An Inspector Calls & play Essay Example for Free

An Inspector Calls meet EssayWritten by J. B. Priestley in 1945, An Inspector Calls is a play that follows the story of the Birling Family and their dealings with a woman, Eva Smith. The Birlings are a stiff family and are happily celebrating an interest when their evening is rudely interrupted by a police Inspector investigating the death of a working class girl. Throughout the course of the evening, the Inspector deftly uncovers their dirty little secrets and each of their involvements in the girls death. The play is set in an industrial town in the Midlands called Brumley.During 1912 in the Edwardian era, when the play was set, aliveness was hard for the poor and even harder for women. There was real little help available for people and and the very desperate were given aid and even then they were sometimes not given enough. The local anesthetic workhouse was available for the sick, old or handicapped but this was an unpleasant place. Women in 1912 were treated as inf erior and they could not often do what men could they were not allowed to vote, they were unlikely to go to university and get decent railway line and they were expected to give up their jobs once they were married.They did not have the same rights as men. The play starts with a long set of stage directions from which we learn a lot about the Birling family. They are wealthy as they employ a maid. It is also suggests that they are strongly ruled by their social duties and roles because it is utter that Mrs Birling is socially superior to Mr Birling suggesting that society plays a big role in the familys life.This is shape up suggested by the fact that the men wear tails and white ties to a family dinner signifying that the family are very proper and must be formal at all times even in an on the loose(p) setting. Even though it is quite formal, they are quite knowing and cheerful as they have been celebrating a special occasion. The atmosphere is shown by the lighting which sho uld be pink and intimate hinting at a happy care-free family feel. However, when the Inspector comes in, the lighting should be harsher as the entrance of the Inspector destroys the family atmosphere and creates a harsh atmosphere.