Explore how Priestley uses the inspector to create tension, when evaluating who is to blame for the death of Eva Smith.
An Inspector Calls
Explore how Priestley uses the inspector to create tension, when evaluating who is to blame for the death of Eva Smith.
Introduction
In this essay, I will explore how Priestley uses the inspector as his protagonist and chief dramatic device.
John Boynton Priestley grew up without a mother and left school at the age of 16 to concentrate on writing. He served in both world wars and escaped being killed on a few occasions, which influenced his career. Priestley joined the University of Cambridge, but left shortly after because it was a waste of time, as he only wanted to write. Priestley is a social critic and also, he believes in the ripple effect, that every action made by someone has a consequence for someone else. The play illustrates the ripple effect and the result of that is Eva Smith committing suicide.
The audience's decision about who is to blame for Eva Smith's death is affected by Priestley's/Inspector's devices. The Inspector creates tension in the play. He lets every member of the family confess their deed and the audience believes everyone is to blame for the death more or less equally.
Let us first explore who is to blame for the death of Eva Smith -
Both, Mr and Mrs Birling, don't feel responsible. Mr Birling sacked Eva but does not feel guilty because as her employer it is his right, 'I can't accept any responsibility'. Mr Birling shows he isn't responsible at the works as he doesn't care about other people's lives and pays them the minimum wages. At home he also failed to show responsibility, as he and his wife never realized that their son is a heavy drinker.
Mrs Birling denies having done anything wrong and so is not to be blamed, 'I accept no blame for it at all', Mrs Birling, who is the chair of Brumley Women's Charity Organization, should be full of love, passion and be ready to help any woman who is in need. Instead of supporting Eva, Mrs Birling uses her power to get her case refused simply because she didn't like her tone and presumption, 'she called herself Mrs Birling... I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinence.' She blames the girl herself and the young man who ...
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Mrs Birling denies having done anything wrong and so is not to be blamed, 'I accept no blame for it at all', Mrs Birling, who is the chair of Brumley Women's Charity Organization, should be full of love, passion and be ready to help any woman who is in need. Instead of supporting Eva, Mrs Birling uses her power to get her case refused simply because she didn't like her tone and presumption, 'she called herself Mrs Birling... I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinence.' She blames the girl herself and the young man who got her pregnant.
Gerald feels bad about Eva's death, as he's aware that he helped to let it happen, 'I'm rather more upset by this business than I probably appear to'. This shows that he is really sorry for hurting Eva and admits being upset. However, later in the play, he joins Mr and Mrs Birlings point of view trying to prove their innocence and not feeling guilty, 'we've no proof it was the same photograph and therefore no proof it was the same girl'. It shows that he has still not learnt his lesson.
Sheila and Eric feel really bad about what they've done to Eva. Sheila, 'I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse'. Eric, 'my god, I'm not likely to forget'. Both know they are guilty and feel totally to blame. They'd do anything to get Eva back but realize very soon that it's too late. Sheila, 'And if I could help her now, I would-'. Sheila and Eric show hope for the future of society, they've both learnt their lesson and know what they've done wrong. In contrast to their parents, who still deny their responsibility for Eva's death, on separate occasions they said they'll never going to do anything like this again.
Let us consider the creation of tension -
As soon as the Inspector mentions Milwards, Sheila tells him all about it without being asked, 'Milwards! We go there - in fact I was there this afternoon'. Sheila is very chatty and tells the Inspector everything he wants to know, the method the Inspector uses is called rope to hang themselves.
Another method used by the Inspector is character reaction. We can clearly see that when the Inspector mentioned Daisy Renton, Gerald's reaction made it obvious that he had known her. 'D'you mind if I give myself a drink, Sheila?' Gerald said pulling himself together. He had known Eva as Daisy Renton and showed it by the recognition of the name.
After the Inspector mentioned Daisy Renton and Gerald gave himself away, he walked out of the room to give Gerald and Sheila some time to have a private conversation and talk things over. He used timed exits and entries to get Gerald ready to talk. By the time the Inspector gets back he could gain the information he wants from Gerald. The Inspector returned just when they've finished and looking searchingly he said, 'well?' as the end of the act.
Before the Inspector leaves, he brakes the fourth wall with the authorial voice and speaks directly to the audience, 'Millions of Eva Smith's and John Smith's still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do'. The Inspector is used to tell Priestley's message in which he wants to give a warning to the audience. The audience would be middle class people, like the Birlings, who need to watch out and not get into difficult situations like the one in the play. 'We are responsible for each other', the Inspector says at last to make the audience see that we need to look after each other and stop blaming others.
At the very beginning of the play a throwaway comment, which is called a plant/payoff, is made by Sheila, 'Yes - except for last summer, when you never came near me' about Gerald cheating on her and reveals to be true. Gerald has had an affair with Eva Smith, which tells us later in the play. Another example is when Eric, his father and Gerald were talking about clothes. Mr Birling taught them, that clothes mean something different to women, a sort of sign of their self-respect. Eric said, 'Yes, I remember-' but stopped before he could say that Eva Smith was on his mind. We find out later that he was reminding himself of Eva's clothes.
The Inspector asks Mrs Birling about the Charity Organisation in bits.
Inspector, 'She appealed to your organization for help?'
Mrs Birling, 'Yes'
Inspector, 'Not as Eva Smith'
Mrs Birling, 'No. Nor as Daisy Renton'
Inspector, 'As what then?'
The Inspector gets information out of the family by asking short questions, which create tension, and gets straight answers of which he can build his knowledge about what everyone did do the girl. This is called snowball tension.
As the Birlings find out that the Inspector isn't real, they believe it was a double bluff. They think it was a conman and are willing to go back to the little celebration they had before the Inspector came. Only when Mr Birling receives the final phone call and a real Inspector is on his way, they realize that Eva Smith has really died. Here theatrical device of the ringing sound is used. When the first Inspector came, the doorbell rang and when the real Inspectors comes, the phone went off and again the interruption knocked them out of their cosy world.
Conclusion
The audience is left to form their own judgement. After they find out that the Inspector isn't real, they start to wonder who he was and what message was telling them. The audience which will mostly be middle class theatre going people had to learn their lesson from the warning the Inspector gave them, 'millions of Eva Smiths'. As the Inspector, who is Priestley's authorial voice, breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience, he warns them, but we know that the play emphasizes reality when someone from the infirmary rings the Birling family and sends a real Inspector down to interview them.
