AIC Themes

• Responsibility


  One of the most prevalent themes within the play
• Role of the Inspector

  To highlight that all actions have consequences
• The Inspector


  Demands the characters be accountable for their actions and take responsibility for others
• This message is also intended for the wider audience and for society in general
• The Inspector demands each character be held accountable and admit personal responsibility


  For the chain of events which led to Eva's death
• Each character


  • Had an individual connection with Eva, regardless of how fleeting, and their actions will have influenced her fate
• Sheila


  The first character in the play to accept responsibility for her actions, which demonstrates her courage and empathy
• Eric


  Initially offers marriage to Eva which shows some attempt at responsibility
• As the father of her child, he ultimately fails in his duty to protect both of them
• The Inspector


  Urges the characters (and the audience) to consider their social responsibility, arguing individuals have a civic duty to ensure their actions must benefit the whole of society
• Priestley's argument


  Members of a society have duties and obligations towards the welfare of others
• Priestley's argument


  They have a collective and social responsibility to take care of each other
• Arthur and Sybil


  Hold prominent positions within society, so the Inspector suggests they have an even greater duty of care towards others
• While the Inspector alludes to ideas of responsibility and duty, Arthur and Sybil also repeatedly use these words though they interpret them in very different ways
• Eva


  Has a greater sense of moral responsibility than all of the other characters
• When the Inspector leaves


  It provides an opportunity for the characters to reveal if they have learned anything from his message
• Only Eric and Sheila have grasped the Inspector's message; Arthur, Sybil and Gerald are blind to it
• Priestley's intention


  To emphasise the importance of both personal and social responsibility
• Priestley insists this extends beyond the confines of a family unit and spreads to society as a whole
• Some of the acts committed by the Birlings and Gerald may not individually seem to have been so terrible to drive Eva to suicide
• Priestley emphasises that individual actions may well begin a chain of events which may have devastating consequences
• Capitalism


  Economic system that seeks to benefit the individual
• Socialism


  Economic system that aims to share out wealth and benefit society
• An Inspector Calls is a play that deals with ideas of fairness and inequality
• Priestley used the play to argue that the economic system of Capitalism prevented equality and social justice and that another system, Socialism, would be fairer for all
• Capitalism


  • Seeks to benefit the individual
  • Perpetuates inequalities in society and prevents social mobility
• Socialism


  • Aims to share out wealth and benefit society
• Capitalism


  • The comfortable, affluent life of the Birlings who thrive on Capitalism
• Capitalism


  • The distressing account of Eva, who is forced to live a wretched life due to their greed
• Despite being a good worker, Eva is exploited and marginalised by those within the privileged Capitalist system
• Eva is trapped in a cycle of poverty and despite her attempts to improve her situation, she cannot overcome it
• The Inspector's message


  "we are all part of one community"
• Arthur


  • Resistant to the Inspector's message
  • Insists his responsibility is to protect the interests of his business, by making as much profit as possible
  • Treats the pay strike at his factory with contempt since it threatens his profits
• Priestley presents the Birlings and Capitalism in a negative light: they are individualistic, self-centered and amoral, placing profit and greed above the rights and concerns of others
• Priestley seeks to expose this selfishness and to encourage others to look after one another and to work towards a society where all members are treated more equally and fairly
• Generational Divide


  Younger characters are more open to social and economic change, and as a result are in conflict with their parent's generation, who are stuck in their ways
• Arthur and Sybil


  • Fail to acknowledge Sheila and Eric as adults and offer little support during the evening's proceedings
  • Ignore Eric's alcoholism which may in part be due to their indulgence
  • Attempt to shield Sheila from hearing sordid details about "women of the town", despite Sheila being already aware of such realities
• Arthur, Sybil and Gerald

  • Fully entrenched in upper-class notions of superiority and unable to change
  • Mock the foolishness of Sheila and Eric for having been so affected by the Inspector
  • Share a sense of relief when the Inspector is discovered to be a fraud, as this is irrelevant to them
• Sheila and Eric


  • Do not share the sense of relief as the others when the Inspector is discovered to be a fraud, as this is irrelevant to them
  • Demonstrate their capacity for change and their acceptance of social responsibility
• The Inspector shows the audience

  All of the characters have had an opportunity for redemption, though only Sheila and Eric have embraced it