How is the audience of this play made aware of the powershifting from Birling to the Inspector?

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Amy Stephens 10E

How is the audience of this play made aware of the power shifting from Birling to the Inspector?

Introduction

In this essay, I am going to write about how the audience of this play is made aware of the power shifting from Mr Birling to the Inspector. This play is set in 1912, but it was written in 1945, after the Titanic had sunk, and the Depression and both World Wars had happened. In 1912, people were quite pleased with themselves. A lot of them had made a lot of money through industry and they thought that everything would turn out all right. The Birlings are such a family. However, there were many poor people and some people, such as the Inspector, took the opposite extreme view.

Dramatic Devices

At the beginning of this play, Mr Birling has the power. You can see this before he even talks as he is heavy and important looking and has  "solid and suburban" furniture, which shows he is successful. When he does talk, he is the first person to speak. It is also obvious from the way he dominates the conversation, and does not allow anyone to interrupt him.  He gives instructions, has very strong views, and obviously has the respect of his family and Gerald. However, he has an accent, which shows that he has not always been this rich, and makes him seem slightly less powerful.

The inspector also starts taking the power before he talks as he interrupts Birling, which no one has been allowed to do yet. The point at which he interrupts Birling is also important, because he has just said to Eric and Gerald that "a man must mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and- ". He does not get to finish his sentence.

When the Inspector walks in, the lighting changes from warm pink to bright white, shattering the cosy family atmosphere.

You can tell that he has control from the way he stops Gerald and Eric from looking at the photograph when he shows it to Mr Birling, and from the way he remains calm all the time, whereas Mr Birling gets angry and excited.

Character

Birling is a heavy looking man in his fifties who owns a successful business and a large house in the city. His wealth makes him pleased with himself and complacent, which puts him in a dangerous position. He is domineering, narrow-minded, conceited and likes to be in charge. He is head of the family, has strong views, and believes he is right. He has an impatient manner. He is very right wing and doesn't see working class people like Eva Smith as people, just cheap labour. He is perhaps made more right wing because he feels insecure in his place in the class system and feels embarrassed about his background, which you can tell from his accent - that he used to be poorer. Another explanation could be because he has made a lot of money for himself and feels that everyone could do the same if they wanted to. His power and his right wing views are undermined during his speech to Gerald and Eric, when he says that the Titanic won't sink and there will not be a war.

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He thinks that he is better than the Inspector because he is from a higher class - "I don't propose to give you much rope"

His wife, Sybil, is from a higher social class than he is. Marriages of this sort would have been common in 1912 as the upper classes had the stature and the middle classes had "new money" from industry, so the marriages were mutually advantageous. His daughter Sheila is marrying into an even higher class - Gerald's parents have titles, which will benefit Birling because it will mean a merger between their two businesses. However ...

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