How does J.B Priestly use the inspector to create a sense of mystery and drama?

An Inspector Calls was written by John Boynton Priestly in 1944. He had based it on the lifestyle in 1912 from his own experience. The main cause for him writing the play was to alert individuals to be responsible for their actions. Priestly was a socialist so he wanted to show awareness of how society treated each other. To do this Priestly used the Birlings as a representation of society.

During the 1912s there was a clear division between the classes. The rich always took advantage of those in lower class; sometimes they made the needy work for a mere twenty-two shillings. The government was divided into socialist and capitalist. War was as the doorstep of Britain; which means money was scarce. The government did not have enough money to assist the poor so only the rich could afford a life of luxury such as the Birlings.

At this period of time women were dependent on the fathers and husbands. The role of a lady was to sit at home and raise her family, if she was lucky to live a life of class. On the other hand if a lady was from no class she would have to work for a living as well as raise a family.

This essay will begin to explore how J.B. Priestly uses the inspector to create a sense of mystery and drama within the play.

The whole excitement of the play comes through with various dramatic scenes that tell the story. Drama is introduced in form of a visitor, who is called inspector Goole, right from the beginning. Mr. Birling was bragging about himself to Gerald when he was interrupted by the visit of an inspector. The inspector was in his 50s which showed he had a lot of experience through the years. This individual was introduced as “an impression of massiveness solidity and purposefulness.” Inspector Goole’s physical approached managed to successfully intimated Mr. Birling just as he made an entrance. Mr. Birling’s a well known figure in society; he was certainly not going to allow a stranger to take the better of him and as a result he tried to confuse the inspector by mentioning that he was “an alderman for years”. However the inspector was not impressed, the message he gave from his body language was that he was socialist he thought everyone should be treated equally no matter their status and class in society.

Mystery in this play mainly revolves around the inspector, each aspect in liked to him one way or another. In Act one mystery can be picked up when inspector Goole did not allow Gerald to view the photograph of the said young lady. The stage directions support that “inspector interposes himself between them and the photograph”. He prefers to question the suspects one by one so there is no “muddle up”. At this point in the play the audience begins to wonder what connection could Gerald possibly have with this girl Eva smith; when he just celebrated his engagement with ...

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Drama continues to unfold when Mrs. Birling finds out that her adored son Eric who could never set a foot wrong was responsible for the young lady’s pregnancy. Mrs. Birling felt in no way that she done anything wrong to Eva Smith or Daisy Renton as she had no right calling herself Mrs. Birling. She put all the blame on the death of the young lady and the unborn child on the young man who fathered this child. When mother and son find out what role each other had played in Eva Smiths death they are shocked at each over. Eric was totally devastated while Mrs. Birling was not really concerned she was more interested in how her son could stoop to such a level and bring disgrace to the family name. The inspector created a sense of drama by causing an argument between mother and son, which was something out of the ordinary.

The biggest mysterious that unfolds was when Gerald tells the Birlings the inspector was a fake. “That man wasn’t a police officer ... I’m almost certain”. This relieved Mr. And Mrs. Birlings of their grief, they now felt safe. Then a new question arrived in the Birlings mind ‘Who was the inspector?’, ‘was everything the inspector said about Eva smith true’; these doubts were still unclear. Gerald came up with the conclusion that it was all a “hoax”; if he lied about being an inspector he could have made up the Eva Smith and Daisy Renton story.

Mr. and Mrs. Birling did not learn anything from this experience, “you’ll have a good laugh over it,” the couple took it as a joke and carried on living there life as they did before. However Eric and Sheila were not on the same page as their parents, their views of treating people had now changed after this experience. “You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go in the same old way”. They were still depressed; they regretted everything they had done to this poor girl, but unfortunately nothing could be changed. Eric and Sheila felt that even though their actions did not result in this young lady’s death what happened to the others who went through suffering due to their negligence and selfish benefit. There are many other Eva Smiths and John Smiths whose life may have ended tragically.

Priestly has used Sheila and Eric to help create drama. I think he has done this to show Eric and Sheila represent the younger generation with the hope of change. The inspector has given of a message stating that society does not always have to be negative someday peoples actions could lead us into becoming a positive community if you are willing to think for of the other first. In the 1912’s the rich did not care about what was happening to these poor innocent people, they were all selfish and never took a thought as to what their actions may be doing to a innocents life. All they cared about was themselves. This is was priestly wanted to change and why he wrote “An Inspector Calls”

The play ends on a cliff hanger. Mr. Birling receives a call from the police informing him that “a girl has just died on her way to the infirmary – after swallowing some disinfectant”. This call washes away the smile from Mr. and Mrs. Birlings faces. They now realise for them to understand the concept of community a poor innocent lady’s life had to be lost. Priestly has ended this play the same way he had started it “an inspector is on his way”.

At this point in time the thought of who the inspector was comes in mind. As how could one now what someone else’s future beholds. Many people think he was the guilty conscience of the Birlings, who wanted to show society the way people are treated and what little sympathy those in a higher class have. I think inspector Goole was a relative of Eva smith who saw what she went through and wanted to seek revenge by putting the Birlings through something that they will never forget.

J.B. Priestly has used the inspector to create a sense of mystery and drama within the play in all of these scenes. The inspector also plays on the audiences mind, he has given off the message that one should never take advantage of someone else and always look out for your neighbours. His words have created a great impact upon me and I hope there are no more Eva Smiths and John Smiths in our world today.

Neelam Hirani Page