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Theme Of Social Inequality In An Inspector Calls

1487 Words6 Pages

In An Inspector Calls, J B Priestley highlights social inequality of class and gender prevalent in 1912 pre World war one Britain. At the centre of the play are the Birlings, an upper middle class family ambitious to improve their social status, with a possible involvement in the suicide of a desperate working class girl, Eva Smith. Actions, emotions, tones and the setting are used to convey the prominent social inequality resulting from the capitalistic economic and political system. Priestley encourages a creates disapproval towards of the relationship between his social inequality and society in order to convey his socialist views on how the upper classes should be responsible for those other than themselves.

Priestley creates dislikeable characters such as the staunch capitalist Mr Birling in order to convey the contemptible attitude of the upper class towards society, particularly the working class. Moreover, he is portrayed as selfish, by firing Eva Smith from his works, in acting to protect his business interests. Arthur Birling’s selfish non autocratic tone in saying “A man must make his own way in life” depicts this absolute dismissal of socialist ideas such as the importance of caring and contributing towards the community. The characterisation and Mr Birling symbolising capitalistic upper class creates dislike in the audience for the political system driving them to sympathise with the working class and disapprove of societal inequality. In

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