An Inspector Calls Themes

Responsibility
1. Eric and Sheila are the only ones who take responsibility
  1. Sheila
    1. Irreponsible to get Eva sacked
  2. Eric
    1. Realises too late that he is responsible for ruining Eva's chance to improve her life
2. Mr and Mrs Birling don't take responsibility for their children
3. Sheila takes responsibility for the family
  1. Wants them to see the error of their way
4. Priestley's message
  1. Take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences
    1. Inspectors speech
      1. "millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths"
5. Mr Birling
  1. community responsibility is nonsense. Business is more important than workers rights
6. Mrs Birling
  1. no responsibility to the working class
Class and Society
1. Drives plot and shapes characters
  1. Characters represent the classes
    1. Working Class
      1. Eva/Daisy
      2. Edna
      3. Inspector Goole
    2. Middle Class
      1. Birlings
        Mr Birling
        Worried that Evas death wont get him a knight hood
        Thinks his authority and position makes him important
        Uses Gerald to promte class
        Mrs Birling
        Only involved in charity for social satus
      2. Limited sense of responsibility. Don't know. Don't care. Don't want to know
    3. Upper Class
      1. Gerald
2. Priestly thought class shouldn't matter.
  1. Uses play to reveal unfairness in system
  2. Uses Birlings as caricatures of the bad qualities in upper class
  3. How priestly saw society
    1. Priestly presents working class as victims
Family
1. Inspector causes a role reversal
  1. Eric and Sheila become the parents when they accept their responsibilty
    1. Sheila and Gerald are not the norm
2. Mrs B doesn't understand her children.
3. Tension
  1. Mrs B and social etiquate
  2. Eric and drink
  3. Last Summer
Generational Divide
1. Inspector breaks the gender divide in the family
  1. Learn from mistakes
    1. chance for equal and fair society
2. Big divide in generations before the Inspector arrives
  1. Challenge parents authorit
3. Gerald
  1. young
    1. has the same views as the older generation
      1. Birlings views on buisness
      2. Doesn't learn anything
Divide in Gender
1. Start out as steryotypes
  1. Sheila
    1. obsessed with pretty things
    2. Protested from nasty things
    3. proud and vain
    4. Accused as hysterical
  2. Men
    1. Preoccupied with buisness
    2. Gerald feels his duty to rescue women
      1. Daisy in the bar
    3. Sex
      1. Expected to sleep around
      2. men view as currency
      3. Sex for power
      4. Mistress
2. End of the play the males appear weaker and the females stronger
3. Link to relationships
Judgement/Judgement Day
1. Play teaches morals
  1. MORALITY PLAY
    1. Religious middle aged play teaching people how to behave and their sins
2. Inspector Goole
  1. Could be God
  2. Goole=Ghoule=Ghost?
  3. In-Spectre?
  4. Their conscience?
3. Seven Deadly Sins
  1. Sloth
    1. Eric
  2. Lust
    1. Gerald and Eric
  3. Greed
    1. Mr Birling and Eric
  4. Envy
    1. Sheila and Mrs Birling
  5. Gluttony
    1. All Birlings and Eric
  6. Pride
    1. Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald
    2. Sheila in the begining
  7. Worth
    1. All Birlings
4. "in fire, blood and anguish"
  1. WWI setting
  2. WWII audiance
5. Whole play leads up to judgement day
Love and Relationships
1. Dysfunctional relationships
  1. Love is distorted
  2. No love in their relationships
    1. Priestly says that love has to be both ways
    2. Loved his family, not returned
2. No trust
  1. Sheila doesn't trust Gerald
    1. More respect after the truth comes out
3. Link to generational divide
4. Everyone has their own secrets
5. Mr Birling doesn't believe in love
  1. Ironicaly loves buissness and judging others and class
6. Erics relationship with Eva reflects his treatment in the family
  1. Loved family
  2. "I wasn't in love with her or anything"
Loss of Innocence
1. Eva/Daisy
  1. Gerald used her as his mistress
    1. Loss of virginity
      1. Betrays her
    2. Treats her well
  2. Eric raped her?
    1. "when a chap easily turns nasty"
2. All the Birlings and Gerald lose their innocence through the Inspector
3. Focus on Evas Apperance
  1. good morals
  2. Doesn't sin knowingly
  3. Pure
4. Sheila matures throughout the play
  1. "Your daughter isn't living on the moon"
  2. Inspector breaks the norm for men by standing up for Sheila
5. Eric grows up too quickly
6. Unborn child loses a chance too live

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	Created by octaveofviolet almost 11 years ago