Priestley, throughout act 1 of the play, used old fashioned language. He did this to optimise the sheer desperation of the Birlings trying to ‘fit’ in with aristocrats, Gerald being one of them, therefore Mr Birling and his clan wanted to prove to him their manners and intelligence, although it would have been common for people to articulate themselves in a ‘posh’ manner, it was then also highly generic to find people of the lower class to express their speech with a cockney dialect in places such as East London and in other regions they would have had their own version of cockney due to the lack of education as a result of being made to work in factories. People like Eva smith conducted their speech in such manner, and the Birlings wanted to set themselves far apart from ‘commoners‘. Priestley also applies some very powerful dialect, he does so to highlight the mannerisms of the Birling family, and to give us an insight into their character and also their precepts ‘’an inspector? What kind of an inspector?’’ the audience could see from this that Mr Birling has done something wrong, though he is only subconsciously aware, the fact that he is asking what kind of an inspector has arrived is asinine, an inspector has a duty to ‘inspect’ a variety of crimes. In act 1 there is a pattern of euphemism, subtly put ideas across without having to utter big over-dramatic words which will subdue other statements for example when Eric uttered to his father ‘’yes, you’ve piled it on a bit tonight father’’ as opposed to saying something like ‘’you’ve had a large quantity of food tonight’’ as a statement like that would offend Mr Birling thus Eric would seem like a son without manner and Birling would look like he has failed his son, and the Birlings would seem to be those of no manners and would not be considered to be ‘upper class’.
Sheila’s attitude takes a dramatic change throughout the play. At first she seemed girly and coy. The audience thought of her to be selfish and self-absorbed (just like her father). ‘’you be careful -or I’ll start weeping’’, this shows that she is spoilt and a Daddy’s
Girl. But as the first act moves on, we slowly learn of her feisty and feminist side, she is also the first one to admit her part in Eva‘s death-’’ it was my own fault‘’. She also shows remorse ‘’and if I could help her now, I would‘’. Priestley is also conveying the revolution of women, as it was around the time that the suffragettes triumphed; Sheila represents women, from the time they had no authority, to the time they revolted, so it is apparent that Priestley is expressing that change is possible and achievable.
Stagecraft is essential as it reinforces the purpose of the play; visual aspects are crucial as they help develop the overall objective of the drama . The setting and lighting are an important aspect of the play. Priestley describes the first scene in act 1 in detail so the spectators can, without delay, gain the impression of a ‘heavily comfortable house’. The quotation reinforces that the family are trying too hard to create a realistic and homely environment, hence its so heavily done that its over the level of being a home. Priestly also suggested that the light should be ‘pink and intimate’ before the inspector arrives, then after his arrival it should become ‘brighter and harder’, the lighting substantially effects the play. Before the inspector’s arrival, everything was rosy and romantic due to Gerald and Sheila’s engagement, and it moulded a shadow which the characters could hide in; as their source of comfort. However, with the arrival of the inspector, a bright white light is produced implying a ghostly and religious individual set out to unmask the family’s deep and bad deeds which they have been trying to secrete. Essentially it is like day of judgement for them, their evils have caught up with them and it is impossible to gainsay their actions which have led to Eva Smith’s fundamental death. The white light correspondingly insinuates inspector Goole’s witty and subtle debriefing.
The play has a variety of mystifying genres such as mystery, ‘whodunit’ and eventually a gothic horror. The play also features a sense of a fable as it teaches a lesson (though animals are not used). The audience are engaged in the play because they are given different accounts of how Eva Smith was mistreated and the possible reason(s) which may have resulted in her suicide. Priestley probably used a wide range of genres to create tension and suspense. The audience are aware of what is happening but are kept hooked and unsure whether their calculations are correct. The aftermath that has been initiated by the variety of genres has a big impact as it sets the audience’s paces racing, and it is likely that this will establish some form of a revolution against issues such as capitalism and hopefully it would result into some sort of a prohibition of the social hierarchy.
Mr Birling is a noteworthy character, yet he is awfully transparent. The fact that he has no sense of his immoderate behaviour is appalling, in spite of that, he seems to believe that his behaviour to be of an aristocrat; he deems himself to be suitable for such title which belongs to those who are members of the highest social class in a country. Such title is achieved by inheritance. His lectures and his physical appearance are the factors which give away his traits. Mr Birling also has a tendency of boasting about topics which merely make the audience realise his false predictions and stupidity for example he articulates about the ‘’Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’’ titanic, yet the audience know that he is wrong. He also rejects the threat of war-’’ I say there isn’t a chance of war’’. The insinuation is that it is unfortunate for a dimwit such as Mr Birling could be allowed to be in the position of such dominion, and the fact that he imposes his ideas forcefully without anyone being allowed by him to oppose these mediocre theories of his is absolutely repulsive. Priestley proves that most middle class people, who are in favour of capitalism are not as prim as they’d like to appear, instead they are bigots with little or no compassion for those less privileged.
