To analyze the theme of responsibility in "An Inspector Calls", this essay explains how, through the actions of the characters, Priestley demonstrates to the audience that everyone has a collective responsibility towards each other in society. He approaches the idea by contrasting the older generation with the younger one and explicitly highlights the difference between those who have accepted responsibility and those who have not. "An Inspector Calls" was written in 1945, during World War II, but is set in 1912. Priestley chose to do it so that the audience could learn from his past mistakes and make the world a fairer and fairer place. pleasant to live in. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essayFirst, the pompous and misguided Mr. Birling begins by showing that he believes he has a responsibility to “his own” and towards no one. other. The pronoun “his” has an implicit property and suggests his materialistic personality. He calls socialists “cranks” and criticizes their beliefs because he wants nothing more than “lower costs and higher prices.” This links to capitalism and shows that Mr Birling feels his responsibility is to do business and make money. So it seems to be more towards people from the lower classes. "Yes yes. Horrible deal. depicts Mr. Birling's dismissive attitude and how he ties everything to business when a young girl has just died. His indifferent attitude is also evident in his treatment of Eva Smith, seen as "cheap labor" pitted against a human being. This makes him a very abominable character for an audience who has just experienced war. The use of dramatic irony in mentioning the "unsinkable" Titanic and the idea that "there is no chance of war" shows that his speculations are unreliable and reckless. In fact, the audience should believe the complete opposite of this character. Mr Birling refuses to take any responsibility for Eva Smith's death mainly by pretending not to recognize her and then dismissing the inspector's questions. Much like Mr. Birling, Gerald has a very contemptuous attitude towards the inspector. He always agrees with Mr Birling, for example when talking about the strike he agrees with Mr Birling's decision to fire Eva saying "you couldn't have done anything else". Priestley highlights these selfish actions as a way of exposing to the public that the class divide was flawed and attributable to condescending, narrow-minded, and ignorant people. Even with the inspector's emphatic lecture, Mr. Birling still does not change, portraying him as an incredibly unrepentant person. The opposite way of being responsible is portrayed to contrast with the righteous or changeable way. One character who demonstrates the true sense of responsibility is Shelia. At first she is very much like her parents with quite childish, "Oh, look mommy" tendencies, but as the play develops we can see that she begins to have her own opinions and opinions. affirm. Sheila is the first person to defend Eva Smith, thus the working class declaring: “these are not cheap labor, these are people”. This not only juxtaposes his father's attitude, but marks the beginning of his acceptance of his responsibility as an adult. Priestley presents her as someone who is capable of change and by the end, she has matured a lot. Her responsibility is also demonstrated by her shock when she learns that she had a role to play in Eva's death. “At least I’m trying to tell the truth.” This is in comparison..”