An Inspector Calls
Theme: Injustice
Priestley disguises the morality play of “An Inspector Calls”, which was first performed in Moscow (1945) as a
detective thriller, in order to reveal the byzantine causes and consequences of injustice within society. The political
diatribe uses the Birling family and its associates as a microcosm for the various opinions about issues like gender
inequality, as well as the suffering of the destitute. Priestley, being a socialist, aimed to persuade audiences to feel a
sense of social responsibility for the vulnerable members of society, advocating for a Welfare State.
Firstly, Priestley uses the Inspector as a mouthpiece for his socialist views, regarding the inequalities within society.
The Inspector teaches the audience about the importance of socialist values, such as sharing, equality and altruism,
in order to promote a sense of duty towards being magnanimous and benevolent, criticising the laissez-faire
government of 1912 – the year in which the play is set. As soon as the Inspector enters the room, the lighting
changes from an “intimate pink” to a “harder and brighter” colour. Priestley wanted audiences to pay close attention
to the Inspector’s actions and words, highlighting him as an authoritative, yet trustworthy, character, who
immediately radiates a sense of eminence in the room. In the Inspector’s first conversation that the audience hears,
he repeatedly addresses “Mr Birling”. Priestley uses the repetition of “Mr Birling” to generate a sense of
“purposefulness”, which almost acts to intimidate the reader, forcing audiences to observe the Inspector’s
instructions. The Inspector’s begins his interrogation by stating how a “young girl died in the infirmary last night …
because she’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant” which had “burnt her inside out”. The visceral visual imagery
acts to horrify and appal audiences, who are given an insight to the similar emotions of the younger members of the
Birling family, Eric and Sheila. Eric’s immediate reaction is “My God!”, which clearly implies that he is highly
distressed by the Inspector’s words. The exclamatory sentence, used by Eric, could perhaps give audiences an insight
to sentiments of the younger generation at the time. This is emphasised when the Inspector repeats a similar
message to Sheila Birling, who exclaims “Oh – how horrible!”. Priestley aimed to reveal the changing attitudes of the
youth towards class, gender and social responsibility, in order to highlight the injustices of the older generation. This
is symbolised by Mr Birling’s perhaps ignorant reply of “Yes. Yes. Horrid business”, which gives the impression that
Mr Birling is not perturbed by Eva Smith’s death. The repetition of the adverb “Yes” almost portrays Mr Birling as
ignorant. Mr Birling’s lack of benevolence is criticised by audiences who feel that he is behaving unfairly. This is
perhaps as a result of his prejudice against the “millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths”
mentioned by the Inspector in his final speech. Priestley uses the Inspector to reveal the corruption of the class
system, which led to the suicide of Eva Smith, who represents the “millions” of innocent young girls who were
suffering in the early twentieth century. The class system exploited the destitute and oppressed women, and may
have acted as a catalyst for the “blood, fire and anguish” of the World Wars. Priestley condemns the ignorance of the
wealthy, which may have caused wealthy contemporary audiences to feel a sense of guilt about their actions
towards the poor. Modern audiences are also made to reconsider their own views about social responsibility and the
consequences of their actions.
Mr Birling is presented as the archetype for egotistical, capitalist businessmen, acting as the antithesis of the
Inspector. In Mr Birling’s early speeches, Priestley deliberately uses dramatic irony to instantly persuade readers that
Mr Birling is an untrustworthy character, who stands for unjust and wrongful values. This reinforces the Inspector’s
message, as audience look to him to perhaps redeem Mr Birling from the “deadly sin” of greed. For example, Mr
Birling mentions how he believes that the Titanic is “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”, which the audience may
have seen as comical, as the Titanic went on to sink in April, 1912 – the same year the play is set. The repetition of
the adjective “unsinkable” symbolises the upper class’s complete dismissal of major problems, such as “war”, and
dissuades audiences from supporting Mr Birling’s capitalist ideologies, which are presented as nonsensical and
almost laughable. This means that when Mr Birling states that it is his “duty to keep labour costs down”, audiences
become aware that it is their duty to the opposite of Mr Birling’s words and increase wages for their employees,
before – as mentioned by the Inspector – “a chain of events” leads to disaster, such as suicide. Priestley uses a
similar tone to Mr Birling’s character, when Mrs Birling’s “deadly sin” is revealed: pride. When Eva Smith (or Daisy
Renton) turns to Mrs Birling’s charity for help, she calls herself “Mrs Birling”. It is exposed to the audience later on in
Theme: Injustice
Priestley disguises the morality play of “An Inspector Calls”, which was first performed in Moscow (1945) as a
detective thriller, in order to reveal the byzantine causes and consequences of injustice within society. The political
diatribe uses the Birling family and its associates as a microcosm for the various opinions about issues like gender
inequality, as well as the suffering of the destitute. Priestley, being a socialist, aimed to persuade audiences to feel a
sense of social responsibility for the vulnerable members of society, advocating for a Welfare State.