Eric Birling really stands out from the rest of his clan. He seems rebellious and bohemian, despite the fact that his physical appearance is smart and formal. From act 1, he has always been a bit of a dark horse, he is contained although he is drunk. The fact that he is drunk, embarrasses his family as they are afraid that he’d reveal something that the family are trying to keep under the carpet. He is just about the only person in the family who is audacious enough to half mock Mr Birling, an example is when his father started lecturing again and Eric coolly remarked- ‘’what’s the joke? Started telling stories?’’. This comment elucidates that Eric is exasperated with his father’s constant allocutions and he is implying that they are those of child’s play, hence ‘’joke’’. He also showed anger towards his father unremorsefully dismissing Eva smith: ‘’He could have kept her instead of throwing her out’’. This clearly shows that he feels sorrow for Eva and is unhappy about his father’s inconsiderate behaviour. Priestley shows that sadly, Eric is just a product of Mr and Mrs Birling, he is raised under their virtues, even though he does not agree with their actions, he is a position which excepts him from doing anything about it. Essentially, Eric represents those people (mostly children of chauvinists) who were too afraid to oppose the maltreatment of factory workers or more generally, the poor; it is people like Eric, who are the next generation, to stand up for what they do not support.
Inspector Goole poses a great threat to the family. His tongue is blunt and straightforward: ‘’Two hours ago a young woman died in the infirmary…’’. The sense that Goole is impressive intimidates the Birlings and Gerald. He works very analytically and he is an individual of authority- therefore he is in a higher position than the Birlings and essentially, Gerald too. Stage directions support his aura: ‘he creates an impression of massiveness’. The stage directions repeat similar justifications of the inspector ‘cutting through massively’-’ cutting in massively’-’ with authority’ et cetera. It is as if the inspector is a god; he is enraged and disgusted by what has been done to Eva Smith who ‘’ died in misery and agony hating life’’. He wants the family to comprehend their responsibilities. Priestley uses Goole to voice his dogma which he, himself held. The inspector persists a calm and a composed temperament throughout act 1 which resulted in the Birlings feeling paranoia and humiliation. In addition to the above, Inspector Goole himself is like a devise, as he is a route to verity. As aforementioned, he is like a god in a sense that he gives the Birlings an opportunity to own up to what harm they have caused, and as a result agree to change (although it given as a choice). Thus, he signifies the need of change, learning from mistakes and avoiding those mistakes to happen again.
The construction of act 1 is the antithesis of a fairy tale; instead of the commencement of a bad beginning to a good one; Priestley submits a more ominous and pragmatist approach to human activity. Everything that had previously been supposed as beautiful, is actually the antithesis of. At first the engagement of Sheila and Gerald appeared bona fide, but as the play moved on, we learnt that perhaps it was more of a trophy agreement to marry.‘’ your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me’’. At this point, Mr Birling is addressing Gerald his sheer delight of their ‘engagement’. The family are in a vivacious disposition as it is a delight to everybody. However, the engagement is not celebrated merely for that its self. As the doorbell rang, ’sharp ring of a front door bell.’, the family’s calm nature is interrupted by an alarming force; the door bell symbolises a warning, as that of an air raid during the war (both WWI and WWII). An inspector, in the name of Goole, arrives. His arrival proves too excruciating for the family, and Inspector Goole degrades them mutually…the family is reduced to threads. The death of Eva smith is descended from when she was found in the ‘’infirmary’’ down to the time she was working for Mr Birling, but the order is done randomly.
Priestley explored a variety of issues concerning pre-world war one Britain. Although he was a socialist, Priestley had problems settling down to the policies of the political parties of his time. His socialism was based on sympathy and concern for others. He, himself came from a working class background, so he could obviously feel sympathy for factory workers abused by industrialists like Arthur Birling. The end of WWII symbolised a fresh start. Young people were expected to learn from the mistakes which were created by the previous generation. With mistakes learnt, the ‘new’ generation should avoid being shallow and start showing each other more consideration and respect, life is trial and error, alternatives of the social hierarchy should be cogitated. I also believe that Priestley was encouraging people to be in touch with their spirituality again, for example a Christian should avoid committing a deadly sin, if they do, they will have to pay the consequences of their actions. Eva Smith essentially represented poor people. She found it hard to keep a job because of a selfish boss( Mr Birling), she then lost another job for a trivial reason imposed by Sheila Birling. She was in an unjust brief relationship with Gerald Croft who used her and abused her emotions. Later on, her and Eric Birling were involved in an ‘affaire de coeur’ in which she got impregnated without marriage encompassed (this would count as lust, which is one of the deadly sin). Priestley has been able to convey his concerns and ideas objectively, he is one persona to admire, he’s somebody that we can all learn something from. His play ‘An inspector calls’ is a British treasure, it deals with great philosophies which we can all learn values of life to. People will hopefully, in the future continue to look back in order to move forward.
