how is social class presented in an inspector calls essay

Social Class & Equality

Lower-class characters: eva and edna.

In An Inspector Calls , J.B. Priestley focuses on the different social classes and how they experience life differently. The play focuses on upper-class characters: the only lower-class characters are Eva Smith and Edna (the maid).

• We hear all about Eva's life and how she has suffered because of members of the upper-middle and upper classes.
• These people did not care about the consequences their actions may have had for lower-class people.
• All the characters treat Eva Smith as someone disposable (they can get rid of) and unimportant purely because she is lower-class. They don’t think she is worthy of their time or thought.

• We only see Edna a few times, each for a brief moment.

Upper-Middle-Class Characters - Birlings

Priestley shows how the upper classes generally only cared about themselves, their reputations, and how life affected them. The play centres on upper-middle-class characters, like Sheila, Eric and Mr Birling:

• E.g. fashion and clothing.
• She spends her father’s money to make herself look the part – her role is to look good so she makes her father and her future husband look good. She is an ornament (object of decoration).
• She is presented as a spoilt child at first, who uses her social status to get what she wants.

• He spends his time gambling and drinking too much.
• Because of his social status, he does not have to work for a living. He lives off his father’s money.
• He is presented as an immature, irresponsible little boy for most of the play.

• He is pleased about his daughter marrying into the upper class because it strengthens his ties with Lord and Lady Croft. It also improves his social status.
• He is keen to be knighted (given a rank of honour by a British king or queen because of his special achievements) and accepted into the upper class.
• He is worried about possible scandals (morally wrong events) that will stop this happening.

Upper-Class Characters - Gerald and Mrs Birling

In An Inspector Calls , J.B. Priestley shows that many upper-class people lived superficially (appearing to be true) happy lives. He tries to show that they did not know about the hard lives led by the lower classes or how much upper-class lives depended on lower-class workers. The play centres on upper-class characters, like Gerald and Mrs Birling:

Mrs Birling

• She has a higher social status than her husband.
• She gently tells him off for his improper (not in line with social standards) comments at the dinner table. She sees these as unsuitable dinner conversation.
• She has a position in a charity because it makes her look good.
• She doesn’t like Eva from the start because she pretends her name is Mrs Birling. Mrs Birling thinks this is incredibly offensive (possibly because of Eva’s lower-class position ruining her name) and refuses to help her.

• He highlights the selfish attitudes of the upper class at the time.
• After Sheila finds out, Gerald still feels that they should get married. This shows his selfish nature.
• By the end of the play, the audience hopes that Gerald will change his attitude, like Sheila and Eric did.
• But he shows the selfish egotism (self-absorbed attitude) of the upper class when he does not change.
• Instead, he tries hard to do everything he can to prove that Inspector Goole was fake and that he and the Birlings were completely innocent.

