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  • Essay / An analysis of how society is interconnected in An Inspector Calls

    In An Inspector Calls, JB Priestley expresses the importance of the interconnected nature of society through his exploration of how his characters react to their responsibility ; this theme is also addressed through societal ideas present both at the time of writing and at the time of filming of the play. Priestley primarily uses the character of Inspector Goole to convey the theme of interdependence and responsibility, which catechizes to the Birlings the belief that "we are members of one body". We are responsible for each other. Through statements like this, the play shows how the Inspector believes that each member of society is affected by the others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay There is no escape from association with others, as the Birlings believed at the beginning of the play. The short, definitive sentences create an imposing, authoritative tone that matches the “massiveness” of the inspector as he is originally described. The Inspector continues to warn that "if men do not learn [this] lesson, then they will learn it in fire and blood and anguish." This reinforces the inspector's message and conveys a powerful, menacing tone that confronts both the Birlings and the audience. The use of a syndetic list of three, "fire, blood and anguish", evokes images of divine retribution, thus making the Inspector the ultimate force for good against the evil of complacency and 'selfishness. Additionally, the use of the syndetic list shows the audience that the Inspector is passionate and angry. This shows how ardently the play criticizes a society where everyone is responsible only for themselves. “Lesson” shows how the Inspector is a didactic, even moralistic character, who can be seen as a representation of Priestley with his message about the need for an interconnected and just society. In fact, Priestley had strong socialist and left-wing views which the audience can see transferred to Inspector Goole. At the time of writing, in post-war Britain, the public was being exposed to the abundance of poverty in the country and a call for a fairer society had been made, which resulted to the Beveridge report and the creation of the welfare state. Priestley witnessed the creation of the welfare state; therefore, An Inspector Calls was written with the idea of ​​social equality as the fundamental theme of the play and as the main axiom of the inspector's course. A 1945 audience would recognize the Inspector's call for social responsibility and see the proleptic irony of the Birlings' initial contempt for the lower classes of society. This is particularly poignant when we consider that the time period of the play, 1912, is set immediately before the outbreak of the First World War and therefore just before the beginning of the change in attitude and desire for an integrated society. interconnected society is to highlight the complacency and arrogance of the Birlings. In Mr. Birling's Act 1 speech he states that "a man must go his own way, must take care of himself", showing how selfish he is and only cares about himself- even. Birling is then immediately interrupted by the arrival of the inspector, foreshadowing how the inspector contradicts Mr. Birling's ideologies and beliefs later in the play. This could also be linked to the difference between capitalist and socialist beliefs and the tensions between the two ideologies at the time of writing, with the election of a new.