Progressively established, the establishment becomes that of a ‘whodunit’. The audience’s interest is to find out who was responsible for driving Eva Smith to suicide. Priestley intensifies the audience’s suspense and his adroit use of climaxes within carefully controlled plot. The audience all learn something about the characters and the inspector gives us his moral message.
Throughout the play there is a real sense of dramatic irony. In many parts, the audience gets to know important things which the characters don't. The characters don't understand that in Birling's regular speeches when he states 'fire, blood and anguish', he is actually referring to the war beforehand.
In Act One Arthur Birling talks a lot about ironic references to the possibility of war, the progress mankind is making and as represented by the Titanic (which was to sink on its maiden voyage). This is all dramatic irony because everything he said is the opposite of what actually happened.
‘The Titanic, she sails next week, forty six thousand eight hundred tons………..and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. (Dramatic Irony)
Arthur Birling is moved to anger and infuriation by the inspector; he is not affected by being tackled with the effects of his behaviour, the character of Arthur remains consistent throughout the play. All Arthur could think about is the public scandal and what he was about to become.
‘….But I do. I was almost certain for a Knighthood in the next Honours List - ’
Shelia however, is moved from ignorant to knowledge, tears of shock and guilt. The inspector is successful in making her see the consequences of her actions. Gerald is correspondingly disrupted by the inspector; he is ‘hurt’ by his awareness of his part in Eva Smith’s life and death. Mrs Birling remains entirely untouched by the inspector’s questioning. Finally Eric is affected in a similar way to his sister, tears and shock.
Mrs Birling trusted Eric from the bottom of her heart. In the last page of Act 2 Mrs Birling finds out that Eric turned out to be the main character to be blamed for driving Eva Smith to suicide. Eric was the character who raped Eva Smith. When Mrs Birling found out, she was astonished with the news she was hearing. She really didn’t think Eric would turn out like that. Eric was the one who drived Eva Smith to suicide and the other character were the ones who one way or another made Eva Smith hurt. Now Mr and Mrs Birling cannot trust Eric as much as they did before. Not only did Eric drink too much and raping a girl, he also done a moral crime which was to steal money from his fathers office. From this I know that Eric has been spoilt and aggressive.
When the Inspector enters the house the lighting becomes ‘brighter and harder’ as the events of the play take their dramatic course and mood progressively changes. Light is also a metaphor for truth, like an interrogation. It establishes for the audience the pressure of what would happen next. I know this because Birling said
‘Give us some more light’ (Dramatic Techniques)
This is when the room goes brighter. The inspector is described as creating ‘an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness ………’ he speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses. The instructions he gives both are precise and demanding.
Throughout the play the inspector is remained entirely controlled. He is very powerful with his speeches and his actions. When Gerald heard the name Daisy Renton he was startled. This is when the audience begins to realise all characters could be involved. Sheila and Eric were the only two characters who felt guilty and responsible for the death of Eva Smith. However the other three characters, Mr Birling, Mrs Birling and Gerald were trying to pretend as is nothing much has happened.
‘I behaved badly too. I know I did. I’m ashamed of it. But now you’re beginning all over again to pretend that nothing much has happened’. (Sheila)
‘Nothing much has happened! Haven’t I already said there’ll be a public scandal - unless we’re lucky……..’ (Birling)
Later Sheila comments that no-one told the inspector anything that he did not know.
‘We hardly ever told him anything he didn’t know. Did you notice that?’ (Dramatic Irony)
Sybil learns a lot about Brumley and Alderman Meggarty, she learns about the reality of life. She didn’t know that Alderman Meggarty was that sort of man, a womaniser. This shows that Sybil doesn’t know much about her community. What she doesn’t change is her social conscience. She is still described as ‘rather cold’. The inspector tries to confront Sybil in many ways.