1 Plot Summary

1.1.1 Act 1 Summary

1.1.2 Act 1 Key Quotes

1.2.1 Act 2 Summary

1.2.2 Act 2 Key Quotes

1.3.1 Act 3 Summary

1.3.2 Act 3 Key Quotes

1.3.3 Act 3 More Key Quotes

1.3.4 End of Topic Test - Acts 1, 2 & 3

2 Context & Key Themes

2.1 Context & Key Themes

2.1.1 Social Class & Equality

2.1.2 Class Tension

2.1.3 Abuse of Power & Corruption

2.1.4 Socialism vs Capitalism

2.1.5 Blame & Responsibility

2.1.6 Attitudes to Women

2.1.7 Characterisation of Women

2.1.8 Dramatic Function of Characters

2.1.9 End of Topic Test - Context & Key Themes

2.1.10 End of Topic Test - Context & Key Themes 2

2.1.11 Grade 9 - Key Themes

3 Key Characters

3.1 Mr Birling

3.1.1 Mr Birling Analysis

3.1.2 Mr Birling Quotes

3.2 Mrs Birling

3.2.1 Mrs Birling Analysis

3.2.2 Mrs Birling Quotes

3.2.3 Exam-Style Questions - Mrs Birling

3.3.1 Sheila Analysis

3.3.2 Sheila Quotes

3.3.3 End of Topic Test - The Birlings & Sheila

3.4.1 Eric Analysis

3.4.2 Eric Quotes

3.5.1 Gerald Analysis

3.5.2 Gerald Quotes

3.6 Inspector Goole

3.6.1 Inspector Goole Analysis

3.6.2 Inspector Goole Quotes

3.6.3 End of Topic Test - Eric, Gerald & Inspector Goole

3.7 Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.7.1 Grade 9 - Key Characters

4 Authorial Method

4.1 Arrangement & Structure of the Play

4.1.1 Setting, Lighting & Dramatic Irony

4.1.2 Structure & Chronology

4.1.3 Structure & Chronology 2

4.1.4 End of Topic Test - Authorial Method

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End of Topic Test - Acts 1, 2 & 3

Class Tension

An Inspector Calls: A* / L9 Example Intro + Paragraph

Here are some samples of an essay on An Inspector Calls, on the theme of responsibility. I wrote these myself as a teacher to show students an example of the standard required to get a high level at GCSE. I’ve also broken down the structure below so you can see what to put into each paragraph and how to organise all of your ideas – this is the most important thing for getting a high level in an essay !

Thanks for reading! If you’re stuck on An Inspector Calls and need more help, you can access our full course .

How does Priestley explore the theme of responsibility in the play?  

EXAMPLE INTRO: 

Responsibility is a very important theme in An Inspector Calls, as the Inspector reveals one by one that all the Birling family are partly responsible for Eva’s death. Eva represents the lower classes, and Priestley uses the tragic ending of her character to spread his message about social responsibility, a message which is delivered by the Inspector himself, who acts as a mouthpiece for Priestley’s own views on socialism and equality. Overall, the audience realizes that their actions affect other people’s lives, so they are responsible for looking after and caring for everyone in society. 

An Inspector Calls: Character Revision

EXAMPLE MIDDLE PARAGRAPH: 

• Point (one sentence that answers part of the question, your idea)
• Evidence (quotes/references that prove your point) 
• The technique (language features/dramatic features/structure features)
• Explanation (analysis – how/why the evidence proves the point)
• Development (context/alternative interpretations)
• Link (linking back to the argument/thesis in the Intro)

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Are you studying ‘An Inspector Calls’ at school or college? Don’t worry – we have a complete course that will help you get to grips with the text. It includes:

• 2 Hours of Video Lessons
• Extensive Support Material

JB Priestley embedded strong political messages in his play, and you need to understand those well to be able to write a high level essay or exam answer on the text. This course will enable you o revise the major characters and social messages in the play, and go deeper into the themes and context so you can get the most out of each essay

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GCSE Annotated Essay: How does Priestley present Social Class in An Inspector Calls

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

Resource type: Assessment and revision

Last updated

2 March 2021

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Exemplar Essay on Social Class, with annotations to indicate the all the AOs that need to be demonstrated in your exam essay. Learn how to write your essay to include all the Assessment Objectives required to access the top marks in your ’ An Inspector Calls’ essay for your mocks and Summer exams.

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Social Class

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Class has its roots in the opportunities you are given at birth - children from rich homes are given more opportunities than those from poorer backgrounds which means that, often, people from wealthier backgrounds go on to be more successful.

