an inspector call

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AN INSPECTOR CALLLS

 

ANGEL MASIH

 

10a2

 

 

 

"AN INSPECTOR CALLS" is a play written by J.B.PRIESTLY. It is known as a well made play. J.B.PRIESTLY was from very poor family. He was a strong socialist who was convinced of the need for social change to benefit the poor. The play starts as an old fashioned "whodunit" play, but ultimately becomes a morality play. The dates 1912 (when the play is set) and 1945 (when the play was first performed) are important because at that time people like the Birlings thought that there would not be a chance of war but they didn’t know that war was going to happen.

This play is about a mysterious inspector investigating the suicide of a young working-class woman. Under the pressure of this interrogation, every member of the family turns out to have a secret which links them to Eva Smith's death. In this play the inspector wants to teach the Birlings that their actions do have effects on others and that they should care about people less fortunate than themselves. In this essay, I am going to discuss how in Act 1 of the play "AN INSPECTOR CALLS" J.B.PRIESTLY uses dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to members of the audience, as well as interest and involve them in the play. In my discussion I’ll mention stage directions, dramatic irony and the role of  Inspector Goole and the effect of the ending of the last scene of the Act 1.

Before the action begins on stage, the writer uses a great deal of long stage directions. This play has three Acts. It was set in 1912 and was performed in 1945. The play take place in the dining-room of Arthur Birling's house in Brumley. It is an industrial city in the North Midlands. The house is described as "The dining-room of the fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer." The owner of the house is described as a piller of society, who unintentionally gives us a preliminary indication of what is wrong. The house has good solid furniture. Priestly wants this furniture to create a substantial and heavily comfortable feeling, but not one that is cosy and homelike. The lightning should be pink and then it should be brighter and harder. This type of lighting underlines the tension when the inspector arrives in Act 1. "Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited." It reveals that Sheila is very happy with her life and that man [What man? Birling, Gerald? This sentence is not clear.] is very proud that he is rich and that man didn;t care about people less fortunate than themselves. [Make your meaning clear to the reader.]

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The term dramatic irony refers to the situation that arises when a character in a play speaks lines which are understood in a double sense by the audience, though not by the characters on stage. J.B.PRIESTLY  makes excellent use of dramatic irony in the play, particularly in Birling's first major speeches. Remember, the play was set in 1912 (before the First World War). Its first audiences would have seen it following the Second World War. The play is set in 1912, when men like Arthur Birling talked confidently of the future unaware of the disasters that were so soon to strike their country and ...

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