Choose and Analyse Two or Three Occasions In An Inspector Calls when the Inspectors Presence on Stage has an Effect on the Characters and the Audience

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Choose and Analyse Two or Three Occasions In An Inspector Calls when the Inspectors Presence on Stage has an Effect on the Characters and the Audience

When interaction happens between two or more people just classed as “human beings,” the effects are predictable and determined only by the topic of speech, body language and maybe physical stature or strength of the people involved. However, like every good play, book, film or any piece of story telling literature An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestly is set at a certain time in a certain place with a certain stereotypical characters. Although these factors complicate the analysing of effects, they do help enormously in understanding the reason behind them. This is why it is necessary to first explore the background and nature of the story and the characters, before I choose and dissect the specific scenes.  

        The play was written in the 1945 but is set in 1912. The 1910’s was a time of industrial unrest in Britain, the money was primarily owned by the middle and upper classes and the aristocracy. Factory owners were exceedingly wealthy due to the huge demand for raw materials, and the factory workers however were exceedingly poor; due to exploitation through long working hours and low wages. This immediately shows the contrast in life styles between the Birlings (factory owners) and Eva Smith (worker.) Women were still seen as inferior and to young men just an ornament of sexual gratification, (this is shown in the story of Eric and his shenanigans with Eva.)

        The characters are mainly from the Birling family (Mrs, Mr, Sheila and Eric) who are a wealthy family. They are not a particularly pernicious family, just a normal family of that class and time which links to why the play was written, as Priestley may have wanted to show how the normal arrogant and selfish behaviour of the typical rich family can cause such suffering. Mr Birling is a rich, self-obsessed man who likes to think he is wise and a good role model to young people. Priestly pokes fun at his own character for the audience’s entertainment when he uses Birling to demonstrate dramatic irony by predicting things that we all know is wrong; like that the Titanic is “absolutely unsinkable.” Mrs Birling is a person who is equally self-interested, she is described as being of higher social status than her husband but it makes her no less ignorant. She is narrow-minded enough to refuse to believe that her lack of compassion towards Eva had any effect on her tragic suicidal demise. Shelia and Eric appear to be just as shallow as their parents at the beginning, and certainly their roles in Eva’s life are just as bad. However, either because they are young and more impressionable or have a kinder personality, they seem to regret their wrong doings for the right reasons after all is revealed by the inspector, whereas their parents just want to forget the incident. Gerald, I think, is more compassionate than the Birlings as he did actually make Eva happy for a while during their affair. But, he still showed that he valued social status more than love as he just left her.

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        The Inspector interrupts the celebration dinner and delivers the news that Eva Smith has committed suicide. In this scene the inspector affects Mr Birling, Eric and Gerald. The audience are also affected by this new and unexpected character. Mr Birling is affected most by the Inspectors presence as Gerald feels it has nothing to do with him and Eric remains happy, due to his consumption of alcohol. As it is his nature Mr Birling immediately tries to take control of the situation and the inspector; as he feels threatened by the new assertive male company. He assumes that this control ...

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