However, priestley believed that this was wrong and didn't reflect anyone's actual ability. in this play, he encourages us to look beyond class and see a society where everyone can be treated with respect., class at the dinner table:, though the play is primarily about the horrendous treatment of the lower classes by those who are wealthier than them, class divisions are clear right from the opening. the social divides and aspirations are evident around the dinner table:, mr birling has made his own money and, although he's rich, he doesn't have his wife's aristocratic roots. he dreams of marrying his daughter into the aristocracy and hopes of a knighthood for himself., mrs birling is a former aristocrat, but she is also a snob and we can't help but feel that she would have resented marrying a man who was her social inferior. she looks down quite aggressively at those who she deems as being from "that class.", gerald croft has the highest social standing at the table (as a man, and a member of the aristocracy) but mr birling clearly hopes that gerald's marriage to sheila will raise the social standing of the whole family. although birling lectures him, there is a real sense that he's desperate to be liked by gerald as well - the bit where he privately talks about his knighthood is a great example, eva smith and class, most of the play, however, is about the treatment of the working class eva smith / daisy renton by those above her, and each of the characters mistreats her in their own way:, mr birling casually fires her for trying to win a pay-rise for her and her colleagues. he can do this because he owns the business., sheila has her fired from her job, because she was jealous at how pretty eva was. she can do this because she's rich and the shop want to pander to her needs., gerald takes advantage of her situation - she was starving when he met her - and then uses her for sex, before casually dropping her when he's done. he can do this because he's rich and has a "spare house" she can live in., mrs birling was so offended that she used the birling name that she refused to help her. she can do this because she's rich and controls the decision over who gets support from her charity., like gerald, eric used her for sex (the suggestion is that he raped her.) he got away with this because by the time eva met him she had been so brutally treated by everyone else that she had no-where else to go., all the characters mistreat eva simply because they can., the inspector and class, the inspector, however, represents the newly formed middle class, a group who were educated and often had the law on their side. the inspector sees to it that the family do not get away with their treatment of eva without being forced to face what they have done., while the family see someone from eva's class as being something "other" the inspector makes them see that "we are all part of one body" and "we are all responsible for each other.", key quotes and moments from the play, “ perhaps i ought to warn you that the inspector is an old friend of mine, and that i see him fairly frequently .” mr birling trie s to bull y the inspector by using his relationship with other upper class men . the inspector is not impressed., mr birling sees eva as just one of “ several hundred young women ” who worked at his factory - he says " i don't know, they keep changing ." this highlights the vulnerability of the working class in those times, something that was socially acceptable., mrs birling’s snobbery develops to a point later in the play when she calls eva a “ girl of that sort. ” she represents the ignorant, older generation who still cling on to the class system that put them in then position they were in., mrs birling also refers to eva saying " girls of that class " - the determiner " that " really highlights how she sees the working classes as being fundamentally different to her., mr birling is keen to be knighted to cement his hard-fought rise to the upper class., birling, like a lot of the upper classes, simply uses eva smith as cheap labour - shei la argues against this recognising that there is more to eva than just her class - " but they're not cheap labour, they're people .", sheila used her position as some from the upper classes when she became jealous of eva's good looks and had her fired from milwards ., gerald is prepared to marry sheila , beca use she was of a similar class to him; eva, however, was of a much lower class than gerald and so he used her when he wanted to and then discarded her when he was done., eric is awkward about his " public-school-and-varsity " life, and , like sheila he has been " spoilt " by his parents to the extent that he has never grown up. in the end, eva patronises him for being childish because he has been so protected by his class that he has never grown up ., mrs birling was disgusted that someone socially inferior to her used her name and used this as a reason to pun ish someone she was prejudiced against ..

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Power In An Inspector Calls: Types, Forms And Effects

1. introduction.

This chapter will concentrate on the working of power in Priestley's play. Among its main concerns will be the role of the Inspector and the power he is seen exercising over the Birlings, and their reactions to it. It may be immediately objected that no power is seen being wielded by the play's second most dangerous character: the even more 'sinister' Eric, who alone at the end is 'left speechless'. Another point of criticism is structurally located at the opposition between the final lack of understanding or a dismissive blindness of the privileged spectators and the proper understanding attained by the Inspector to affirm the young heirs of future society as knowledge bearers. Indeed, much of the comic irony of the play arises from the selective ignorance of roles performed there. The Inspector manipulates the space and allows himself and his message to be entirely absorbed by the patriarchal figures located within it to the exclusion of the three young people who share the stage and the audience's dictates. These brief qualifications - and there are other less decisive ones - should not obliterate the significance of the power which the Inspector does wield over the Birling family. No fewer than a dozen times in Acts I, II, and III the cagey Inspector manages to invite the Birlings' comment on what he is saying or doing, 'earwigging' to make the house a lively tomb, his position will be protected, to cover himself while he wreaks havoc on their minds, and to further his quest for a 'light', 'a torch', not necessarily so bright that it blinds the Birling eyes to things they profess to revile. This is an Inspector who is privileged by his knowledge, independence, self-assurance, composure, and economy not to be cheated, and the crucial word is: 'inspector'.

