An Inspector Calls :: English Literature

An Inspector Calls: Set In 1912; written 1940's but a play for the millennium. What important issues are raised by the play? How does Priestly use the Settings, Characters and Events to convey? I've been studying the play 'An Inspector Calls' that is concerned about problems and issues of year 1912 and used the characters of the play to allow his feelings of the time to be put across to others, in 1912 and now. Many of the problems faced then are still around today and will be probably will be in years to come, despite him trying to make changes in the way we think. However the play was wrote in 1946, just after the Second World War, he was trying to make people aware of what was going on and how this shouldn't happen again. At the time there were a lot of coal miners on strike for having low wages, working, living and conditions also Dockers for the same reasons nothing was done. The poor were manipulated by the rich into what they wanted, for instance take the World War Two Germany the much stronger, powerful and richer country, against poorer countries such as Poland and there was many more countries in similar situations. The play was attempting to get across, that we need to look after the people and things around us no matter how small, as it's not acceptable to use them to our advantages: Remember this. One Eva Smith has gone but there are millions and millions of Eva Smith and John Smiths still left with us. There were always people there to look after or at least realise about the 'Eva Smiths' in the world. In a world scale other countries came into help the poorer countries but notice its always too late in a way, people have already been hurt, In the play there was Sheila and Eric Birling and of course the inspector. A more recent event like this took place in 1982, the Falklands. Argentina invaded the Islands, thinking nothing would be done because they're so small. The British advanced to help their fellow men, and stopped the conflict in its tracks. They made Argentina pay for it, in the death of their own men, 'then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish', The Inspector (page 56). I think the ideas of Priestly were heard by the people, but still have not embedded themselves into today's society: Nonsense! You'll have a good laugh over it yet. We've been had, that's all. Birling(both p70) This is only Mr Birling's general opinion but this could also be the