To what extent is an inspector calls a morality play?
I think the story an inspector calls are using inspector Goole as a subs tute of
speech for the thoughts of J.B. Priestley and his socialist views on the fact that
all ac ons have a consequence. An Inspector Calls is a morality play because all
the Birlings and Gerald Croft commit crimes which are similar to the seven deadly
sins. Mr Birling is greedy because he wants more money, Sheila is guilty of wrath
and envy when she spitefully complains about Eva Smith and so on. Not all the
characters manage to redeem themselves. Unlike their parents Mr and Mrs Birling,
Sheila and Eric have a noticeable transformation in their thoughts and mindsets on
socialist views and people of the working class.
. Priestley uses the morality play structure to teach a 20th-century audience a series
of lessons that relate to his beliefs about social responsibility, age, gender and class.
The audience is invited to enjoy judging these characters - they are also forced to
question their own behaviour. Priestley would have hoped that people watching the
play would have left the theatre as better people. Priestly teaches us that for every
action leads to a consequence. We are shown the undeniable greed of a middleclass Mr birling and his non sympathetic response to the tragic suffering of Eva
smith. After reading or watching an inspector calls Priestley want us to realize the
younger generation has the potential to be the beginning of a dramatic change in
society for the people that surround us and upcoming generations to come. An
inspector is presented as a morality play as it shows the dilemma faced by an
average person trying to lead a moral life, the characters in this play are abstractions
that represent qualities of human nature.