mistakes, so they change but the older generation
do not learn and therefore do not change
