An Inspector Calls Essay - Sam Ducker 1006
An Inspector Calls is a play set in 1912, several years before the start of World War 1. At this time people were optimistic for a new world, thinking war was never going to happen again and that this was a time of technology and propulsive progression. Today we know that this was not true at all, with the titanic sinking that year and two world wars to follow soon. J.B Priestly shows the attitude at the time throughout 'An Inspector Calls'. It is set in the fictional North Midlands city of Brumley. Brumley supposedly comes from a pun on the city Birmingham.
The Birling family is holding a party to celebrate the engagement of the marriage of Mr. Birling’s daughter Sheila Birling to her new-found fiancé Gerald Croft. Everything is going well until an Inspector knocks at the door. His name is Inspector Goole. He is supposedly new to the force and tells them that a young woman has suffered a horrible death on the way to the local infirmary. He describes her death as suicide by drinking disinfectant. Privately, Inspector Goole suspects the Birling family to be involved somehow in events preceding this which may have contributed to the girl taking her own life. He questions each person at the party one by one.
I am going to discuss how each family member changes their attitude and personality. How they are at the start of the play, then how they are as the play happens and then how they are at the end, and whether this was their real personality all along or if it has been brought out and then after that have they changed following the story of Eva Smiths death.In concluding my essay I will decide which character I think has changed the most at the end of the play.
First I will discuss Sheila at the start of the play Sheila seems very pleased with life and unaware of the problems of the outer world also she seems shallow and superficial at the start of the play she is described as "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited". Later on in the play Mr. Birling is being questioned about Eva Smith and her role in the factory, Mr. Birling is saying how she was asking for far too much money and she could be easily replaced with any other girl. Sheila comes out with a controversial point of view "But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people." Although probably never before she has shown compassion like this for the working class she is already showing a change.