what are the themes in an inspector calls

An Inspector Calls Themes

• Responsibility: An Inspector Calls points to the need for people to accept their moral responsibility for the welfare of others, especially of those who are less privileged.
• Evasion: The play explores the various kinds of evasion of which humans are capable when they try to avoid this responsibility.

Full Answer

What is the most important theme in An Inspector Calls?

Responsibility. The theme of responsibility links closely to that of social class. In 1946, when An Inspector Calls was first performed, Britain was recovering from the difficulties of the Second World War and facing major social and economic changes.

What is the central theme of the play An Inspector Calls?

The major theme of “An Inspector Calls” is social responsibility of a man living in the society in which he is expected to follow the basic principles and values of social living. In society, people are expected to live in peace and maintain harmony by cooperating with each other.

What key themes are in Act 1 of Inspector Calls?

An Inspector Calls: Act 1 Summary & AnalysisWealth, Power, and Influence.Blame and Responsibility.Public versus Private.Class Politics.Morality and Legality.

How is gender a theme in An Inspector Calls?

Priestley's main message is that ​traditional gender stereotypes are damaging and actively stop society progressing​. Within the play, different female characters are used to show the ​different roles women have within society​and how these women are ​expected to act​within a patriarchal society​.

Is guilt a theme in An Inspector Calls?

Guilt. Arthur, Sybil, Sheila, Eric, and Gerald must come to terms with their guilt, leading to Eva/Daisy's demise. The Inspector wants the family to accept the pain it has caused Eva/Daisy. In this way, guilt plays an important role in the Inspector's politics.

What is the moral lesson of An Inspector Calls?

Chris Power introduces An Inspector Calls as a morality play that denounces the hypocrisy and callousness of capitalism and argues that a just society can only be achieved if all individuals feel a sense of social responsibility.

Who killed Eva Smith?

He tells them how a girl called Eva Smith has killed herself by drinking disinfectant - he wants to ask them some questions. The Inspector reveals that the girl used to work in Arthur Birling's factory and he had her sacked for going on strike. Mr Birling refuses to accept any responsibility for her death.

What theme does Mr Birling represent?

Mr Birling represents greedy businessmen who only care for themselves. Priestley uses him to show the audience that the Eva Smiths of the world will continue to suffer if people like Birling remain in positions of power.

How is age a theme in An Inspector Calls?

Age is an important theme in An Inspector Calls. Priestley uses it to show how he believed that there was hope in the younger generation's ability to learn and change. The older characters' opinions and behaviours are stubbornly fixed.

What does Eva and Eric's Baby Symbolise?

Eva and Eric's baby could be symbolic of a bridge between the upper and lower classes. It has the power to bring them two classes together and yet Mrs Birling destroys the baby because she is only interested in self preservation.

How is the theme of conflict presented in An Inspector Calls?

Priestley shows that conflict is at the heart of the Birling family by making characters in the same family have opposing views and making them stand up to each other, conveying conflict is present in upper class even though the upper class hid it from society.

What is Inspector Goole a symbol of?

The moralistic figure that opposes the Birlings, Inspector Goole represents compassion and concern for the masses, although the way in which he achieves it is somewhat lacking in morals sometimes.

Why does the Inspector not show the photograph to all the people at the same time?

I thinks he wants to observe their reactions in order to make assumptions about their guilt or innocence.

How does the Inspector react to the agitated response of Mrs Birling at the the of first questioning?

The questioning, after which, Gerald attempts to get Sheila to leave?

what is the initial reaction of mr birling to the manner of the inspector?

I think his initial reaction was surprise that he didn't know the inspector. He was also surprised at the intrusion on his family. A man of Birling...

Wealth, Power, and Influence

The Birlings are a family of wealth and power, who take pride in their high social position. Mr. Birling is a successful businessman, and the family inhabits a nice home with a maid (and likely other servants). The play begins with the family celebrating and feeling generally pleased with themselves and their fortunate circumstance.

Blame and Responsibility

The question asked throughout the play is: who is responsible for the suicide of Eva Smith? Who is to blame? The arc of the play follows the gradual spreading of responsibility, from Mr. Birling, to Mr. Birling and Sheila, to Mr. Birling and Sheila and Gerald, and so on and so forth.

Public versus Private

The Inspector, and the play at large, challenges the “privacy” of the private sphere, by revealing that actions that the family may have conceived of as private and personal really have an effect beyond themselves and their family.

Class Politics

Mr. Birling describes the politics of the day as revolving around “Capital versus Labor agitations.” Mr. Birling is a representative Capitalist, who cares only about his company’s profit. He speaks of himself as “a hard-headed, practical man of business,” and looks forward to the prospect of being knighted.

Morality and Legality

The play interrogates the way that people construct, construe, and apply their moral values, especially in relation to legality and illegality.

Why did Eva die in the play?

The act of killing oneself, or of losing oneself entirely, is central to the play’s events. The play’s predicament is the supposed death of a girl named Eva Smith, or Daisy Renton. Eva/Daisy has killed herself, the Inspector argues, because all society has abandoned her. Her only remaining choice was to end her life. The Inspector sees suicide as the response to a culture of selfishness, which he believes to permeate capitalist society. No one was willing to lend Eva/Daisy a hand, and the Birlings discarded her when she was no longer compliant or useful to them. She had no friends or family to fall back on.

