How effectively does Priestly convey his message in An Inspector Calls?

"Theres a fair chance I might find my way into the next honours list."

This comment is both pompous and complaicent yet sums up Mr Birling.

The Inspector tries to get them to realise that they had all acted selfishly to Eva Smith and had all done wrong. The Inspector is very clever when questioning the family, he does it one by one, making them confess whether they like it or not and whether or not they think it right or wrong themselves. The line of questioning is good, but the method somewhat odd. The Inspector is very passionate about the girl, he says things like A nice little promising life there, I though and a nasty mess somebody's made of it."

The Inspector emphasises the horrible death and plays on the family's guilt. Whe the inspector calls unexpectedly on the Birling family his news effects their lives, but also our view of the play, it makes us think. What have we done wrong and what effects did it have? Inspector Goole is portrayed as quite a sinister character that is quite persistent about finding out the truth. He believes in quite the opposite to what Mr Birling believes in. He feels every person should help each other as he quotes, 'We are members of one body-We are responsible for each other'.

The inspector cross examines each character in turn, with each of them he makes a point that they have acted selfishly and used Eva Smith the girl involved for their own purposes and they have not thought about the effect they have had on her life. The Inspector hovers over the characters acting much like their conscience, he is described as creating

"an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness..."

He speaks carefully and has a way of forcing the truth out of each character in question. While Arthur Birling is moved to anger by the Inspector, he is not affected by being confronted with the effects of his actions until the Inspector is about to leave.

Sheila, Arthur Birling's daughter, however is moved to tears of shock and guilt, the Inspector has been successful in making her see the consequences of her actions.

The fiancé, Gerald Croft, finds the Inspector similarly disrupts his

"easy manner". He is distressed by his part in the destruction of the girl's life though he did try to deny knowing her at first as through the first part of the play, he feels completely relieved and innocent to any possible part in the suicide of Eva Smith. He never knew this girl but when the name Daisy Renton came up he gives himself away completely. Mrs Birling, however, remains entirely untouched by the Inspector's questioning. She refuses to see how Eva's could have followed as a consequence of her actions and tries to blame the father of Eva's child for the suicide. Eric reacts in a similar way to his sister. It is not until now in which Mrs Birling is finally affected, faced now with the realisation that her actions eventually lead to the death of her grandchild.

There are many factors in the play that make the message effective, in that it is conveyed successfully to the audience. The main factors that convey the message are components within the story line. Preistley uses an element of mystery and ambiguity all the way through the play to keep the audience interested and following what is going on. This works, in that the audience are captivated and so are taking in all the circumstances, which in the end are explained and the message is then clear.

Another thing that does help the message come across effectively is the difference of opinion in the age gaps. The view of Sheila and Eric was much different to Mr and Mrs Birling. The children are in fact far more sensible than their parents and are able to empathise with Eva Smith and admit that they have done wrong. We see this when Eric confronts his parents;

"Its what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that's important."

This shows the effect that the inspector had on him. We also see the inspectors effect on Sheila as she corrects her father;

"But these girls aren't cheap labour, they're people."

Sheila is far wiser than any of them in knowing what the Inspector is and the fact he already knows everything, we see this by when she says:

"You needn't give me any rope. (Inspector)

No he's giving us rope-so we'll hang ourselves."(Sheila)

This is suggesting that the Inspector is forcing them to confess, and she is right.

The inspector brings the play to a close, summarising Priestley's message when he says 'We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other' exactly the opposite to what we are told to believe by Mr Birling, that everybody should look after themselves. Priestley conveyed his message well, making the audience feel what the characters are feeling and think about the situation of the play next to their own lives.

Tim Jones 11N

Tim Jones 11N English Coursework; Modern Play