2) The play ‘An inspector calls’ was written in 1945, just after the Second World War but was set in 1912. It was first produced in a Moscow theatre as there was no viable way of producing it in Britain, because of the war affecting all parts of London.
The play is about a wealthy family hosting a celebration about their daughter Sheila getting married when an inspector arrives and tells them about the tragic death of a previous, expendable employee of Arthur Birling. The inspector then tries to show each of the other characters that they have all played a part in the death of this girl. The celebration turns to a sour argument including all of the family. The Inspector leaves the Birlings’ house and later on Gerald discovers from a patrolling policeman down the road that there wasn’t an Inspector Goole on the force, or anyone sent out to discuss the death with the family. ‘An inspector calls’ is a crime/investigation type of play, but the true meaning of the production is to observe how the upper class family take in the information, and how they treat their employees. “Well, we’ll try to understand why it had to happen? And that’s why I’m here, and why I’m not going until I know all that happened.” This shows that he’s serving an investigative purpose there, so the play could be put under the crime genre.
3) Each character has a very different personality in this play and Priestly makes sure we gather this from each individual almost straight away. The inspector is a perfect example of this. Within the first few seconds of him entering the dining room area, we already witness his presence as being polite whilst retaining all power. “The Inspector need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”. After his entrance we immediately understand that he’s a polite, respectful person when he rejects a glass of Port wine. “No, thank you, Mr Birling. I’m on duty.” This also shows that he is devoted towards his job and puts in maximum effort whilst on duty.
Priestly obviously wanted to introduce each character separately by using the Inspectors questioning technique. “It’s the way I like to go to work. One person and one line of inquiry at a time. Otherwise, there’s a muddle.” The Inspector starts by showing the photograph of Eva Smith to Birling and makes it clear that he only wants Birlings’ input. This continues with separate questioning throughout Act One.
4) At the beginning of act one it is clearly apparent that Inspector Goole has arrived to retrieve some information, here is the first example. “I’d like some information, if you don’t mind, Mr Birling”. When the Inspector arrives Birling seems very tentative, mainly because he doesn’t know who Inspector Goole is, so he asks him questions regarding when he was transferred to Brumley Police Force. “You’re new, aren’t you”, he continues to explain that he was on the bench and knew the force pretty well. We can see that Birling has become worried when he starts to become impatient. “(After a pause, with a touch of impatience) Well, what is it then?” The Inspector is constantly asking questions to all of them throughout Act One to gather as much information about the family as possible, and if you continue to the end of the play you’ll realise why he’s doing this. The Inspector obviously doesn’t know the family so he asks questions. “And what had this girl done to make you lose your temper?” This method of questioning is perfect for introducing characters individually.
5) Priestley has used lighting to project the atmosphere whilst involving the audience. We can find stage directions in the page labelled Act One “The lighting should be pink and intimate”. This shows that the atmosphere is lively and comforting. It also shows that they are all interacting with each other and a function is taking place at the house. After the inspector arrives the lighting changes. “Until the inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder”. This shows that the inspector arrives and starts to force light onto what has happened. The change of light also changes the atmosphere into a harsher, more hostile place. The light also represents a spotlight looking into a dark, shrouded place. The Inspector has come to interrogate the Birlings and to try and make them take responsibility for the death. The use of the doorbell as a sound effect is good because it does more than just make a sound. “That a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own-and- We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell. Birling stops to listen”. The doorbell is used to interrupt Mr Birling in the middle of his speech. This sound also announces the arrival of a new character.
6) We haven’t been given any personal information on Inspector Goole, Priestly has only displayed his appearance and the atmosphere he creates when he enters the house. We are only given his approximate age and how he has dressed. “The Inspector need not be a big man but he crates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. He is a man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period.” The audience not knowing the Inspector well creates tension when he questions the family and makes the play a lot more dramatic. “It’s the way I like to go to work. One person and one line of enquiry at a time. Otherwise, there’s a muddle.” The audience learns from this that Inspector Goole is organised and independent when he works. The director holds full responsibility when creating atmosphere with the inspector.
7) Dramatic Irony in ‘An Inspector Calls’ is where the character is subjected to an opinion, but it is wrong and the character looks silly. Priestley uses dramatic irony to involve and interest his audience into the play whilst he conveys his concerns and ideas to them. The use of dramatic irony earlier on in the play gives an outline about what some of the characters are like. “There’s too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war”. “Except of course in Russia, which will always be behindhand naturally”. These quotes from Mr Birling show that his opinions are false because Russia actually became a super power and there were two world wars.
8) Priestly uses History very well in this play. The play was written in 1945, just after the Second World War but was set in 1912. This is very important as these dates include both world wars and give the audience a chance to see what has changed since 1912. One of the key differences is that the social class divide has decreased since World War II has ended. In the play, the Birlings are rich and they have used the lower and working class people for labour and haven’t treated them well, like Eva Smith. “Yes, I do. She was one of my employees and I discharged her”. This shows that Mr Birling does not care for the lower class and that he treats them without respect. In 1945, after the world wars, the social class was a lot better, the upper and lower classes worked together to bring the country back up again, but there are still some cases of class divide even today.
9) In conclusion, the playwright uses dramatic devices to change my overall opinion about the Birlings. J.B. Priestley uses a number of ways to keep the audience interested in his play. He mainly uses insight and historical context. He also makes it so the audience partly knows what is going to happen next whilst the characters do not. I think that the playwright’s message is that we should all get along with each other and to treat every class of individual with the same respect that we desrve ourselves. It is still occurant that people treat others without respect and this shouldn’t be tolerated. This is the sort of behaviour that J.B. Priestly wanted to get rid of.