1.1. Background and Context of 'An Inspector Calls'

Context refers to the social, political, and economic conditions under which a literary work was created. The analysis of a literary work in its social context is quite essential in order to understand not only the factors that contributed to the theme and mood but also to reveal the author's purposes and perspectives. The background context of the play helps readers and audience members to better understand the ways in which the society is constructed, its purpose within the plotline, and the power dynamics at play within the stratified groups. Published in 1945 but set in 1912, J.B. Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls" is a deceptively straightforward detective-thriller that uniquely combines elements of murder mystery with allegory, courtroom drama, psychological and socialist parody. The play is quite ironic, with drug references, multiple speeches, moral teachings, physical climaxes, Darwinian philosophies, and emotional descriptions. Such aesthetic weave has also led some analysts to inquire about the internal context in regards to the intertwining of the different play's genres. It explores and examines a host of moral "modern" themes and values, including Edwardian social responsibility to those who live and work within a capitalist competitive environment. Indeed, titled "The Inspector," the play combines aspects of impressionable morality with staged performances and temporal hindsight.

1.2. Overview of Power Dynamics in the Play

An Inspector Calls contains a variety of power dynamics. Some are held explicitly, such as financial power or the power of gender, and some are held implicitly, such as moral righteous authority or class privilege. These dynamics can both improve and worsen the relationships that exist between characters. Moreover, the play is dynamic about its power dynamics – they are not solely prevalent at the time of its creation. This is because An Inspector Calls is a morality play, which teaches its audiences about the self-conceived authority. Ultimately, they are the power dynamics that determine the final scene of the play and define what the power of Priestley, the playwright, over the audience, to comment and learn about today's society. The play contains various types of explicit power: financial power, the power of gender, and the power of inspectorial authority. Despite the chronological distance, financial power is a type of power that is still relevant in today's society. Financial power is the ability of an individual or group to purchase goods and resources in any type of society. For example, in the pre-First World War period, the Birlings were part of the bourgeoisie, and the working population was deprived of most of the essential needs of the population.

2. Types of Power

Having classified power as being conferred by two main sources, it's also possible to make a factual/non-factual division. Using one's authority as it should be used is an example of factual power. The interaction of the Birling family with the character of Inspector Goole shows a family out-of-control. Unfocused, amoral, and self-centered, the Birlings don't command themselves, and they don't marshal the response of others. They are in unreflective thrall to their experience. Factual power, then, is a privilege to be earned. A bias in the play, as in life, is that who has factual power is that, often, it is gained through the exploitations of those in crisis. In probing for causes of the fatality of Eva Smith, the Inspector uses his authority to expose the disintegration of the 'cohesive family unit'. He screens and interjects, yet is direct in asking poignant questions, and in directly naming his suspect. His role as chief interrogator is powerful. The directness of the Inspector's inquiries is practical, requiring no softening. Instead gutsy and practical, counteracting the authority of the state itself, it is this practical power that includes rather than disengages, opens up what is closed. For a person to be so plainly honest is to be enigmatic, in the way that smiles often are, as sharp as a nerve. And, by involving the listener, opens up confrontation. Squirm, they do. The Inspector forces the mouths of the Birling family to work with him. The mnemonic singing to children helps; the verbal structure is used to humble the children. His goal is to impose a response. When it is, his work is transformed into another thing. He becomes a witness, examining those now wildest of baying wolves. Conclusively, the case is proven. The detrimental effect of power on any unsuspecting person can, and does happen. The retaliators in question are innocent in name only.

