Name: Alen Parappully

Horizon International School

How does Priestley explore responsibility throughout the play ‘An Inspector Calls’? You
must consider language, form and structure.
In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley uses the character of Mr. Birling to demonstrate an arrogant,
self-centered and egotistical person who exhibits irresponsibility at every step and every
field, be it professional, social, parental or personal. This is highlighted in the beginning of
the play, during their family -dinner, when Mr. Birling shows off to Gerald, declaring, “I’m a
hard-headed, practical man of business.” The use of the metaphor ‘hard-headed’ shows that
he is emotionless and lacks empathy. Additionally, the use of the personal pronoun ‘I’
highlights his self-declaring attitude, demanding respect and superiority over others.
Furthermore, his boasting to Gerald demonstrates his arrogance and confident tone which
reinforces that his key concern is money, opposed to people, their emotions and empathy
and demonstrates his professional irresponsibility. He comes across as a person who values
his profits over his employees’ benefits and wellbeing. Mr. Birling also exhibits social
irresponsibility when he, during interrogation by the Inspector states “Obviously it has
nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide. Eh Inspector?”. The adverb
‘Obviously’ demonstrates his arrogance and pompous nature assuming that everyone agrees
with him. The use of the harsh adjective ‘wretched’ reflects upon his disrespectful and rude
behavior, further illustrating how low he thinks of others who are not at par with his social
status and looks down upon them. Him addressing Eva Smith as a “girl” suggests he doesn’t
see her as an adult, thinks less of her and belittles and degrades her. Furthermore, the
colloquialism “Eh” conveys that he disregards the severity of the situation. It also depicts his
lack of respect towards the law as he speaks informally to the Inspector. Last but not the
least, the use of this rhetorical question establishes the fact he really doesn’t expect a
response from the Inspector, expecting him to agree with him undoubtedly. It also seals his
narrow mindedness. As the play nears its finish Mr. Birling also exhibits parental
irresponsibility, when he heartily states “Nonsense! You’ll have a good laugh over it yet.” The
use of adverb “heartily” demonstrates that he is saying this with passion and life, meaning
he still hasn’t taken this seriously. The dismissive tone and use of exclamation when he
exclaims “Nonsense!” suggests that he doesn’t care about his children’s feelings and has no
regrets on how he presents himself as a parent towards his children. The phrase “good
laugh” suggests he is a very insensitive human being lacking seriousness. Since it happens
almost at the end of the play, it reveals his true personalities that no matter what, he’s not
going to change much on the contrary he is actually excited and desperate to disregard
responsibility.

The character of Mrs. Sybil Birling is used by Priestley to exhibit a snobbish, high headed,
and arrogant lady of the upper society. This is highlighted where in she scoffs “I don’t
suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that
class.” The plural pronoun “we” where Mrs. Birling segregates herself from the society
indicating her deep rooted beliefs in class system. Furthermore, when she states “Girls of
that class” she sharply juxtaposes her main occupation, which is charity work. Adding on to
that, her use of the term “the girl” determines Mrs. Birlings lack of sympathy as she
considers Eva Smith barely a human, significantly dehumanizing her. Additionally, Mrs.
Birling demonstrates poor parental irresponsibility when she shockingly “(staggered) It isn’t
true. You know him, Gerald – and you’re a man – you must know it isn’t true.” The stage
direction “(staggered)” emphasizes surprise, shock, and stunned and lack of involvement
and knowledge of Eric’s life. The repetitive phrase “it isn’t true” shows denial and inability
to accept the truth, it also reflects on her poor parenting capabilities as this only suggests
that she hardly spends any time with her children. The patriarchal phrase “You know him
Gerald – you’re a man” not only suggests her patriarchal mindset but also hints at a subtle
blame towards Gerald her future son-in-law. Here’s exhibiting poor parental skills by
unaccepting her irresponsibility but also Gerald should’ve known him and understood him
better. Clearly she’s a master at blame game. As the play proceeds Mrs. Birling shows
reluctance towards sharing Eva Smiths suicide with her daughter. She considers this a trifle
matter as she attempts to avoid when she states “it would be much better if Sheila didn’t
listen to this story at all.” When Mrs. Birling calls Eva Smiths suicide “this story” she once
again highlights her dismissive mannerism towards anyone inferior to her, she comes across
as a socialite who considers this as an unimportant case. She’s not serious about Eva Smiths
condition as it does nothing but tarnished their reputation. In an attempt to protect her
daughter form the harsh reality is exhibiting poor parenting being overprotective. While on
one hand we know Sheila is engaged yet this patronizing attitude to towards her adult
daughter where in treats her like a child shows that Mrs. Birling still demonstrates lack of
parental know-how. Mrs. Birling hence has failed morally, socially, and as a parent towards
not only the society but also her own children.

