An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley

1. An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley

2. Lesson Objectives • To understand the historical context of the play ‘An Inspector Calls’. • To understand the meaning of ‘Socialism’ and be able to identify the representation of this philosophy in the play.

3. J B Priestley

4. Biography • Born 13th September 1894 died 14th August 1984. • Mother died in they year he was born. • Left school at 16 ‘to write’ and began work in 1910 as a junior clerk at a wool firm. • Priestley stated that it was the period 1911-1914 that ‘set their stamp upon me’ (the time before the first world war).

5. Biography • Priestley surrounded himself with ‘people who read a great deal, cared a lot for the arts and preferred real talk and hot argument to social chit chat’. • He found himself having political discussions with his father’s socialist friends.

6. Back to Priestley… • World war one broke out in 1914. • Priestley joined the infantry at age 20. • He left the army in 1919 after seeing active front line service in France. • He narrowly escaped being killed when a German shell exploded near him and was the victim of a gas attack. • His experiences in the war affected his writing; “I was lucky in that war and never ceased to be aware of the fact.”

7. After the war… • Priestley took a degree in Modern History and Political Science at Cambridge University. • In 1921 he completed his degree, married and left for London with his wife. • He began his writing career with essays and achieved success with novels and plays

8. His work • With the outbreak of WW2 in1939, Priestley continued writing and worked for BBC radio. However, his programmes were cancelled by the British Government for being too critical of their actions in the war. • The play, An Inspector Calls was written in 1945.

9. Socialism What is socialism?

10. Socialist principles “The establishment of a system of society based upon the common ownership and democratic control of the means and instruments for producing and distributing wealth by and in the interest of the whole community.” The Socialist party of Great Britain.

11. Socialist principles According to the socialist view, individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another. Everything that people produce is in some sense a social product, and everyone who contributes to the production of a good is entitled to a share in it. Society as a whole, therefore, should work to share the benefit of all its members.

12. An Inspector Calls • The play is a scathing critique of the hypocrisies of Victorian/Edwardian English society and as an expression of Priestley’s Socialist political principles • Was set in 1912 (before WWI) and first performed in London in 1946. • It has been read as a parable about the destruction of Victorian social values and the disintegration of pre-WWI English society.

13. Setting • The play was written in 1945 but set in 1912 for a reason!  • In 1912 the Conservatives were in power, with gentry, industrialists and middle classes distancing self from working classes. • There was a huge divide in wealth: most workers were paid very little for long hours. • Women especially had little power over their lives. This was the exact opposite of what Priestley and other Socialists wanted! 

14. Setting • World War One brought upheaval and forced changes as all classes were forced to work and fight together. • There were also more freedoms for women. • BUT, after war things reverted to how they had been. The outbreak of WWII made it obvious that lives had been lost for nothing, and lessons had not been learnt. • Many felt society had to change radically for good.

15. The Play itself… • A straightforward detective thriller……....or is it?

16. Review • In what year is the play set? • What is Socialism? • What genre does this play fall into?