2.1. Social Class and Economic Power

An Inspector Calls remains today one of the most widely taught and studied texts in the English-speaking world, yet the power dynamics within it are often overlooked by students of the play. Written by socialist playwright J.B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls addresses the links between power, social class, and responsibility. This essay uses Marxist theories of power dynamics to analyze the play and demonstrate how aspects of power are interrelated. By examining the same questions from different angles or sociological contexts, the essay seeks not just to explore one or two issues, but offer a more complete analysis of power. It does this by examining both the social class and economic structures and their effect on how characters are perceived, treated, and behave, using ideas of forms of power to build up a broader contextual understanding of power in the play. The society in which An Inspector Calls is set is the most politically and socially rigid that can be imagined. The Birling family are gentry, the aristocracy of the time. They have landed gentry roots and have recently become industrialists. The Birlings' commercialism is the reason for the visit of Inspector Goole. However, Mr. Birling as head of the family clearly retains a gentry attitude. He is his own class, not a capitalist. "A man has to mind his own business." Of course, it was good for being a capitalist not to follow such principles, but they were well behind Mr. Birling. In 1912, Englishmen were still privy to hearing the sound of the trumpet of land, duty, and honor over the frontiers. Such beliefs provide our first examples of power within the play, however, this is not the only form on exhibition. Proof later in the novel.

2.2. Gender and Patriarchal Power

Gender is the same as class, a significant social construct in power relations and its function on it. It works in different forms and through several social institutions, especially family, economic organizations such as employment and housing. Different power dynamics can differ in kind and degree. Women were treated as objects and their personal, social, and economic rights were all neglected. During the early nineteenth century, women had no personal rights and were only thought to serve their husbands. Family responsibility was carried out by women. Also, the education of the child and passing down the family values were required to be performed by women as well. Men go to work, write literature, write poetry, and socialize. By this way, they attain personal rights as free citizens. Women, on the other hand, work at home as love, care, educate children, and help with socialization, called parenting. They don't attain personal rights; therefore, they are objects and not subjects. They are associable by all matters they possess. Only males are able to be subjects. Socialists, meanwhile, focused on the relationship between economic production and patriarchy, the system where men hold the primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control power. This gave us a better understanding of the oppression of women by all social institutions. Some other concerns should be raised to show the richness of these social institutions, which channel women's and men's energy and talents to produce and reproduce meaning and values for the culture. Since then, feminist thought has developed along different lines that, depending on their school of thought, establish the radical, cultural, socialist, or liberal analysis of society and the role of women in the social system. Feminism study and knowledge show women's struggle in gaining their rights. Women fight hard to obtain personal rights. Their rights are recognized by all authorities, not by their work only but also by their intellectual and institutional abilities.

2.3. Political and Legal Power

The political and legal power held by Mr. Birling is demonstrated by his involvement in local politics and his position as magistrate. When he talks about an inspector dropping in on him with "weighty responsibilities", he is referring to his legal authority to uphold the law and his responsibility to act as the father of the house by upholding the social values he believes in. He uses the rhetoric of "public duty" to justify his behavior and justifies his low-wage policy because 'it's my duty to keep labor costs down'. Mr. Birling's legal power does indeed play a part in the life of Eva Smith. In common with many other employers, he uses lock-outs as a legitimate weapon against industrial action by his workers. Eva Smith was dismissed because she was one of the workers involved in a strike against his wage policy. The labor dispute also reflected Birling's belief in the free enterprise system and the law of the market. Although one could readily argue that Birling's subsequent actions in firing the ring-leaders in his workforce were themselves laced with political and legal power, they might possibly be more about saving face and maintaining control of what he characterizes later as a "crisis of class". It might be argued that he is in the same position as the trades unions and the political bosses, all engaged in defensive actions to protect their own vested interests. Birling is guilty of applying political power with a small 'g': it is real but it is limited, and it does not prepare him for the existence of an alternative socialist law, as exists within Eva's independent thought and motivation. He may have won the battles, but the war has yet to be fought and the world in which he has total regard for business principles might well carry the seeds of its own destruction. With the benefit of hindsight, evidence, and 30 years of history, Birling displays symptoms of being blinkered, complacent, and utterly supreme in his total belief in his business and political knowledge. Priestly has every right to use his knowledge of the times in an attempt to paint Birling as a foolish capitalist buffoon ripe for the fall.

