J.B. Priestley Flashcards
What did Priestley turn his hand to in his lifetime?
Essayist, author, playwright, screenwriter, radio personality, public speaker, politician.
How did Priestley view bureaucracy and those in power?
He was a rebel and a radical against them.
What happened to his first novel?
It was an instant success with the common man - 70,000 copies were sold on the first day - but it was looked down upon by the critical and intellectual audiences.
Where was Priestley from?
Bradford
Which writer is he often compared to?
George Orwell
What were his ‘Postscripts’?
A series of radio ‘fireside chats’ throughout WWII. They made him a household voice and he played a key part in how people viewed events like Dunkirk.
Why was his writing looked down on by some writers and critics?
It was easily accessible, enjoyable and popular.
Who did Graham Greene compare him to?
Churchill.
Why would Priestley have taken such an interest in WWII?
He had his own traumatic experiences in WWI.
Why was he taken off the radio?
The BBC felt he became too radical and too popular. They felt he was slipping ‘left wing thoughts’ into his broadcast after he said those who fled the country should have their properties confiscated.
Why is he seen as influential?
He put forward the idea that ordinary people have more to offer than just voting once every few years. He thought we needed to listen to the needs and the views of all areas of British society.
Who didn’t he seem to listen to as carefully?
Young women.
What was his main complaint about the Postscripts?
They made him too well-known and he felt like they overshadowed his literary work.
What did he stand firmly against?
Nuclear weapons.
What role did he play in public?
The curmudgeon - the grumpy Yorkshireman.
Why do they think he fell out of fashion?
Social and literary changes (focus on the ‘angry young men’ writers). By the 1960s, the idea of an ‘everyman’ had fallen out of favour as they started to think you could only represent the group you belong to. His attitude to women didn’t help. He was never the centre of his intellectual group so he fell out of favour.
What was he fascinated with?
Time and what we now call quantum physics. He was enthralled by the idea of the movement of time and ideas around time travel. This is reflected in the character of Inspector Goole and his seeming ability to tell the future.
What inspired his obsession with time?
Firstly, his experience of the first world war, where he felt like he lost 4 and a half years of his life. He was also nearly killed by an explosive which impacted his beliefs around time. He also believed he had premonitory dreams and that he could see the future in his dreams.
What did he compare time to?
An omelet. He said time is an omelet just before it is ready to be lifted out of the pan where some parts are firmed up and ready, but there is a runny bit in the middle.
What did he think of young people?
He thought that they had more to offer - something new and something fresh. He believed that they were underestimated by older generations.
What made him different from other writers at the time?
He wanted to bring people together rather than to drive them apart.
