An Inspector CallsOne of the main themes of JB Priestley's play 'An Inspector Calls' is how man treats his fellow man. “An Inspector Calls” is set in 1912 in an Edwardian society. period of great division between classes. There was much social unrest as the working class united to protest for fair wages, reduced working hours and better working conditions. The play is set in The Birling Household during the engagement party of Shelia Birling and Gerald Croft. The party ends abruptly when an unknown inspector arrives at their door with news. The news from the inspector is that a girl named Eva Smith committed suicide by drinking a strong disinfectant. Although Eva does not appear in the play, the play centers on her and her death. The plot reveals the characters' involvement in this death. Throughout the play, an “Inspector Calls” JB Priestly uses the characters to portray the different levels of society. He does this in such a way as to give each class a moral belief and a name. He uses the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Birling to represent the capitalists, they belong to the middle class and work only for themselves. Gerald is upper middle class and much younger. He has some empathy for the lower class but he is still very capitalist. Both Eric and Sheila have a lot of empathy for Eva Smith, they see what they have done and are willing to accept it. Eva represents the lower class. It represents how mistreated they are by the upper classes. The Inspector represents the point of view of JB Priestley. JB Priestly uses the character to tell the audience what he feels and thinks. That the characters must be made aware of their responsibilities which must be truthful and honest with themselves and each other...... middle of paper ...... they thought they had done nothing hurt, as Eric and Shelia feel. bad for their actions and take full responsibility for them. I think Priestly ended the play with the phone call because if they had changed their ways they could have saved the girls' lives and it was like the inspector was just telling them that this was going to happen if they did not change their habits. I think the play was successful in alerting the audience to how the upper class treats the working class and that it is man's responsibility to take care of his fellow man. It made me think about how this still happens today, how people in high places don't think about anyone else and only themselves, like the banker and his bonuses. I think we should treat people fairly like if something happened to you, you would want someone to be there to help you. It's like treating your neighbor the way you would like to be treated..