What does the Inspector do in Act 3?

Further, he wants them to learn what they have done wrong, and to change. His “inspection,” as Sheila realizes in Act Three, is designed to encourage them to interrogate themselves, to consider when in their lives they have behaved immorally, and how they might improve as family members, friends, and citizens.

What is the Inspector's warning to the Birlings?

The Inspector implies that if men and women continue to behave callously to one another in the industrialized countries of the West, then those countries, as entities, will “commit suicide.” That is, the Inspector’s warning to the Birlings foreshadows the cataclysms of the World Wars One and Two, which the audience in 1946 would understand to follow quickly upon the events of the play.

What is the role of guilt in the Inspector's politics?

In this way, guilt plays an important role in the Inspector’s politics. Although he does not describe his politics explicitly, he appears to be a socialist, and for him, socialism demands that human beings look out for one another, do their absolute best to avoid harming each other. When people do wrong, they must then explain, to themselves and others, the wrongness of their actions.

What happens at the end of Act 3?

They think that, though they have done wrong individually, these wrongs have not added up to cause one person’s death.

What does Arthur learn about the girl in the play?

The play’s final, perplexing scene, in which Arthur learns that a girl really has committed suicide, again raises the question of culpability among the characters.

Do Arthur and Sybil accept guilt?

Arthur and Sybil, however, are far less willing to accept their guilt. Arthur is more concerned with the family’s good name, and Sybil believes that in denying Eva/Daisy charity, she did what any person in her position should have done.

What does Mrs Birling say about the Titanic?

Early in the play, Birling talks about the unsinkable Titanic and that there will be no war. Of course the audience in 1946 knows that the Titanic did sink and there were two World Wars in the next 30 years. Likewise, Mrs Birling shows her complete contempt for anyone from the lower classes.

What does Birling try to stop the Inspector talking to?

Birling tries to stop the Inspector talking to Mrs Birling and Sheila. He feels this is a conversation for men alone.

How does Priestley show his perspective?

Priestley shows a different perspective through the Inspector and later through Sheila and Eric. The Inspector does not behave with the deference that the Birlings expect from someone of his position. He challenges them and is clearly in control from the moment he comes on stage.

What does Priestley show us about the class system?

Priestley quickly shows us his views on the class system. He shows us that the upper classes look down on the lower classes and treat them very badly. Birling is consistently dismissive of what he is told about Eva. Initially he denies he even knew her, then he makes out that she was a troublemaker, finally he makes every attempt to justify his harsh treatment of her. Look at a lot of the language he uses when talking about Eva. The words he uses de-personalise Eva and even de-humanise her and others from her social class.

What does Birling say about the Inspector?

He says that people need to focus on looking after themselves, their business and their family. The implication is that wealthy people like him have no responsibility for the wider society. Birling thinks everyone should just look out for themselves. When the Inspector arrives, he quickly challenges Birling’s view.

What does Sheila challenge Gerald?

Sheila directly challenges Gerald early in the play. Eric makes several remarks about the unfairness of society and the tough choices faced by people in Eva’s situation. Even before the Inspector begins his work, the audience can see that Sheila and Eric are more supportive of equality and fairness between the classes and the genders.

What is Inspector Calls?

An Inspector Calls is one of the most popular modern texts to study for GCSE English Literature, so you’re certainly not alone in study ing it. It’s also one of the most interesting options to study, so you are lucky to be studying it for your GCSE English exams! In this revision guide we provide everything you need to know about An Inspector Calls themes. We’ve included advice on how to revise An Inspector Calls and how to approach the exam questions. Follow our GCSE English revision guides to reach your potential in your exams.

What happened to Eva Smith?

The Inspector outlines a “chain of events” that may well have led to Eva Smith’s death. Her suicide, seen in this way, is likely the product not of one person acting alone, but of a group of people each acting alone; it resulted from several causes. If Birling had not sacked Eva in the first place, Sheila could not have had her dismissed from Milwards, and Eric and Gerald would not have met her in the Palace bar. Had she never known Eric, she would never have needed to go to the charity commission. This series of events is closely associated with Priestley’s fascination with time and how things in time cause or are caused by others.

What is the theme of An Inspector Calls?

Time, which deeply fascinated Priestley, is a central theme in many of his works. He famously was interested in Dunne’s theory of time, which argued that the past was still present, and that time was not linear as many traditional accounts suggest. An Inspector Calls explicitly deals with the nature of time in its final twist: has the play, we might wonder, simply gone back in time? Is it all about to happen again? How does the Inspector know of the “fire and blood and anguish,” usually interpreted as a foreshadowing of the First and Second World Wars?

What is the theme of the play "We do not live alone"?

“We do not live alone,” the Inspector says in his final speech, “we are members of one body.” This perhaps is the most important and central theme of the play: that we have a duty to other people, regardless of social status, wealth, class, or anything else. There is, Priestley observes, such a thing as society, and he argues that it is important that people be aware of the effects of their actions on others. The Birlings, of course, initially do not think at all about how they might have affected Eva Smith, but they are forced to confront their likely responsibility over the course of the play.

