In Act One of 'An Inspector Calls' how does J.B Priestly 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?

Inderpal Matharu 11EV

Inspector Calls Coursework

Question

In Act One of ‘An Inspector Calls’ how does J.B Priestly 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?

Introduction

John Boynton Priestly (1894 - 1984) played many roles as a political activist and commentator; a campaigner for nuclear disarmament and public lending right; a cultural ambassador; and a student of time and of dreams. He once, memorably, became an actor in one of his own plays and stood as a Parliamentary candidate in the 1945 General Election. It may be argued that in literary, social and political terms he was very much ‘a man for all seasons’. His father’s socialist friends introduced Priestly to politics.

Priestly was the most versatile writer of his time; one of his great plays, which I will perform my coursework on, is called ‘An Inspector Calls’. This play was set in the spring of 1912 but peculiarly it was first performed in 1945 pre-1939, London theatre was very well known during the war theatres.

The inspector wants to show and teach the Birlings to take responsibility for their own actions, to see what the consequences are to what they act upon. He also wants them to realise when they are wrong and to never refuse help to those whom are in need of help no matter what their reason, their past or situation.

J.B. Priestly’s main concerns were to demonstrate to the audience, how the people of the older generation (mostly whom are capitalists) differ from the younger generation (mostly whom are socialists) and everybody should take care of one another like a family and if that is a success, than there will be no suffering or any need of any crimes committed or conflicts. This is because Priestly wanted to remove capitalism and replace it with socialism. He wanted to make the world a better place.

This play was set before the World War One in 1912. However the play was written and performed just at the end of World War Two around 1945. This enables J.B Priestley to show the audience, that Mr Birling is wrong. Birling said that there wasn’t going to be another war. He also said that the Titanic was unsinkable. However he was all-wrong about what he said, this shows the audience that whatever Mr Birling says is mainly wrong. For example Birling talks about the Titanic ‘New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable’. However ...

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This play was set before the World War One in 1912. However the play was written and performed just at the end of World War Two around 1945. This enables J.B Priestley to show the audience, that Mr Birling is wrong. Birling said that there wasn’t going to be another war. He also said that the Titanic was unsinkable. However he was all-wrong about what he said, this shows the audience that whatever Mr Birling says is mainly wrong. For example Birling talks about the Titanic ‘New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable’. However the titanic did sink. This is dramatic devices, which Priestly used is called dramatic irony.

An Inspector Calls is detective genre by they have similar ideas to mystery. The similar ideas that the two genres have are that always a policeman, but in our case it’s an Inspector. In a murder mystery there is a murderer and a culprit. However our case there has been a suicide and there’s no culprit.

In Act One, there are several uses of dramatic devices used in the play. This is to keep the interest of the audience.

Dramatic irony used to make audience think how the character is cogitating.

Another dramatic devices that Priestly uses are ‘short, dramatic sentences’. This is to capture the interest of the audience and also to create suspense for the audience.

“Birling: How do you get on with our Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts”

This quote shows that Mr Birling is trying to scare his opponent by threatening him by showing him that Colonel Roberts is higher than the Inspector. . He is also trying to warn the Inspector and scare him so he doesn’t tell people about this incident which might lead to his reputation being ruined.

“Birling: …a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his family too, of course, when he has one”

I think this quote summaries how Mr Birling thinks life supposed to be. This shows Birling only cares for himself and his family. He doesn’t care for no else and doesn’t take any responsibilities for him. The dramatic irony is that the audience knows more than most or all of the characters on the stage.

The use of suspense or cliff -hangers is another dramatic devices used to keep the interest of the audience and to pull them into the play.

“ Mrs B: She said that the father was only a youngster – silly and wild an drinking too much. There couldn’t be any question of marry him”

In this quote Priestley wanted to show a cliffhanger. In this quote it shows Mrs B trying to get herself out of the argument, which she is in denial. The person that she is talking about is her own son. This shows the audience that Mrs B is in denial.

In this quote Priestley wanted to show a cliffhanger. It shows Mrs Birling trying to get herself out of the argument, which she is in denial. The person that she is talking about is her own son. This shows the audience that Mrs Birling is in denial.

Character actions or movements used to show that they are moving around to create tension or an atmosphere that the audience can feel.

“Gives a half-stifled sob and then runs out.”

This quote shows that Sheila has played a part of destroying Eva Smith’s life, in which she cannot do anything to change. From her movement and exist, it shows she has a guilty conscience, which the audience can see as well.

These above dramatic techniques used in the play is used to make the play interesting and naturalistic to the audience as it is supposed to seem realistic and show the social environment.

I think the purpose of lighting is mainly for the audience. This is because it can make the audience emotionally involved and sees what emotions the characters are going through. It can also make the audience judge the problem and later determine the actual problem.

The lighting addresses how the audience can see the characters mood and feelings. This is used to make it clearer for the audience to see how the characters are feeling. In the beginning the lighting is light red. This shows that the family are in a happy mood, which they are celebrating the engagement. I think the director chose red for the lighting is to set a love scene between the couple. However when the Inspector has arrives the lighting changes to a brighter colour, which clearly shows for the audience that something is going to happen and makes it into an intense atmosphere.

Inspector: “…When did you first get to know her?”

This shows Gerald is not very proud on what he did, but is sorry for what he had done.

. The audience is left baffled as the Inspector comes in and Act One ends with “well?” this dramatic device is used to make the audience feel the pressure Gerald is about to get and they can feel the tension between the characters as they are not getting along as well as they should.

The use of the doorbell as a sound effect was used to interrupt the speech given to Gerald and Eric by Mr Birling, about how they had to take no responsibility of others. I think the doorbell was like signal given to the audience, to stop Mr Birling carrying on, as he didn’t take any responsibility of the death of Eva Smith.

At the end of Act One, the effect it has on the audience is, it leaves the audience thinking what does Sheila know about the Inspector that nobody else seems to pick up on, and Sheila seems to think that he is omniscient as she notices that he knows everything that was being confessed. It also makes the audience sympathise for Sheila because she just got engaged and soon found out that her fiancé was unfaithful to her, as Gerald’s reactions confirm her suspicions towards the questions she asked about Eva Smith.

The author changes my opinion of the Birling family and Gerald in Act One by showing me their personality and their individual reactions

Mr Birling is a cruel, capitalist and only thinks about his money and his reputation. He was responsible for Eva Smith, but doesn’t take any responsibility. He also called her names, even though he heard disastrous death of Eva Smith took place.

At the beginning of the play I thought Sheila seemed to be a spoilt child and only thinks about herself. However when she was told about the Eva Smith’s death, it showed she is an intelligent and sensitive person, which shows the audience that she is a caring person.

Eric seemed to be the quiet one, he didn’t speak much. I think he is an independent person, but when issues come to him, he tries to rebel them and not to answer.

Mrs Birling is a selfish person, who she thinks she’s always right all the time and never wrong. She thought she helped Eva Smith, but actually didn’t. She thought she helped her children, which her children can tell her everything, but they don’t.

Gerald Croft seems to have a business mind like Mr Birling, but during Act One, it shows that Gerald is a fair person, even though he was disloyal to Sheila

In conclusion I think that the Inspector is as real as every one else in the play but I think that he represents justice or truth and is a form of angel or something along those lines.
While watching this play I enjoyed it immensely and I am very glad I have seen it. This play is more than just a detective thriller and you really have to look closely at it before you fully understand it. I am sure that there will always be a sense of mystery about this play; who was the inspector? What was the Inspector? Will we ever know?