An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

Drama An Inspector Calls- Task One----------------------------------- write in 1946, An Inspector Calls takes us into the comfortableand complacent world of the birling family who are disturbed during acelebration by the arrival of a mysterious police inspector. A younggirl has committed self-destruction and it is revealed how all members of onefamily contributed to it. An Inspector Calls resorts to the rippingoff of masks that we human beings ofttimes wear, with the Inspectorrelentlessly pursuing the truth. Just when the audience is tiring ofdiscoveries, the complete action is given a violent twist and everyone iscaught up in the unfolding events. When each member of the Birlingfamily find out that they contributed to the wipeout of Eva Smith, theyreact in very contrastive ways and learn different things from theexperience.Mr Birling is an arrogant and recognisable capitalist. He is highlyconceited, and believes that whatever he says is true, for exampleThe Germans dont want war and Russia will always be slow. We know that these statements are incorrect because ofthe war between Germany and England and Stalins influence on Russia.However, Mr Birling searchs oblivious to the warning signs of suchserious matters. Or he just decides to blank out all the bad aspectsof life, which do non concern him directly. When the Inspectorarrives, Mr Birling tries to use his influence as a highly placedlocal to put down and demoralise the Inspector. This sweat isimmediately dismissed as the Inspector does not seem to be interestedin Mr Birlings influence. To try to show his importance Mr Birlingremarks that he was an alderman for years- lord mayor two yearsagois still on the bench. However, the Inspector does not take anynotice of this and continues with the investigation. As Mr Birlingtells his part of his involvement in Evas death, he manages to tellit in a way that makes him seem fair and kind to his workers. However,this is just a cover for his conscience and the In spector and theaudience can see this. In reality, he is greedy. Every penny in hispocket counts, and he tries to makes it seem that he feels that hisworkers deserve no more than the national average pay, if that. hotthe end of the play, he begins to show regret, although this remorseis directed more toward the incident that he may not get his knighthoodbecause of the scandal, instead of feeling remorse at his actions inthe situation. This is shown quite well when he says But I care. Iwas almost certain for a knighthood in the next recognize List.