What is the theme of the last act of the play?

Though responsibility itself is a central theme of the play, the last act of the play provides a fascinating portrait of the way that people can let themselves off the hook. If one message of the play is that we must all care more thoroughly about the general welfare, it is clear that the message is not shared by all.

Who is Gerald's mother?

Priestley also subtly notes that Gerald’s mother, Lady Croft, disapproves of Gerald’s marrying Sheila for precisely this reason. Finally, everyone’s treatment of Eva might be put down (either in part or altogether) to the fact that she is a girl, as Mrs. Birling puts it, “of that class.”.

Who is shaken by the Inspector's message?

While Arthur and Sybil refuse to accept responsibility for their actions toward Eva Smith (Arthur, in particular, is only concerned for his reputation and his potential knighthood), Eric and especially Sheila are shaken by the Inspector’s message and their role in Eva Smith’s suicide.

Why does Sheila want Eva fired?

Sheila demands Eva's immediate firing because she thinks it is inappropriate for a lower-class girl to look prettier than her. She feels a need to defend her social status from Eva's perceived impudence. Later she feels regret, but she still allowed her prejudice to determine her actions. She was too prideful to apologize and ask the manager to hire Eva back. Conversely, Gerald and Eric use Eva's lower status to take advantage of her. They both recognize she is a vulnerable target, and they decide to use her as a means of sating their own desires. Like Sheila, Eric is ashamed later. He tries to fix the situation through money, but there is no indication that he ever offers Eva a genuine apology for his actions.

What does Arthur think of Eva's death?

From the moment he is introduced, Arthur is set up as the exact opposite of Inspector Goole. Where Arthur is self-minded, Goole believes that everybody has a responsibility to look after one another. Actions do not occur inside a bubble; people all affect one another, for better or worse. This outlook is why he sees Eva's death as "a chain of events." He is able to step back from the initial horror of her death and see how a series of unfortunate encounters led to her suicide. Instead of blaming Eva alone for choosing to take her life, he is determined to find out what led her to this point. Describing his reaction to seeing Eva's corpse, he says, "A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made out of it." Where some people would dismiss her death as a tragic accident, or worse, condemn Eva for taking her life, Goole believes there was more at work than a single person's despair.

Why did the Birlings and Gerald Croft punish Eva?

Unfortunately, members of the upper class often used division as an excuse to mistreat those they saw as beneath them. Arthur's censure of Eva and the other workers' demand for increased wages is based on this idea of class discrimination: "If you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth." He has been taught by his culture to see people in the lower class as a greedy and manipulative mob who must be kept in line. He punishes Eva because he wants to use her as an example, cowing his other workers into submission .

What is the first person to recognize Goole's perspective?

Sheila is the first person to recognize his perspective. In Act 1, she observes, "You talk as if we were responsible." Unlike her parents, she is open to the idea of interconnectedness and group culpability, partially because she believes it will remove some of the weight she feels over Eva's death. For her, accepting the concept of collective responsibility is more of a relief than a burden. By the time Gerald confesses his role in Eva's death, Sheila has fully accepted the concept, as evidenced by her observation to Gerald, "probably between us we killed her." However, her parents are less open to Goole's perspective on guilt. Arthur thinks it is ridiculous to hold people responsible for the unintended consequences of their actions. He did not intend to kill Eva when he fired her, so he should not be blamed for her death. Sybil shares this idea, which is why neither of them believe they need to change their ways.

What is the theme of Inspector Calls?

A recurring theme in An Inspector Calls is judgment. Multiple characters set themselves up as rightful judges of their neighbors, but the majority of them rely on their own biases when casting judgment. When Arthur decides to fire Eva for asking for higher wages, he justifies his decision by labeling her as an ungrateful troublemaker. He determines her worth based on how useful she is to him at the moment. Since Gerald has been raised to evaluate people through the same lens, he agrees with Arthur. Sybil also sees herself as a judge of character, a power she exercises when determining who should receive charity, but she later admits she is influenced by her own prejudices.

What does Inspector Goole believe?

By contrast, Inspector Goole holds to the idea that more than one person can be held responsible for a crime. Justice does not mean finding who is the most at fault and then heaping all the guilt upon that individual. Goole never blames one family member's actions over the others'. In his mind, they are all responsible, so they all must carry judgment for their choices.

Why does Arthur argue that it is not his fault for firing Eva?

Sheila accuses Gerald of reveling in Eva's gratitude, and he responds, "Nearly any man would have done." Arthur argues that it is not his fault for firing Eva because plenty of other employers would have done the same. They think that society's overall corruption should exempt them from blame.

How to Revise For An Inspector Calls GCSE Exam

Class

Responsibility

• Throughout his questioning, the Inspector takes on the role of a professor or guide. He interrogates the Birlings and Gerald, and he wants them to admit culpability for Eva/Daisy’s death. Further, he wants them to learn what they have done wrong, and to change. His “inspection,” as Sheila realizes in Act Three, is designed to encourage them to inte...

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Gender

Age and Generational Change