Margaret Thatcher society today Essay Example

Margaret Thatcher society today Essay Example Margaret Thatcher society today Essay Margaret Thatcher society today Essay During the play you get the notion that money rules all. As well as the classes, which are judged on amounts of money, there is a strong sense of money = life. This is shown when the inspector questions Mrs Burling about Eva Smith. When Eva Smith falls pregnant Eric, the father also son to Mrs Burling, realises money is needed and steals some from his father. Mrs Burling states, not knowing Eric has done this, that the decent thing the father should do is marry her, therefore giving her money. Mr Burling also thinks highly of money as he tries to pay the minimum wages to his factory workers therefore earning himself more. At the beginning of act one he talks about how it would be a good idea if his company and Geralds fathers should combined. This idea of his is truly based on how much money he can earn himself. Mrs Burling also seems to crave money, but tries to give you the impression that she is innocent. She tries to shush Mr Burling when he brings this up at the dining table and later suggests that they should talk in private. Now Arthur, I dont think you should talk business just quite now. In An Inspector Calls it is noticeable that everything that J. B. Priestley either features or makes fun of happens today. Today there is prostitution, a big blame society and class structures. Money also plays a big part in the world today. You often see lots of people selling big issues. When a man of middle class walks past someone like this the initial reaction is Why are they there, what have they done to make themselves so low. Often people dont want to give money to them or even buy the magazine because people think theyre just going to use it to buy drugs etc. At the end of the play J. B. Priestley makes you think about how you have the urge you to improve society. Margaret Thatcher said in 1980 There is no society today. The youth at the end of the play provide some hope for society in their actions. This play is very clever and this is why it has remained so popular. I think that the drama of the play also plays a big part in why An Inspector Calls has remained so popular. J. B. Priestley said to make a good drama you have to cut out all the drink mixing etc and get on with the storyline. In the world today there is an element of how we like to feel somewhat clever and superior to others. This features in the play when Mrs Burling is talking about how the father of the baby is to blame and how he should be sent down for this. She says I blame the father for everything end of act two. Of course during her speech the audience have actually acknowledged who the father is and sits there just waiting for Mrs Burling to discover this as well. We like to see and enjoy a dislikeable character reduce down to size. When Sheila manages to get a word in she confronts her mother about Eric being the father and the guilt sets in. When Eric appears on the scene Mrs Burling tries to make up excuses for what shes said and looks for a scapegoat. But I didnt know it was you- I never dreamt. Besides, youre not the type- you dont get drunk. This cleverness and reducing the character down to size appeals to us and therefore make us want to watch more. During An Inspector Calls the characters talk about other people in the town and shops, bar etc. This gives the audience knowledge that there are more people other than the main characters involved with the play. It shows that the characters on stage arent the only people in the world. Each character has a main key to them, Mr Burling is a man mostly obsessed with money, Mrs Burling a woman who blames others, Eric a bit of a womaniser and Sheila a hopeful yet jealous person. By mentioning other people J. B. Priestley is trying to get the audience to realise that there is, for example, more than one money grubber in the world and perhaps we are all guilty sometimes of these things. This is a clever way of getting the audience involved and almost being part of the play. In an interview J . B. Priestly talked about this and said how it was important to include the world around them in the play because otherwise it makes the play seem totally based on the characters as if they are the only people on this world. J. B. Priestleys An Inspector Calls is a play mainly based around a family. It shows how they cope with whichever situation is thrown at them. During the play the characters snap and try to blame each other and Mr Burling, for example, becomes agitated. The audience become addicted and like the idea of watching characters dealing with difficult situations. Its quite pleasurable, I think, for the audience to watch each one of the characters suffer in a different way. The play then rapidly becomes realistic as people today probably react the same way as some of the characters. Individuals today become addicted to this type of play and modern versions a bit like An Inspector Calls are seen today. Programs like Big Brother and My Family are exact copies but with modern twists. In the play J. B. Priestly uses quite a lot of dramatic irony. He has cleverly crafted his story line so that it carries you part of the way and then suddenly drops you at the end. Up until nearly the end you know whats going to happen and realize that the inspector is a fake. Once the audience has understood the storyline there is an element of satisfaction as you think you know the storyline. Its not until the end when there is a telephone call saying there had been a suicide that you begin to wonder. The authors use of dramatic irony at the beginning is skilful, as it draws you into the play. When Mr Burling talks about how great the Titanic is and how there is never going to be war, you feel superior as you know that Mr Burlings knowledge is not very reliable. Mr Burling says: Therell be peace and prosperity and the Titanic- unsinkable. It also intrigues you about whats going to happen because of the characters lack of knowledge. Dramatic Irony also features when Mrs Burling accuses the father, of Eva Smiths baby, as irresponsible and a drunken young idler. In the play J. B. Priestley uses just a touch of humour. This enables the audience to relax more and become part of the play. By using humour it lightens the play and makes it more enjoyable for the audience. The type of humour J. B. Priestley uses is little amounts and sparingly. It breaks up the serious ideas in the play and allows the audience to digest the drama easily. The humour mostly features in the part played by the Inspector. I think this is because the audience envisage the inspector as quite a stern man. Like the storyline, Priestly has done this to allow the audience to digest him easily. The inspector says lines like We didnt think you meant Buckingham Palace and I dont play golf, its a shame. Finally J. B. Priestleys An Inspector calls, I think, tries to convey one important message to its audience; Helping others is the key to success. The play shows a very Christian message of how we need to make todays society better and to prove Margaret Thatchers saying wrong, and perhaps the views of Mr Burling, that there is no such thing as society. An Inspector Calls is a play which reaches out through the inspector to its audience. The inspector, a very careful but weighty man, shows us that there isnt a need in this world for jealously, shameful secrets or class structures. Through interrogating the rest of the characters he unveils each of their problems and shows us how it is wrong. An Inspector Calls has the ability to engross its audience and to educate them at the same time. It shows us that the lessons we learn from watching and reading this play may make us want to try and rebuild society today.