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  • Essay / Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole as polar opposites in An Inspector Calls

    JB Priestley represented a huge conflict between the representatives of democracy and the self-regulated in capitalism, when another follows communist ideas. One of his best-known plays, “An Inspector Calls,” was written by British playwright John Priestley in 1945, after World War II. Nevertheless, the play is a grammar in three acts, with the main actions taking place in 1912, before the outbreak of the First World War. A time when Britain was run by male capitalists. Priestley promotes his belief in social justice and equal rights as he was one of the active socialists. The author presented Mr. Birling as a serious and stubborn businessman, while Inspector Goole is presented as a stubborn socialist, who always sticks to his point of view. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In this dramatic piece, the author uses different structural elements in order to help the audience make a readable comparison between Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole. This moving play opens with Mr. Birling spending time with his family, then he gives everyone a lesson about what the future holds and how everyone should treat each other . Arthur's speeches have a materialistic character and according to his speech the audience can clearly understand that he is a hero who is not trustworthy, he boasts in these phrases: "...perhaps we can we look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but working together. and “I am delighted with this engagement and I hope that it will not be long before you get married” from these two quotes, the audience can understand that this character is illusory and has a false appearance on his face, which hides behind all truth. He wanted to make more profit from this marriage and despite all these circumstances, which happened later in the play, Birling still wanted their engagement, because that is the interest of his business. In the following dialogues we contemplate the unexpected arrival of Inspector Goole. He presents himself as a fair and persistent person, who sought the truth, because it is his job “It is my duty to ask questions”. The author distinguishes this difference by the timing in this play, as seen when Mr. Birling's capitalist speech is disrupted by the doorbell due to the entrance of the inspector, leading the audience to wonder why the inspector's entrance is so abrupt and the audience is led to perceive that the inspector will expose Mr. Birling's false pretensions of being a "practical" man. Birling's happy birthday is over and the family's respectability is about to be suppressed. To begin with, in this play Priestley presents two main heroes with opposing views. Mr. Birling, as an unintelligent person and a symbol of capitalism, was presented as a rebellious and inflexible character. People like Mr Birling have no respect for others, they only care about their social status, their position in society and what the press will say about him. Money for this character is a driving force. If he and his family are such people, could the inspector change them? In contrast, Inspector Goole highlights all the concerns Priestley had when writing his drama - around age, gender, class and social responsibility. However, Goole was depicted as a social climber and a fighter for justice against lies. The inspector in this room represents the..