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An Inspector Calls Essay

Hello, I’ve rushed this essay but I would love to see how I did! I would appreciate if you could give me a predicted grade or score out of 34. I’m studying at AQA exam board. Enjoy! Hope you like it! Any feedback would be great!

How successfully is the idea of collective responsibility explored in the play, through the use of the Inspector?

In Priestley’s allegorical tragedy, the Inspector is generated as this manufacturing catalysis who stimulates the idea of collective responsibility upon the bourgeois.

In Priestley’s didactic play, the Inspector is firstly promoted as a manufacturing catalyst through the Christian teachings of the Bible, driving the Inspector to envelope this social responsibility towards God. He orders that “we are members of one body” and that “we are responsible for each other”. The anaphoric repetition of “we” expressively outlines this collective responsibility and that we as a society should combine as one due to “we are members of one body”. Priestley inserts this biblical referencing through the Inspector to perhaps encourage the naive Christian audience, catalysing God’s interference with this “responsible for each other”. At this contemporary period when released, the Labour Party won the election party and with Priestley encouraging the Christian society would mass up many supporters due to this superstition of God. Furthermore, the metaphor of “members of one body” emphasises how we as a society only manoeuvres as a whole, practically Priestley aims to highlight the importance of agreement; if one fails, we all fail. This also linking towards the manufacture of the Inspector and how his catalysis is implied through the promoting of Religion: to forward a mass market of supporting Christians for Labour Party in 1945.

Furthermore in Priestley’s post-war play, the Inspector is portrayed as a stimulated catalysis through the metaphor of this “chain of events”, mimicking the collective responsibility for “each other”. The biblical imagery of “chain” could perhaps portray this negativity towards the bourgeois within society as this echoes dominance within society by capitalism. Perhaps Priestley interprets this to function this hatred and disregarding visualisation upon capitalism to portray how bourgeois may cast themselves as hubristic individuals, but “we are members of one body” and will always become this “chain” linking to one another by our collective responsibility: “events”. These “chain of events” could possibly highlight Priestley’s “duty” as he is collectively ordering these “events” to imply this responsibility over all. This implicates the inspector’s protagonist if catalyst, stimulating this collective responsibility to become implied, further concluding Priestley’s message of social construction whilst casting destructive hatred towards capitalism. By this, Priestley is able to damage a capitalistic statues and gather these members to join social alliance.

Additionally, the inspector manoeuvres this collective responsibility through his catalyst behaviour; towards the younger generation to imply this chance of supporting socialism. By focusing onto Sheila in regular, the Inspector has metaphorically stimulated Sheila’s independence which catalysis’s her social behaviour to become more argumentative. The Inspector’s denouement speech of “fire, blood, and anguish” is mirrored through Sheila’s portentous character, dictating the “famous younger generation” becoming more omnipotent to resist with their inherited nature of a capitalist. The triadic structure hints this conflicted reference to perhaps suggest how the Inspector obstructs as this catalysis, stimulating the illusion of war to outbreak. It could be suggested that Priestley inserts his social mouthpiece within the Inspector to register his experience within the war himself and how he warns this contemporary audience of what it outcomes are. The way Sheila indicates this repetitive message of Priestley’s highlight this foreshadowing image of a more collective responsibility the younger generation will cast win society due to their motivated engagement when necessary. It could perhaps map out Priestley aim of implicating this chance of socialism as he indicates a new generation to be this new battle between social and capitalism; if Priestley is correct about the younger generation capturing this collective responsibility, then they will collectively decide for a peaceful environment; socialism. This foreboding indication could perhaps stimulate as this warning upon society of supporting a capitalistic state, which would make the current 1945 audience to agree with this due to the recent ending of World War Two; making them support a social site one for the collective younger generation.

In Priestley’s caricature play, the Inspector’s catalyst is prompted through the pathetic fallacy of the “pink and intimate lighting” which “grew brighter and harder” to generate this collective responsibility. This “lighting” maps out the Inspector interrogating upon the Birlings, perhaps could be negotiated that the Inspector is this illusive stimulation which perhaps haunts the Birlings due to their malevolent nature; evidently through his name of “G-o-o-l-e”. The metaphorical fluctuations of the lighting could also reflect upon how this collective responsibility I constantly being deregulated due to one’s opinions against another’s: lack of “community”. The inspector’s catalysis is promoted through this as he could perhaps be furtively changing the “lighting” on stage to manipulate the Birlings and implicate their differential viewings upon society, revealing their narcissism towards others. Priestley implicates this to envelope an capitalist’s behaviour and it’s unreliable nature as they constantly become this threatening opponent to society. From this, Priestley is able to obstruct this façade within capitalism and perhaps mimic the fluctuation of lights to become symbolic to the constant ammunition bursting of World War Two. By this, the inspector is catalysing how this lack of collective responsibility stimulates this feudalism between one another; compelling this current audience to not trust capitalism.

In conclusion, Priestley envelopes the Inspector as this social catalysis to stimulate this collective responsibility; constructing this hatred negativity towards capitalism. Priestley obstructs the inspector to show this collective responsibility In many ways but most of all insert it into many aspects within the play, implicating the manoeuvring of supporting socialism.
Have you actually answered the question?
Original post by Grizwuld
Have you actually answered the question?


Yes, would like to know why you think that :smile:
The question is "How successfully..."
The answer must surely include some comment as to the degree of success?
Whilst using sophisticated vocab is good, you don't need to use so much of it- it doesn't get you any more marks :smile:
Original post by Grizwuld
The question is "How successfully..."
The answer must surely include some comment as to the degree of success?


Thanks for your feedback:smile:

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