J.B Priestley's use of language, character, and setting for dramatic effect in 'An Inspector Calls'

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J.B Priestley's use of language, character, and setting for dramatic effect in 'An Inspector Calls'

This essay shall examine the way in which J.B. Priestley creates dramatic effect in his 1945 play - 'An Inspector Calls'. The play is centred on an Inspector who gatecrashes the Birling's engagement party to their daughter Sheila and her Fiancé Gerald croft, by announcing that earlier in the day a girl called Eva Smith, also known as Daisy Renton, committed suicide by drinking a bottle of disinfectant. The Inspector slowly makes his way around each of the Birling's and Gerald and asks them a series of questions, which results in the characters being convinced that they are to blame for her death.

In this essay I will analyse the period and context of when the play was written, analyse the language used as well as the use of characters, the setting and the genre of the play.

'An Inspector Calls' was written in 1945, but set one week before the Titanic set sail in 1912 - the late Edwardian Era. I feel that this was done deliberately because J.B. Priestley may have intended to convey his optimism about World War One and how he thought a World War wouldn't begin. After World War Two, I feel it was appropriate to release 'An Inspector Calls' as a simple morality play of which the morals could be 'not everything is what it seems' and 'you never know what is going to happen'. I feel this is due to dramatic irony as from the curtain opening there are many references towards disasters throughout history like the Titanic sinking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, after crashing into an Iceberg. Priestley conveys his optimism here as Mr. Birling says; "the Titanic - she sails next week". Another reason I feel that the play was an effective release at the time was due to the distinctions between the upper and lower classes within society.

In 1912, there were strong divisions between the upper and lower classes, but after World War One, and World War Two, the Holocaust, the Titanic sinking, and the Atom bomb, there was a great want for social change between the upper and lower classes, and for the country to stick together united, in the event of another national or international disaster occurring.

As the social reform had taken place, the effect on the audience was likely to be huge, and would make both the upper and the lower class audiences realise just how bad the upper class treated the lower class during the pre-war period. Throughout the play, it is intended that the upper class audience should perceive that they took great advantage of the lower class population of Britain. I therefore feel that one of J.B. Priestley's intentions for writing the play was to convey how the lower class were treated before the first World War, and he does this by portraying Eva Smith as vulnerable, weak and average, and therefore will be appealing to a majority of people in today's society. This is able to gain maximum impact on the audience as Eva's character is built up slowly and emotionally. This concept is shown as the Birling's and Gerald Croft take advantage of her and thus takes her own life.

Throughout the play, the playwright uses many dramatic techniques and communicates these effects well. One way that the tension is sustained is by using dramatic irony. This is an occasion when the audience know more than the characters on stage, an example of this being when Mr. Birling says "The Germans don't want war. Nobody wants war, except some half civilised folks in the Balkans", but the audience already know that the Germans wanted a war and when it began it was dubbed World War one. At this point the audience are likely to think that Mr. Birling is a completely over-opinionated plank. This allows the audience to engage and become involved in the play by quickly gaining opinions on each of the characters. I also feel the reason that Mr. Birling says these sentences is because J.B. Priestley is conveying his optimism through Mr. Birling's grand speeches to get his points over. Another technique used to keep tension throughout the performance is by the way that each member of the family seems to have had some involvement with Eva's death. This tension leads to a pattern of new pieces of information being submitted, therefore developing the story and intriguing the audience and making them become interested in how each character reacts to the revelations involved in the play.

I feel that one of the most dramatic effects is created when the Inspector is introduced to the Birling's. Inspector Goole is very abrupt and gets straight to the point for example when he's describing Eva's graphic death; "Two hours ago a young woman died in the infirmary - burnt her inside out of course". This quote is repeated three times in the play, and is a good means of maintaining the tension within the play, by indicating that something substantial is going to happen rather soon; whether this is something that someone is going to say or something that someone is going to do. The Inspector doesn't give any clues away about her death, but he makes sure that tension is kept by making a statement and making the Birling's finish off the story, telling him what has been going on. This technique is used to make the audience watch the play attentively to the end. I also feel that the Inspectors role is important as he keeps the pace of the plot running smoothly. This is done as he deals with one line of enquiry at a time, and Eva's life is unravelled before the audience's eyes - making sure that each of the characters of the play has an equal amount of blame placed upon each of them for her death.
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By the end of act one, the Inspector is in complete control of the family and the situation that they're in. He does this gradually from his entrance. His entrance is effective, and he speaks very little at the beginning, and makes Mr. Birling feel anxious meaning that maximum impact is gained. As Mr. Birling asks the question; "Some trouble about a warrant?" the Inspector ominously replies "No, Mr. Birling." The third line of this conversation is when Mr. Birling begins to get annoyed at the Inspectors diminutive communication with him, and he asks "Well, what is it ...

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