At the start of the play “An Inspector Calls,” the core of the play focusses on responsibility.
J.B. Priestly explores responsibility by the small mistakes committed by the Birling family. He
tells the audience that the small mistakes committed by the Birling family lead to the tragic
suicide of Eva Smith, we forced to believe that the rich, upper class uses the vulnerabilities
of the poor, working class in order to get more power, money, and status. However, due to
the arrival of the Inspector, the audience, as well as Sheila and Eric, are shown a glance of
how responsibility could be shown amongst society to create a better, more overall way of
life and much needed different to the unjust capitalistic approach currently in place.

Whilst it is important to remember that Priestly crafted “An Inspector Calls” to encourage
people to take responsibility for others regardless of others class or status. Priestly also over
criticizes people who don’t take responsibility for others and just use the people take the
money it contributes. While the Inspector talks about accepting responsibility for others
during the play it is shown that Sheila completely takes and accepts her responsibility and
also sides with Inspector trying to make other accept responsibility even after Inspector
leaves. This shows that the younger generation accepts responsibility for their actions faster
than the older generation. Hugely juxtaposing herself at the start of the play blaming the
Inspector for false accusations and not accepting any responsibility for the death of Eva
Smith without realizing who she is. Once Sheila realizes who Eva Smith is she accepts all the
responsibility of her actions and mistakes. In conclusion at the start of the play Sheila
doesn’t accept any responsibility until she realizes who Eva Smith is, after realizing who she
is, Sheila accepts all the responsibility of her actions and mistakes.
The character of Sheila Birling is instrumental in portraying the change in outlook and
mindset of the younger generation in contrast to the rigid mindset of the elder generation.
She metamorphoses from a spoilt, childlike person in the beginning to a responsible, mature
young women by the end of the play. This initial childish behaviour is depicted when she
apologizes to Mr Birling, ‘I’m sorry, Daddy [Mr Birling]. Actually I was listening.’ The personal
pronoun ‘I’ in the beginning of her apology suggests she is too critical of her own self and
does not put herself first. This may come across as her being a people pleaser. Additionally,
the noun ‘Daddy’ is a childlike reference to her father, indicating she seeks his approval and
quick to apologize. Her capitalist outlook changes for a socialist one as later she argues with
her father saying, ’But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people.’ The tone of
disagreement in ‘But’ suggests she is evolving and finding a voice to stand against her
parent’s beliefs. Furthermore, she humanizes the otherwise stated ‘cheap labour’ who are
considered inferior, stripped off their rights and discriminated by addressing them as
‘people’. The language structure in ‘-‘ acts as a pause, indicating her breaking the stereotype
notion. She also showcases moral responsibility when she promises, ‘I’ll never, never do it
again.’ The firmness in the pronoun ‘I’ carries a sense of certainty in accepting her
responsibility, further suggesting her genuine efforts. Additionally, the repetition of ‘never’
resonates persistence indicating her firm resolve towards a positive change. Sheila depicts a
youth who has learned her lesson from her role towards the shocking suicide of Eva Smith
and is adopting a more mature and responsible socialist approach. This enables the
audience to have a sense of hope from the younger generation in breaking the stereotype
notions of the Edwardian times towards a better society.
Inspector Goole, a masterfully crafted character by JB Priestley, is an embodiment of
righteousness. His authoritative presence throughout the play, unveil the vices of the society
mirrored through the members of the Birling family. His importance and stature is
introduced in the stage direction as one who ‘need not be a big man ….. massiveness,
solidity and purposefulness.’ The verb ‘creates’ reinforces the fact that one need not be
wealthy to have power. Moreover, the rule of three depicts the Inspector as reliable, stable,
trustworthy, contrasting with Mr Birling’s characteristics evoking a sense of relief from the
audience. Inspector Goole educates the capitalists on social reforms by reminding, “Public
men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.” The plural noun ‘men’ addresses
the society at large, suggesting collective responsibility. He further emphasizes that
‘responsibilities’ and ‘privileges’ are inter-dependent and to avail privileges one has to
accept responsibilities equally. As the play reaches its climax, Inspector Goole delivers a
powerful and inspiring monologue when he states, “But remember this. One Eva Smith has
gone – but ……… in fire and blood and anguish. Good night.” The hyperbolic ‘millions’ and its
repetition conveys the vastness and severity of the situation. Furthermore, the verb
‘intertwined’ along with the constant use of the collective pronoun ‘we’ suggest the need for
joint responsibility for the betterment of the society. Additionally, the rule of three in ‘fire
and blood and anguish’ carry negative and gloomy connotations. The audience is bound to
feel nervous and scared of this closing note as religion played a vital role in the people’s lives
at that time and this would make them wonder of their right and wrong conduct.
While Inspector Goole’s presence in the play remains ambiguous, his message to the society
is conveyed loud and clear. The play uses an educative approach to teach an important
lesson on responsibilities, that is efficiently understood by the more adaptable younger
generation, while the affluent elder generation remains rigid and non-welcoming to the idea
of shedding their capitalist outlook to embrace a socialist society.