An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be the right way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
The interview with Thebes does reveal a lot about Oedipus that we haven’t seen before. In this interview it is immediately apparent that because Teiresias did not give Oedipus information, Oedipus became impatient. At first he was pleading to Teiresias to reveal the truth but when he wouldn’t give the truth, Oedipus became arrogant and commanding. Teiresias responded by attacking Oedipus calmly yet effectively as if he knew something that was very important but Oedipus was too naïve to understand. 11.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
Gellburg’s response to Slyvia’s outburst is not evidently displayed through speech, but through the use of Miller’s stage directions: ‘He is stock still; horrified, fearful’. The words ‘horrified’ and ‘fearful’ suggest that the news of such events came as a shock to him and undoubtedly indicate that he is affected by such news and is also stricken by Sylvia’s powerful, unexpected revelation of her feelings. Miller conveys the message that that Gellburg finally comes to understand his ignorant attitude as one that has led to his self-denial and self-hatred. It later becomes clear in the play that Gellburg is suppressing an important part of who he is, and in scene eleven, he confesses to a bottled-up desire of ‘going and sitting in the Schul with the old men and pulling the tallis over my head’. Sylvia, in her frustration with Gellburg, says ‘Don’t sleep with me again’ in a rather commanding manner.
Not only is he afraid to confront the woman talking of Michelangelo, he seems intimidated by the social posturing he must engage in. Eliot repeats the Michelangelo line suggesting that Prufrock is truly overwhelmed by Michelangelo and will not
Harry Caul, the film’s main character is a paranoid man of few words who does everything possible to keep his life as private as can be. Yet, his profession involves the exact opposite; invading others privacy. The plot of the film is mainly based on a conversation involving a male and female engaging in an affair. Due to the fact that much of the conversation was missed by the surveillance recordings, it leads Harry Caul to believe that they are in grave danger; however the truth is the exact opposite. The Conversation’s absence of sound in many shots represents the ambiguity and absence of the reality in the line “He’d kill us if he had the chance” and the lack of love and emotion in Harry Caul’s life.
These definitions and the lexical choice all indicate that this moment is much more significant that it seems – the warship is a prophecy, and later in the book we know that war does end up tearing the couple apart. As it is described as steaming “away”, it implies that their relationship is quickly moving on, travelling to new seas, as it were, in the metaphor of the ship. Another symbol is how Pelagia uses Mandras’ name to fit in with the other dictators when she is playing with the “euphony” of their names, matching up Mandras with Mussolini and Metaxas. This seems contradictory as she is in love with Mandras, yet sees him as a dictator; “I love him” she declares, but she is fearful of marriage to him and wonders how much like a dictator he will be. This brings through the idea of Mandras’ character being one of conflict.
But yet have I a mind/That fears him much, and my misgiving still /Falls shrewdly to the purpose”, from this we can see how he still shows some signs of uneasiness about them giving Antony a chance but is still not able to bring his point across to Brutus and the other conspirators as they all reason with Brutus and later on even submits himself to accepting Antony and even trying to convince him to join them. -Lack of foresight/ambition(1) With the exception of wanting to remove Antony, he shows a lack of foresight towards other aspects of conspiracy. As his primary motive of the conspiracy is to get rid of Caesar because of jealousy towards his power, he fails to plan for what happens after. This can be
The character of the inspector is written by Priestley as a representation of morality in the play. The manner of The inspector is one the Birling's find rather disconcerting. This question of his character grows throughout the play, mirroring Sheila's and the audience's growing suspicion of him.” we didn't tell him anything he didn't already know" This all knowing quality of the character of the inspector gives a sense of being super natural, a quality confirmed by Priestley during the Inspector's outburst at the end in which he foretells the prophecy of 'fire, blood and anguish' giving the audience an underlying sense of unease at the reference to war. Therefore showing them the consequences of a lack of responsibility. This ironic hindsight into the war also gives the audience a sense of the inspector's wisdom.
When the Inspector is there, Birling is very fast to drop the blame on someone else, insisting "I can't accept any responsibility" which is a complete contrast of what the Inspector says, telling the family to "share the blame among yourselves when I have left" This constant conflict, which is often at the heart of the dramatic genre itself, makes sure there is tension whenever the two characters are talking to each other. This conflict is not the only one within the play. Eric also takes the side of the Inspector, causing tension between him and his father after the Inspector has left, this side is also taken by Sheila, causing a "split" in the family, which can be seen by "I suppose we're all nice people now."