3. Forms of Power

Though the two basic forms of power are authority and influence, An Inspector Calls counts authority positions as only one form of power: the power to give orders. This form has its limitations too. It cannot give a person the power to deeply change another or to coerce another person into loving him or her, although it can make a person feel obligated to obey that authority. However, this form of power does enable a person to control and reward others, even to threaten those who fail to obey. People who do not understand or feel that authority usually respect it understand how the authorities' power can affect them. The point is not to "have" power, but to gain the most influential forms of power available so that authorities will do their bidding, or so that people in general will support or go along with a person's decisions or behavior, even if not forced to do so. The forms of power these characters cannot obtain, they usually cannot obtain for others. The influence of these characters comes from their charisma and their social capital – their social networks and goodwill. The memory of good things they may have done for others in the past helps others to think positively about them even today. Their behavior is generally considerate and their bearing is generally positive and confident. Though influence is more empowering and enabling than actually having a right, the results of obtaining real rights are also similar to what happens when these characters gain social support. As others grant them approval or cooperation, or allow them the right to act, opportunities for rewards and personal growth arise from these trusting relationships. All this improves their leadership potential. Their social capital can also help shield them from the adverse influence of others. Good reputations can be protective and beneficial in that they can help attract supporters and prevent adversaries from taking advantage. Their intentions are usually sincere when associating with others and when trying to build upon relationships. Their charm and attractiveness prove persuasive, and they are careful to communicate effectively and emphatically. Because of personal traits and competencies and a reputation predicated on good relations with others, these characters are able to transmit powerful messages to the workers or their fellow citizens, for logic, for emotion, for credible choices, for lessons learned.

3.1. Visible Power Structures

With the foundation set, it is time for the first layer of power type in the play. These are the groups and classes of characters presented, as well as some singular individuals. They are easily defined using the existing structure of the play, including plot characteristics and character traits written by J. B. Priestley himself. Given the small scale of the play, this is indeed its most visible layer of power type. The largest group in 'An Inspector Calls' seems to be the Birlings. A family unit, there is a difference in influence at work among the four family members. They are followed by Gerald Croft. Another stepping stone down the ladder, Eva Smith. With fewer members, there are also few power differences in this group, where all existing members seem to be aware of that fact. Finally, there is only one such member of this type of power structure present in the play. Despite this, he is the last living family ruler of the little, wealthy empire at the end of the play. Moreover, he seems happy to leave behind his reputation of a ruler with the impending knighthood as the icing on the cake. As Priestley seems to describe progression through this power structure group as well, that reputation seems to be in unlikely hands.

3.2. Invisible Power Dynamics

When power is studied, instances often stand out due to their visibility. There are clear correlations between a person's actions, or lack of them, and an identifiable higher authority. However, there are other examples where power is wielded in invisible ways. If the inspector is seen as a representation of a socialist ideal, represented here by J. B. Priestley, this can be demonstrated. It is in this way that his entirely equitable methods and lack of personal or social bias may be the key to understanding Priestley's purpose. The invisibility of his power could represent that unseen force of socialism and the common people, who are joined together in spirit and referred to as one world. However, the hidden power employed extends beyond the inspector. Part of the Birling family's downfall is the supernatural element of their belief. The supernatural is something in which their father figures place great importance. The way that they obviously consider such beliefs to be superior to those of common men is important in understanding the story's moral aspect. This is a view that is then translated as being due to a general lack of ethics on the part of the three men. Each of the elder Birling men refuses to accept the potential of any personal flaws. The society that they have helped to create and enforce, through the political means of passing judgment and making charitable donations, protects them. It is one in which their belief in these forms of power enables them to suppress against the inspector's repeated charges for their capitulation. Their power is ultimately a flawed ideal and one that collapses when taken to task, an act that would otherwise be remarkable. This hidden power shown through their belief system, however spiritual, social, and personal morality, is their major undoing.

