An Inspector Calls Context

J.B Priestley - Background Born to a working class family and became a junior clerk at age 16. When WWI broke out, he became a soldier. After the war finished, he gained a degree from Cambridge University and wrote his first novel in 1929. He wrote his first play in 1932 and went on to write 50 more. He covered controversial topics that usually carried strong political messages. He set An Inspector Calls in 1912 because that era represented the opposite of what people wanted in 1945. During WWII, he broadcast a weekly radio show which was disapproved of by the Conservative party.

J.B Priestley – Political Views Priestley became increasingly concerned with social inequality. During 1942, he set up his own political party with other people called the ‘Common Wealth Party’ which argued for public ownership of land, greater democracy and more morality within politics. His beliefs were that another world war could only be avoided if countries had mutual respect and cooperation and became active in the development of United Nations.

Key Events 1912-1945 The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic hit an iceberg in April 1912 War broke out in 1914 and lasted for over 4 years Russian October Revolution took place in 1917 (a socialist revolution which removed the dictatorial higher class) General strike 1926 – strike that lasted 9 days due to low wages. This affected miners especially. WWII started in 1939 and lasted for 6 years where 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis Events during this period were some of the darkest of human history ‘An Inspector Calls’ was first performed in the Soviet Union in 1945 and Britain in 1946

The Play The play is set in the Edwardian era, where there was a great deal of prosperity for the middle classes and industrialists. At the same time there was growing discontent amongst the working classes with many strikes ( miners, seamen, dockers and railwaymen ). Conditions were bad for many: Wages were poor; there was much poverty Redundancy was common Illness, old age, drunkenness and large families added to the problem The national mortality rate for children was more than double for the working class compared to the upper/middle classes. There was no social security system – only the dreaded workhouse and charity organizations for support.

The Play An Inspector Calls might be understood in several contexts. First, it is an example of immediate post-war drama, which means that it was written after World War Two. Post-war dramas take up some of the economic, political, and social issues prompting that conflict, including socialism versus free-market capitalism, democracy versus fascism, and communal versus individual rights and privileges. An Inspector Calls marks the beginning of a turn from the literary period of realism to what would later be called the postmodern, the absurdist, or the surreal. Priestley’s play considers realistic characters in a realistic upper- middle-class situation, and characters speak in “prose” rather than in “verse.” But the presence of the “Inspector” marks within An Inspector Calls the possibility of actions beyond rational reasoning. Priestley’s work can be viewed as a hinge between more realistic plays of the early twentieth century and the darker, less plot-driven, and more openly experimental dramas.

The Play The play opened in the Soviet Union in 1946, and therefore reached its first audiences in Russian. Although An Inspector Calls is set some thirty-five years before its first performance, its consideration of industrial power and human worth was still very much an issue at the time of its debut. Priestley weighs what blame belongs to whom, and how ill-considered actions on the individual scale can have fatal, if unintentional, consequences. Anyone watching the play in the 1940s might see the recklessness of Arthur, the aloofness of Sybil, the outward guilt of Sheila, or the drunkenness of Eric both as personal flaws and as potentially allegorical statements about national responsibility in continental Europe, the UK, and the United States.

Translating this into the exam Use context to help formulate your arguments about characters/themes when discussing quotations. Use it to help you formulate an argument about why you think Priestley wrote the play. Use it to inform yourself about the motivations of characters Remember: context is worth half of your marks (16 marks) in the AIC section of your literature exam!