The second hint came when Mrs Birling said “First she called herself Mrs Birling”, at this point in the play Mrs Birling does not yet know the importance of Eva/Daisy’s introduction of herself to the charity team. The moment she says this, the audience being to wonder with whom else is Eva/Daisy connected to in the family. At this time in the play, Eric is the only one left that has not been told in which way he is linked to Eva/Daisy, so the audience assumes it is him straight away.
The third tip-off is shown when the Inspector said “This girl was going to have a child”. This surprise tells us instantly wither Eric or Gerald is the father of her child. The audience is trapped in a moment of complete suspense, wondering who the father of the child is, until Mr Birling says “This wasn’t Gerald Croft-”. The Inspector then goes on to tell the whole family that the pregnancy of Eva/Daisy had nothing, what so ever, to do with Gerald. This is the final clue. The clues have come together like a jig-saw puzzle; this has leaded us to know that the father of Eva/Daisy’s baby must be Eric.
As Priestley reveals the clues with suspense, it keeps on increasing by the uses of pauses and the condemning tome of voice that is used in the play by the Inspector. The clues help to include more and more to the suspense because they let the audience find out bit by bit what the characters have done before the other members of the family do.
There is tension within the family and with the Inspector which are not all that clear at the beginning but they do become completely obvious towards the end of the play. The main tension in Act 2 of the play is in between Mrs Birling and the Inspector. We know this because they are continuously interrupting one another and also by the tone of their voices when they talk. Both of them are quite rude and hasty. Mrs Birling often feels as if she is threatened by the inspector, this is why she speaks to him in a very in an furious, ill-mannered and forceful manner. Another reason that there is so much tension between the two is because that the Inspector often lectures Mrs Birling over her responsibilities. The Inspector has reason to act in this way because of Mrs Birling’s low understanding of to her people other then her own family and friends and also her very high and mighty views towards Eva/Daisy, however this really annoys Mrs Birling as she think herself as if she is too socially important to have someone talk to her in such a way. We know this because the Inspector tells her that it her responsibility to keep poor and helpless Eva/Daisy out of anymore trouble. He said “At a time when no women could needed it more. And you not only refused it yourself but saw to it that the others refused it too…and you slammed the door in her face.” She replies this by being extremely suspicious and cautious about the Inspector.
The feeling throughout Act 2 is very tense. This mood is created by the slamming of doors in the background when a member of the Birling family, either leaving or entering. The reactions that are given from the character shows this tension. A prime example of this is when the stage directions read ‘We hear the front door slam again.’ This makes the audience and the characters feel anxious as neither of them know what is going on outside the room and are very nervous to find out.
The Inspector uses a lot of eye contact in the play which creates tension between characters which leave the audience in even more suspense. For example when the Inspector arrives and Mr Birling realises he is not the only one that the Inspector has come to see. Priestley writes that the Inspector is looking at each character in turn, “…looks at Gerald, then at Eric, then at Sheila.” This leaves the audience trying to figure out who is involved and how.
As well as the tension between Mrs Birling and the Inspector, there is also tension between Sheila and her mother and father. Sheila is that the first one to understand what the Inspector is trying to say exactly and what he is trying to do, it grows more stronger and considerate as the play goes along. Because of this she has many disagreements with her parents. Both Mr and Mrs Birling think they are in one way what so ever responsible for Eva/Daisy’s death and refuse to take the blame for it. Sheila realises that she may have contributed to Eva/Daisy’s death and she is trying to pass on the message to her parents, but they are both unwilling to listen to what anyone else has to say. Sheila says “I have behaved badly too. I know I did. I’m ashamed of it. But now you’re beginning all over again to pretend nothing much has happened-”. We know that there is tension between the characters because Mr Birling interrupts her very rudely. He then replies to Sheila’s selfless dialogue with an appearance of selfishness on his part. He believes that “a man has to mind his own business and look after his own” and he tries to make people feel sympathy for him because he will suffer more then the rest because his reputation will be trashed. Mr Birling does fails to see that his action against Eva/Daisy were wrong and feels no sorrow what so ever. The audience, as well as Sheila, get the feeling that if these events were to happen again then he would not change what he did. Sheila is continually reminding him that the person that actually has been hurt the most is Eva/Daisy, after all she is dead. Sheila is shocked, amazed and disgusted at her mother’s attitude towards Eva/Daisy as Mrs Birling also appears to be untouched by Eva/Daisy’s death in any way. Mrs Birling worked for the ‘Brumley Women’s Charity Organization’ and because of this, her daughter thinks that is a kind and caring woman. When Sheila finds out the truth she is appalled and finds it very hard to believe that her ’kind and caring’ mother could do such a cruel thing. It is only two youngest members of the Birling family, Sheila and Eric, feel as if they, themselves and everyone else does have a part to play in the death of this young girl and have learned from the events that have taken place.
As we come near to the end of Act 2, Mrs Birling is digging herself deeper and deeper into her own grave, which she has made. The last 17 lines of Act 2 bring tension and suspense to a critical climax. As the act ends Mrs Birling realises that her words, anger and rudeness has made the situation worse for herself and her family. The stage directions that are used at this moment in the play tell us that she and her family are getting increasingly distraught. The tension and suspense are increased by Priestley’s use of pauses, interruptions and unfinished sentences. For example, when Mrs Birling says: “But surely… I mean… its ridiculous…” In the last 17 sentences are at their highest and just as Eric enters the curtains fall quickly. This leaves the audience wanting got know what will happen next and has left them in a complete mental state wanting more, wondering how Eric’s entrance will effect the dilemma and what will happen next; this is the ultimate point of suspense in the play.
Act 2 involves some of the main themes of the text. Priestley intends to make the point that every single cause has an effect and that small things can really build up and direct you right into a tragedy. The audience receives this message very clearly as they are as sickened just as much as Sheila is at the view of Eva/Daisy’s death and that neither Mr or Mrs Birling take any liability for it.
‘An Inspector calls’ was written just after the Second World war, but set before it, Priestley wants to make the point that people of Europe did not learn their lesson from the First World War; we are still making the same mistakes again and again. He does this by making the character Mr Birling, who refuses to take any responsibility for his actions or to assume a level of social responsibility for those less fortunate then he is. It can be seen that he is actually hiding behind a disguise of decency, appearing to others as responsible and moral but actually being a man of the complete opposite. He is completely different to what people think him to be, what he shows other people.
The end of Act 2 is very effective because although many truths have been revealed, the suspense is only somewhat reassured when young Eric enters the room. When Eric is standing at the door he does not speak. Priestley keeps the audience in suspense until the very need, until the next act commences. I think Priestley is very successful in getting his personal message across to the audience and does this well, by using suspense and tension.
