In act one of 'An Inspector Calls' how does J.B. Priestley use dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to the members of the audience, as well as interest and involve them in his play?

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By Kerrie Coyle, 11a

An Inspector Calls - Essay Question

In act one of ‘An Inspector Calls’ how does J.B. Priestley use dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to the members of the audience, as well as interest and involve them in his play?

J.B Priestley uses a lot of dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to the members of the audience, as well as interest and involve them in the play.

        Although written just after the Second World War, this play is set in 1912, where class is considered to be very important. If you were unemployed and had no family or friends to support you, in the case of Eva Smith, you often found yourself living on the streets. Of course, in those days, life was very harsh and there was no such thing as benefits or a welfare state, to help those in need. The Birling family need not worry about this, as they are very high up in society and lead very comfortable lives. After all, Arthur Birling is the owner of a large manufacturing factory.

        When the inspector comes to visit the Birlings, during the engagement party of Sheila Birling to Gerald Croft, he intends to teach them a lesson. He wants to show them their selfish and arrogant ways. Mr Birling believes that every man should be for himself. In reference to the play, he says on page 9, ‘…a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his family too, of course…..’ The inspector has come to teach them that this is, infact, wrong and that people should act together as a community, particularly to help those who are in need. Consequently, we are all responsible for each any every person in our society and this is portrayed through the story of Eva Smith. When Priestley wrote this play, he wanted everyone to realise that there are many Eva Smiths out there in the world today, and we should all take time out of our busy lives, to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

        The genre of the play seems as first to be a detective thriller, because just after the characters of the Birling family and Gerald Croft are established to us, an inspector enters and slowly unravels the history of Eva Smith. The audience’s interest in sustained, by the desire to ultimately find out, whom indeed, was responsible for driving this young girl to suicide. The use of climaxes, adds to this suspense and the readers are left wondering to the conclusion of each act. As this play is set, such a long time ago, in 1912, it could also be regarded as a historical film.

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        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, ...

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