4. Effects of Power

Most people agree that one of the key purposes of theatre is to entertain; to usher the audience into a state of deference in order to convey predetermined messages using various mechanisms, be it humor, music, abrupt changes, or well-developed characters. Originally, it was believed that the effect of such mechanisms has an immediate and direct impact on the intellect and emotions of the audience. However, these attitudes about art have been called into question by, to name just a few, who have also provided alternative interpretations. Moreover, from a societal aspect, the relationships between power, the powerful, and the powerless are subject to continuous debate as they are redefined and developed further in accordance with how the world itself is shaped. With these precepts in mind, it is possible to pause to consider the fact that almost all works of art devoted to illustrating society tell of hierarchical dynamics among powers and the powerful and that there are only a tiny number of texts that illustrate the dynamics between the powerless concerning the same hierarchical approach among the powerless. In his other works, Shaw has deprecated the bourgeoisie—particularly the bourgeoisie in politics—but only Shaw in "Major Barbara" and Shaw the money-lender seem to have specifically interested in human beings offshore, in "an upper middle-class by-product". The lives and welfare of the lower classes are interesting only in that they can furnish the raw material for a new "salvation". There is almost a deliberate blank drawn, for instance, between Barbara's efforts to save souls and the general need for societal revolution. Unlike Shaw's other plays, the revolutionary consciousness of "An Inspector Calls" is conceived separately not only from the ultimate capitalist and moral salvation (of Gerald Croft, regardless of what the others may do), but ab initio, socially, Pune in Pondicherry—as it were, from Barrister Birling's paranoiac regression.

4.1. Social Inequality and Oppression

Social stratification refers to the hierarchical division of society into layers along horizontal (class and status) and vertical (power) lines. Capitalism utilizes class and status to establish social ordering, resulting in oppression and discrimination based on race, gender, and ethnicity. The working class is disempowered, receives inadequate wages, and has little control over their work conditions. They are disempowered by capitalism and receive inadequate compensation, exacerbating their daily living and working conditions, resulting in injustice and inequality. Money controls society, determining what people can afford, what they have access to, and whether they can receive health care, education, ecological services, cultural-related assets, and other essential conditions for a high quality of life. Society defines social inequality as the gap between social classes: the upper (privileged), middle (professional-managerial), working (blue-collar), and lower class (dependent defined by the welfare state). The higher the class, the more rights, resources, and power one obtains, resulting in increased social, physical, and mental well-being. Wealth and income are two determinants that demonstrate social inequality. Specifically, the former refers to property (house, car, stock, etc.) and the latter shows the flow of monetary resources into a household within a certain period. Economic indicators display the current level of inequality, while the income gap stands for the gap between rich and poor. These two dimensions demonstrate how people are at different stages of their socio-economic life, gaining various levels of education and housing, working conditions, and the degree of healthcare. High social inequality results in an overt division between social classes associated with distinctive stereotypes in terms of elitism and scorn, crime and deviance, and cultural and political cooperation.

4.2. Individual and Collective Responsibility

Individual responsibility revolves around what individuals do. This includes actions they carry out themselves, such as murder, which they themselves perpetrate, and criminal omissions, such as failing to report to the police having discovered a body. It also extends to wrongful demands, in which individuals do something themselves when they should not, such as demanding money with menaces. Exemplary individual responsibilities with direct relevance for crime and deviance entertain interconnections with gender socialization and social construction of masculinities and femininities. In particular, traditional masculinity powerfully resonates certain deviant behavioral expressions, such as violence, crime, delinquency, and substance abuse, thus enforcing complicity young males between counter-cultural and deviant lifestyles and activities in youth cultures. Collective responsibility associates with what a group does, and it is often characterized by complexity and ambiguity. Consider, by comparison, that corporate crimes are linked to practices undertaken in furtherance of organizational goals, for this corporations can act on their own behalf and on behalf of actors within. Furthermore, in criminal law concerning the mens rea of organizational crime, the concept of collective entity mens rea deals with the way in which groups composed by more than one member – such as corporations – can arrive at criminal intent. It can so be observed an osmosis between types of organized collective responsibilities, regarding deviant collective behaviors, i.e. social control teacher and collective gender-based violence perpetrated by peer groups.

