Social Responsibility​ Essay: An Inspector Calls

In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley depicts society in 1912 as capitalist-ruled, segregated and unfair, using the Birling family as a symbol for all upper-class aristocrats.  The character, Inspector Goole, acts as Priestley’s social mouthpiece to portray the idea that socialism is the future.  The Inspector could be the technique that Priestley uses to convey his own ideas and opinions, because in 1944-1945 (when the play was written) Priestley was a figure who campaigned for a social welfare state and a more ‘moral’ system.  It is plausible that Priestley wrote the play, set in 1912, to convey the contrast between the pre and post-war societies (1945).

At the start of the play, stage directions indicate to us that the Birlings are having an engagement meal in celebration of Sheila and Gerald’s pending marriage.  When Birling, the head of the house, and possibly the most passionate capitalist, says “a man has to make his own way” in life, the doorbell rings – signalling the entrance of the Inspector.  This stage direction indicates to us that the Inspector will turn the Birlings’ artificial world upside down, sobering them to the harsh realities of the life for the poor.