Priestly informs us that the family us happy at first and celebrating Gerald’s and Sheila’s engagement. In order for Priestly to show us that ‘Capitalists’ prefer to show off, and not be happy, he uses the stage direction, describing the general effect as ‘not cosy and homelike’. They all seem ‘pleased with themselves’ meaning that they are self-satisfied and complacent. The family’s celebration us suddenly interrupted by a doorbell mentioned in the stage direction ‘We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell. Birling stops to listen’. The idea of the ring being sharp ring makes me think it was also quite loud which would grab the attention of the audience and makes them look towards the door. At this point there is suspense, with a question of ‘Who could be at the door’. This is immediately followed by a moment of silence, which is highlighting the importance of this interruption. The technique of silence is effectively used by the inspector as soon as there is ‘ A pause with a touch of impatience’. During this period of silence we have time to suspect that Mr. Birling has done something wrong, and so the audience sense that the inspector will bring trouble with him, for the Birlings. When the inspector arrives Mr.Birling is quite friendly and tells the inspector to sit down. When the inspector then states that he is enquiring about Eva Smith, Mr. Birling starts to get quite restless.
Priestly presents Mr.Birling as a fool using dramatic irony (Dramatic irony is when the audience know more information than the characters themselves). This is evident when Priestly confidently says that the Titanic is ‘unsinkable and absolutely unsinkable’ and that there isn’t going to be World War and it will never happen. The audience present to watch the play in 1946 would have known that the Titanic will sink, as well as a World War has taken place. Now the audience know that Mr.Birling actually knows nothing much, and that he truly likes the sound of his own voice. The use of the doorbell as a sound effect cuts off Mr.Birling while he is in the middle of his foolish speeches, as well as it interrupts his selfish ideas. It reflects how serious and important the Inspector will be.
Mr.Birling is gradually losing control over his children during the interrogation, and the more he reveals his selfish ideas, the more he loses control. First Mr.Birling says about the workers that ‘We were paying the usual rates and if they didn’t like those rates, they could go and work somewhere else. It’s a free country, I told them’. Eric immediately opposes his father and says ‘It isn’t if you can’t go and work somewhere else’. Even after this the inspector agrees with him, and so Mr.Birling is losing control over Eric. Eric is totally siding against his father, and the inspector is driving a wedge between the parents and the children. The inspector directly contradicts Mr.Birling, when Mr.Birling hints that the inspector should leave, but with all self-confidence the Inspector replies’ I’m afraid not’. Here the audience sees that Mr.Birling is almost challenging the Inspector, but the fact that the Inspector is winning and is in control. Mr.Birling uses name dropping to warn the Inspector that he has authority and can hurt him. Unfortunately for Mr.Birling name dropping does not affect the Inspector; this informs us that the Inspector has more moral power than Mr.Birling. In this play we realize that one word from the Inspector has more effect than an entire speech from Mr.Birling
Priestly is trying to get across to the audience that just because you have more money it does not make you a higher class than any one else, and we are all equal. Up to act one Priestly is proving it gradually, by revealing to the audience how each character of ‘Capitalists’ was involved in the death of Eva Smith