5. Conclusion

When Mr. Birling, a representative of the economic elite, attempts to comprehend Sheila's "silly mood" after the arrival of Inspector Goole, he uses the phrase "trouble about something?", which is connected to the Upper Bidder's sense of security. Although the Birlings do not have a peaceful dinner when the Inspector Goole disturbs their usual life, the implicit thesis of "no dinner, no talk", connected to economic richness, is destroyed due to the circumstances which are hidden behind the Inspector's visit. Thus, Priestley intertwines the class of financial situation with the characters' feelings and attributions, in some important communicative interactions, writing them on a linguistic level by the upper-class models possessing the dinner manners of the highest standard. From the evaluation of the detaching effects of high society relation uses, the present paper singles out the conversation at the dinner in the Birling mansion as representatives of the communication events based on the mitigated forms of power relations among the speakers. Any of the types of discrepancy between the social classes is first reduced under the aspect of the act of making proposal and declines less frequently in their codes of the collective nutrition behavior. As far as the declaration of being certain of something is concerned, it is clearly connected with the evaluation of the question "that is?" by the upper bidder.

5.1. Summary of Key Findings

The present study aimed at (1) identifying power types characterizing the play, (2) determining the forms these power types take, (3) revealing what power substantiating gender contributes to gender stereotyping, and (4) exploring the effects of displaying these power types and power itself made available through them. To do so, the study scrutinized a play and other critical analyses made on it. The study found that presenting traditional business and political power-substantiating high-ranking men's informal power meant to protect these high-ranking men, traditional patriarchal characters' political and business power, consenting-gender power supporting and enhanced by the high-ranking men's informal power, characterizes the play. These types of power take characteristic forms. Also, the play challenges traditional conceptions of powerful men and power substantiating gender responsibility for gender-appropriate characteristics and rules restricting men's behavior and use of situational power. The types and forms of power portrayed in it normalize a one-sided absolute man's subjects and signifiers associating not powerful women with the mediated men. At best, dealing with power in 'An Inspector Calls' is problematic. The essay's main contributions are the revealed power in the play not yet studied, findings on power-related gender responsibilities significant to the gender stereotyping process, and findings discussing gender-appropriate power, its use, and gender-appropriate behavior, characteristics, and limitations. Even so, much about power in the play remains unanswered and open to further investigation, to start with, what is supposed, guessed, and/or unintentionally hinted, shown, not shown, hidden, and how it is used, valued, and intertextually patterned.

5.2. Implications for Understanding Power Relations in Society

The analysis in the previous section identified and mapped the types and forms of power dynamics in 'An Inspector Calls,' based on an integrated framework drawing on Foucault's concepts of governmentality and power relations. From these findings, it could be argued that different forms of power relations were employed in the drama, ranging from the absolute power enforced by various figures to the bureaucratic mode of exercising power. As we have seen, each strategy produced a different type of subject - one who is totally obedient, compliant, or resistant. Should the dissident manage to find and use channels in which to make appeals and cure his or her guilt, subsequently a change in behavior might be observed in both those in power and those who are subjected to it. What are the implications of these initial insights for the conduction of research designed to understand social power relations in general? First, and most importantly, such analyses need to acknowledge clearly that the forms and types of power relations that are observed are not predetermined invariable structures, nor indeed are they imposed from above by those who occupy dominant positions in such hierarchical structures.

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Analysis of How Eric is Presented in an Inspector Calls

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