‘You have no hope for not discussing it, Mrs Birling’ (Confrontation) Inspector
‘If you think you can bring any pressure to bear upon me, inspector, your quite mistaken…….’ (Denial and refusal) Sybil
These two quotes show firstly how the inspector tried to force Sybil to confess her beliefs, and secondly she refuses every word he says. After Sybil has explained she suggested that the father of Eva Smiths child should be confessing in public it is his responsibility (when really if she knew all of the
background information and that her own son was the father), I do not think that she would be recommending that. The inspector pauses and looks at his watch. Sybil asks if he is going to do his duty and he replies ‘I am waiting to do my duty’. This is dramatic irony; because the audience, like Sheila, realise he is waiting for Eric because he is the only one who the inspector didn’t question’. Sybil then realised that he was waiting for her son, Eric.
‘But surely…I mean… It’s ridiculous….’ (Dramatic irony, dramatic pauses and confusion)
Priestley used dramatic technique again at the end of Act 2 when the curtains fall quickly. Here he is using a cliff-hanger to keep the audience suspended in anticipation of what is to come. At the end of Act 2 Priestley uses techniques to build a climax. A climax is the most exciting point when all the problems come to the head. It could also be a ‘turning point’. The climax of An Inspector Calls is when a phone call comes or when they phone the police station to find out if there was a real inspector there is a pause after every word.
I see…yes…well, that settles it… (Arthur)
For this Priestley uses dramatic pauses, he also uses short, dramatic sentence.
In page 48 there is a lot of characters interrupting, or attempting to such as:-
‘But don’t you see ’Sheila
‘You’re behaving like a hysterical child tonight’ (Interrupting or attempting to) Sybil
‘I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire, blood and anguish.’
When Goole delivers his key speech directly to the audience, there’s recognition of how appropriate Priestley’s words are today. What the inspector said above is like a prophet talking, a sort of moral prophet. He is trying to say that a man who does not learn on earth would truly be punished in hell by God, war is also known as ‘hell on earth’. The inspector leaves the house with a prophetic warning. His speech leaves the whole family subdued and wondering. When the inspector leaves and they all try to find out that the inspector was it becomes the anti-climax of the play, because it is clear three of the characters are unchanged.
‘But just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone, but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us…………. we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish....’
Here the inspector is trying to say that one Eva Smith is gone but there are millions and millions of Eva smiths and John smiths. He is repeating the same word over and over again to make his words more effective and memorable.
The audience feel sorry for Sheila and Eric because they confessed their guilt and responsibility and still can’t forget what had happened. However, Birling, Sybil and Gerald tries to forget what had happened because they think it was a hoax and laugh at what they perceived. Sheila and Eric are serious and aware of the consequences of their actions.
The final telephone conversation builds up suspense, the audience is trying to guess if the inspector is real or not and for that Priestley uses dramatic pauses.
‘Yes...Mr Birling speaking…What?-here’
He answers the phone only to hear the fateful news that an inspector is on his way to investigate a girl’s suicide. The characters are seen guilty and astonished; they now have to go over the whole investigation again, the consequences of which, in a fully successful production, would be left for the audience to predict. This is because we do not know what will happen next, it is a dilemma because now we have to predict what will happen. The final message from the inspector was ‘We all are one society and being watched over’.
The message of the inspector is more efficient then what he said during his other speeches. Priestley used strong words like fire, blood and anguish, which made his words more effective and useful. Priestley used italic writing to represent instructions/characters moving. I believe that the structure of the play made the message more effective because he dealt with one situation after another; he tried to confront all the characters, exception of Mrs Birling who refused to help him. This is because she was a prominent member of the Brumley women’s charity organisation. She was meant to help people who needed help and instead she refused to help. This is the reason she denied helping the inspector, she would lose her position. The audience feel closer and more sympathetic to the younger characters because they think that both Sheila and Eric won’t be able to communicate with their parents and that they see life differently then them. The dramatic techniques helped to engage the audience with the play by using dramatic irony, short, dramatic sentences, denial, or refusal, dramatic pauses, or silences etc, because this left the audience figuring out what happens next. Priestley’s social massage was:
“We are all one body”
Overall I think ‘An Inspector Calls’ is what is known as a well-made play.
