The date 1912 is an important point in the book, as it is the date, just before the launching of the Titanic. During the speech at the dinner table, Mr Birling talks about future prosperity and mentions the Titanic; about how she was pure luxury and absolutely unsinkable. It is also, only a few years before the start of the First World War. In this same speech on page 6, he says that Sheila and Gerald are ‘marrying at a very good time’ as there will be world peace. He says that the ‘Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folks in the Balkans.’ This use of dramatic irony is one of the examples of dramatic devices that J.B. Priestley uses in the book, to convey his concerns and ideas. Although, we as readers know that a World War did occur, only a few years later, this information was denied to the characters at that time. This sets up a situation, where characters say things, which in significance, they do not fully understand. This, in turn, undermines the character of, particularly, Mr Birling and makes the audience doubt the truth about what he says.
Another dramatic device that Priestley uses in the play, is the language and tone of the Birling family and Gerald Croft. They speak very fluently in a formal, polite manner. This suggests that they have been well educated and again shows their upper class, as only the rich in those days, would have been able to afford such a luxury. The rich tone of their voice is used to define who they are.
The clothes that they are wearing on this occasion also show their wealth. It says on page 1 ‘All five are in evening dress of the period, the men in tails and white ties…’ This shows their upper class, as again only the rich in those days, would have been able to afford that style of clothing.
When the inspector uncovers each character’s secret, he does it ‘one by one’. This allows us to fully focus on and understand one person at a time and makes it appear to be more dramatic. It allows each character to explain fully their connections with Eva Smith and lets us know in depth what really happened.
Priestley is precise in specifying that until the Inspector’s arrival; the lighting in the room is ‘pink and intimate’. This helps to reinforce the initial friendly, congenial mood of the party, in a comfortable setting. After the inspector arrives, however, the lighting becomes ‘brighter and harder’, as the events of the play take their dramatic course and the mood progressively changes. The lighting involved in this play, is used as a symbolic image, as the play is all about highlighting secrets that each character has.
Throughout the whole play, the setting is constant throughout. We stay situated in the dining room of Mr Birling’s large suburban house. Priestly uses this device, so that we can fully concentrate on what is happening in the storyline. We are also then transported back to the time of the event, when each character is telling their version of the story. This happens, so that we are aware of what it was like and able to understand fully the situation they were in.
Another dramatic device that Priestly uses greatly in the play is the use of the photograph. The inspector used it as an instrument to unlock what each character knew about Eva Smith. As they each see the photograph, recognition of her is shown through their facial expressions and body language. For example, when Sheila was shown the photograph, she gave a cry and a half-stifled sob and then ran out of the room. The inspector only shows it to one person at a time, which towards the end of the play persuades the characters, that he was showing different photographs to each person, allowing them to think that he was a false inspector.
On page 10 of the book, Mr Birling gave a speech to Eric and Gerald about how a man has to look after himself and he implies that he doesn’t believe in helping the community. Ironically, this is the point where the doorbell rings and cuts the conversation. This sound effect is a dramatic device, because the inspector has come to teach him, exactly what he was talking about.
Entrances and exits are another tool, used in the storyline of the play, in particular, when the inspector first enters. When a new character is introduced into the play, it has a large effect on the rest of the characters. As he enters the dining room, he is described as ‘…not a big man but he creates at once a feeling of massiveness….’ This gives us an instinct that he doesn’t have to be what he seems, which portrays events of what is to come. When Mr Birling tells the inspector about his connections with the Lord Mayor and that he frequently plays golf with Chief Constable Roberts, he is uninterested by this news. For once, Mr Birling’s high status is not appreciated and leaves him feeling quite rejected. The inspector’s entrance affects quite a few people in the story. At once, Eric is uneasy and as we find out later in the story, he stole money from his father’s account and it was likely that he thought he was in trouble when the inspector enters. When Sheila comes happily into the room, she is genuinely shocked, when the inspector tells her what has happened. She criticizes her father, when she learns that he sacked her, which possibly could have led to her death. But when she discovers, that it was also the same girl, she got sacked at Milward’s; she is very agitated and guilty with herself. When the inspector leaves towards the end of act 3, his last speech is very appropriate to the novel. He explains in great detail, the moral of the story, of how we are all responsible for each other. After he leaves, the rest of the characters are in an awful state and they slowly learn, with the help of Gerald, that in fact, he wasn’t an actual inspector. Inspector Goole’s name adds further question to their suspicions as the name suggests ghost.
At the end of Act one, the inspector leaves the room, so that Sheila could discuss Gerald’s affairs with Eva Smith (Daisy Renton) in private. Although he was not in the room, he still appears to know, everything that had gone on, while he was away. This also proves his ghostly nature and is really more like a personified conscience of guilt inside them.
From the start of Act One, J.B. Priestley greatly changes our opinions of the Birlings. At the start of the act, the Birlings are very arrogant and self-centred. They each believe that they should only care about themselves and do not have to take responsibility for anyone one else outside of their upper class family. Although we really have to wait to the very end of the play to see any great changes, I can see that some characters, in particular, Sheila’s attitude, begins to change. At the beginning, she is just as self-centred as her father, but after she learns from the inspector that a young girl killed herself, she is genuinely shocked. When she learns, that she is partly to blame for her death, she is ‘agitated’ and ‘guilty’. She learns through the course of the play that we indeed are all responsible for each other.
Priestley tries to interest and involve the readers as much as possible in the play. He keeps the interest flowing, through the book, as one character’s secret is revealed one at a time. We are pushed to read on, as we know each person has something on their conscience, which they haven’t yet told to the readers and there is an interest to find out who was responsible for driving this Eva Smith to suicide. The use of climaxes, adds to this suspense and the readers are left wondering to the conclusion of each act.
The moral of the story, that the author, J.B. Priestly is trying to send us, is that we should all care for one another. Even though, it was a story of just one girl, there are many Eva Smiths and John Smiths in our world today. Their lives are intertwined with our own, and they are affected by what we say and do. He is trying to teach us that we don’t just live alone; we are members of one body and are all responsible for each other. He also tells us that the time will come, if we do not learn this, we will be taught a much harder lesson.