Firstly, Priestley uses the Inspector as a mouthpiece for his socialist views, regarding the inequalities within society.
The Inspector teaches the audience about the importance of socialist values, such as sharing, equality and altruism,
in order to promote a sense of duty towards being magnanimous and benevolent, criticising the laissez-faire
government of 1912 – the year in which the play is set. As soon as the Inspector enters the room, the lighting
changes from an “intimate pink” to a “harder and brighter” colour. Priestley wanted audiences to pay close attention
to the Inspector’s actions and words, highlighting him as an authoritative, yet trustworthy, character, who
immediately radiates a sense of eminence in the room. In the Inspector’s first conversation that the audience hears,
he repeatedly addresses “Mr Birling”. Priestley uses the repetition of “Mr Birling” to generate a sense of
“purposefulness”, which almost acts to intimidate the reader, forcing audiences to observe the Inspector’s
instructions. The Inspector’s begins his interrogation by stating how a “young girl died in the infirmary last night …
because she’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant” which had “burnt her inside out”. The visceral visual imagery
acts to horrify and appal audiences, who are given an insight to the similar emotions of the younger members of the
Birling family, Eric and Sheila. Eric’s immediate reaction is “My God!”, which clearly implies that he is highly
distressed by the Inspector’s words. The exclamatory sentence, used by Eric, could perhaps give audiences an insight
to sentiments of the younger generation at the time. This is emphasised when the Inspector repeats a similar
message to Sheila Birling, who exclaims “Oh – how horrible!”. Priestley aimed to reveal the changing attitudes of the
youth towards class, gender and social responsibility, in order to highlight the injustices of the older generation. This
is symbolised by Mr Birling’s perhaps ignorant reply of “Yes. Yes. Horrid business”, which gives the impression that
Mr Birling is not perturbed by Eva Smith’s death. The repetition of the adverb “Yes” almost portrays Mr Birling as
ignorant. Mr Birling’s lack of benevolence is criticised by audiences who feel that he is behaving unfairly. This is
perhaps as a result of his prejudice against the “millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths”
mentioned by the Inspector in his final speech. Priestley uses the Inspector to reveal the corruption of the class
system, which led to the suicide of Eva Smith, who represents the “millions” of innocent young girls who were
suffering in the early twentieth century. The class system exploited the destitute and oppressed women, and may
have acted as a catalyst for the “blood, fire and anguish” of the World Wars. Priestley condemns the ignorance of the
wealthy, which may have caused wealthy contemporary audiences to feel a sense of guilt about their actions
towards the poor. Modern audiences are also made to reconsider their own views about social responsibility and the
consequences of their actions.
Mr Birling is presented as the archetype for egotistical, capitalist businessmen, acting as the antithesis of the
Inspector. In Mr Birling’s early speeches, Priestley deliberately uses dramatic irony to instantly persuade readers that
Mr Birling is an untrustworthy character, who stands for unjust and wrongful values. This reinforces the Inspector’s
message, as audience look to him to perhaps redeem Mr Birling from the “deadly sin” of greed. For example, Mr
Birling mentions how he believes that the Titanic is “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”, which the audience may
have seen as comical, as the Titanic went on to sink in April, 1912 – the same year the play is set. The repetition of
the adjective “unsinkable” symbolises the upper class’s complete dismissal of major problems, such as “war”, and
dissuades audiences from supporting Mr Birling’s capitalist ideologies, which are presented as nonsensical and
almost laughable. This means that when Mr Birling states that it is his “duty to keep labour costs down”, audiences
become aware that it is their duty to the opposite of Mr Birling’s words and increase wages for their employees,
before – as mentioned by the Inspector – “a chain of events” leads to disaster, such as suicide. Priestley uses a
similar tone to Mr Birling’s character, when Mrs Birling’s “deadly sin” is revealed: pride. When Eva Smith (or Daisy
Renton) turns to Mrs Birling’s charity for help, she calls herself “Mrs Birling”. It is exposed to the audience later on in
