How does Priestley create suspense and tension at the end of Act 2 of "An Inspector Calls"?

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Chris Yong                10Q

Post 1914 Drama Coursework Assignment

How does Priestley create suspense and tension at the end of Act 2 of “An Inspector Calls”?

        Throughout the play, suspense and tension has always been a part of whatever was happening on the stage. However this was especially true as the play neared the end of Act 2.

        Suspense from this act comes mainly from the three clues dropped which identify Eric Birling as the father of Eva Smith’s baby. This allows the audience to realise this before anybody else on stage does. Tension also plays a big part in the play. This arises from conflict between characters on stage. The Inspector and Mrs Birling most of all creates incredible tension between them with the Inspector pushing his questions forward without listening to Mrs Birling’s protests.

        The play starts off with the Birlings at dinner, happy and jubilant as they were about to be united to the prestigious Croft family through the marriage of Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. When dinner has finished, the three men from the group – Mr Birling, Gerald and Eric – sit down as Mr Birling passes on his “experiences”. Many of these were deliberately ironic such as Mr Birling saying a World War would not start. They are interrupted by a ring at the front door as the Inspector first makes his arrival. He tells them that he’s investigating the death of a young girl named Eva Smith and proceeds to question them. He interrogates them one by one as each member of the group reveals a shameful secret to link them to her death. As we proceed to the end of Act 2, only two people remain to be questioned – Mrs Birling and Eric. Mrs Birling is under the spotlight as the Inspector intends to crack her determine self.

        At the end of Act 2, three clues are dropped that enables the audience to realise that Eric is the father of Eva’s baby before anyone on stage does. A fourth clue was also dropped when the Inspector first arrived at the household.

        The first clue is dropped, as mentioned above, when the Inspector first arrives at the Birlings’ home. Before the Inspector started his questioning, Eric asked if he could go to bed as he was feeling unwell. However the Inspector told him to stay up as he shall need to be questioned to. This did not seem special at first, but as the questioning proceeded we see that the order of questioning is in chronological order to Eva’s death. We therefore conclude that the last person to be questioned must be the one that pushed Eva over the edge and ultimately to her death.

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        However, as soon as the Inspector begins his interrogation, we can see that Priestley has done an extremely clever swap. Rather than continue the pattern of questioning the characters in chronological order, he decides to switch Mrs Birling’s questioning, which was the latest in the line of the family’s encounters with Eva, with Eric’s. This enables those vital clues to be dropped, keeping the audience in suspense until the moment they have suspected and waited for all along (Eric admitting he’s the father of the baby) finally happens.

        Back to the clues, however, the second clue was dropped ...

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