I have already said that this play ‘An Inspector Calls’ was set in 1912, two years before world war 1. A crucial point, is that the audience who were watching the play, in 1947, were looking back so they had the benefit of hindsight, since the time of the play’s setting, there would have been two world war’s, and the world has moved on considerably and the people of 1940-45, were less secure, less confident than the people in the play. Arthur Birling was a middle class, businessman, who obviously has affluence and again full of confidence for the future. He could see nothing more than further riches for him and his family. “You can ignore all this silly pessimistic talk.” Arthur Birling thought this despite the fact of; there was a prospect of war. “Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsense.”
Arthur Birling was typical of his type, who thought that their life would always go from strength to strength and people like Arthur Birling would always keep down the poor. Another one of his beliefs is that he thought nothing could go wrong, notice what Mr Birling say’s about the Titanic “ the Titanic – she sails next week – forty – six thousand – eight hundred tons – New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” At this point there is a hidden message, the audience know that Mr Birling is inaccurate and J.B Priestley clearly relies on dramatic irony to create impact and reveal the flaws in Arthur Birling’s personality, Mr Birling also believed that capitalism would always win and there was no time for socialist ideas in this world. The audience watching this would know how inaccurate he was, because in 1947 they have just elected a Labour government and also there had been a rising of communism in Russia, Mr Birling had not foreseen this “ There’ll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere – expect of course in Russia which will always behind naturally.”
At this particular time, the Edwardian era, and the middle class were considerably better off than the lower classes, because there were no laws to prevent the workers being exploited. Unions in the era were discouraged and there was no health service, and no social security either, the background of the play is that the minority were well off, like Arthur Birling, and the majority were kept down, with a poor standard of living. J.B Priestley thought it was wrong for society to treat people like Eva Smith like that. Would the same thing happen to her if she lived in 1946 is the question being asked to the audience.
When J.B Priestley wrote his plays, he used a number of dramatic devices and wrote so it followed a classical structure. The classical structure he followed was similar to Greek drama. Greek drama had a simple pattern of three unities, which were action, time, and place. The Greek unity meant that there was only one story line, no sub-plots. The second unity of time required the whole of the action to take place within a twenty-four hour period, and the third unity of place, meant that it should take place in one setting. In ‘An Inspector calls’ there was only one storyline, and this storyline was that a girl, Eva Smith, commits suicide, and everybody in the house at this time were to blame, in some way, for the death of Eva Smith. The story is very different to many others as it begins to unravel as it goes on, thus confirming the first unity of action. The second unity of time is also confirmed because all the action takes place in a short period of time, properly about one to two hours. Stage time and real time are exactly the same; the only slight adjustment to chronology is the order in which the Inspector questions each of the Birlings. He questions Mrs Birling, prior to Eric, in order to develop the dramatic impact of the play. The third unity of place is confirmed, because all of the action takes place within the house of Arthur Birling.
Another device that J.B Priestley uses from Greek drama is the chorus. In a Greek drama, a chorus was used, firstly to give a summary of what’s had all ready happened. Secondly to pass an opinion on the characters, and thirdly it would explain the lessons, what have been learnt, or should have been learnt. The character used in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was ‘Inspector Goole’, when ‘Inspector Goole’ arrives on stage, for the first time, he announces what had happened. “Two hours ago, a women died in the infirmary. She’d been taken there this afternoon, because she had swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out, of course.” As in a Greek drama he reveals the plot. He lets every one know her real name. “But her real name, her real name – was Eva Smith.”
Secondly he comments on each of the characters. For example he says that Arthur Birling was wrong to have sacked her. “Because what had happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what had happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events.” In Sheila’s case, she was wrong because it was her who got her fired from ‘Millwards’. “So you used your power you had, as a daughter of a good customer and also of a man well known in the town, to punish a girl just because she made you fell like that.” Mrs Birling turned down Eva Smith’s request for money, from her charity saying the fact that she called herself Mrs Birling. “It was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case”, the Inspector responded with critism. “I think you did something terribly wrong, and that you’re going to spend the rest of your life regretting it.” ‘Inspector Goole’ was also critical of Gerald, who had used Eva Smith, and Eva became his mistress; and this properly was the final factor that leads her to commit suicide.
The final role of the Greek chorus was to explain what was learnt or should have been learnt by the main characters. Mr Birling, Mrs Birling and Gerald, seem to have learnt nothing from Inspector Goole’s comments as Mr Birling states after finding out that the Inspector may have been an impostor. “There you are! Proof positive the whole story’s just a lot of moonshine.” Mrs Birling supports her husband. “He certainly didn’t make me confess – as you call it. I told him quite plainly that I thought I had done no more than my duty.” And Gerald states. “Everything’s all right now.” The only two characters who appear to have learnt something from the Inspectors comments were Sheila and Eric. Sheila states sarcastically “I suppose we’re all nice people now.” And Eric “And I say the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her – and that’s what matters.”
It is not only the main characters who learn from the events, it is also the audience, who will see that Priestley’s message is clearly one of responsibility, that we are all responsible for our own actions.
It is noticeable that the Inspector enters just after Arthur Birling states. “That a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his family too, of course.”
The Inspector is there to make it clear to Arthur Birling and the audience that his attitude is totally incorrect, as he states before he leaves. “We don’t live alone, we are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will come soon, when, if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”
J.B Priestley also uses several other dramatic features, to make the play more appealing, to the audience. The first method is to use the features of a detective story. A good detective story has a mystery, and the mysteries of ‘An Inspector Calls’ are, who was to blame for the death of Eva Smith? And the other mystery is, who or what is ‘Inspector Goole’? Also in a good detective story there is a death and an element of guilt. By definition, there has to be a detective in a detective story. In ‘An Inspector Calls’, we know the detective is ‘Inspector Goole’, who questions people with his own unique technique, to solve the crime, already knowing the answers to his questions. “I think you remember Eva Smith now, don’t you, Mr Birling?” Normally in detective stories, the problem is solved, but in ‘An Inspector Calls’ there is an unanswered mystery, who or what is ‘Inspector Goole’?
The final dramatic feature is the cleaver use of structure and the use of silence and pauses in the play, particularly when ‘Inspector Goole’ wits for a response.
The particular way the entrances and exits are used adds to the drama and suspense of the play.
A particular dramatic point in the play occurs at the end of Act 1, when Sheila and Gerald have been disgusting Gerald’s relationship with Eva Smith.
Gerald thinks he can keep certain details from the Inspector, but Sheila is all too aware that this is not possible, stating “Why – you fool – he knows, knows that we don’t known yet.”
At this point the Inspector enters, looking steadily and searchingly at them and asks “Well?”
The stage directions clearly reveal that the Inspector does know all the facts, thus increasing the tension of the moment.
From this we can see that, Priestley has very cleverly structured the play to show the links between the characters and their involvement with the main character Eva Smith.
His use of dramatic devices helps to sustain the tension, focusing the audience’s interest and attention. I also believe that in-crafting ‘An Inspector Calls’ he has achieved his aim of making the audience think as at the end of the play we are left contemplating a number of issues and ideas, not least of which is what will happen next as Mr Birling answers the phone and informs his family that a girl has died having swallowed some disinfectant.
The final twist of the play is, he makes us wonder how the characters will react with time, and, have they learnt their lesson?
