instance , when Mrs Birling refuses the girl any help. She says, “The girl asked for instance…. So I used influence to have it refused.” This emphasises that Priestley is theory about this world and shows how people are selfish and don’t share or give to people who are in need of our help and assistance.
Characters
Priestly was not so much interested in real characters but characters that represented different groups of society. This is because he wanted the audience and readers to see how bad this world is getting and to try to get people to do something about it. To get started, I am going to write about the Inspector and how important he is in the play. Without the Inspector there would be no play because he is the trigger to it all. He makes the play what it is and teaches the characters and audience what Priestly thinks about the world and people living in it. The Inspector is not a normal Inspector as you can see from the way he shouts and speaks to the other characters. For example, when he loses his patience with Mr Birling, he says, “Don’t stammer and yammer at me again man. I’m losing all patience with you people”. This implies that the Inspector isn’t a man from the police section because of his attitude towards the other characters. The Inspector is rude yet very intimidating, this shocks all the other characters and they all react in differen’t ways. The Inspector is very harsh and if there is a weakness in one of the characters he uses it to his advantage. For instance, when the Inspector uses emotive language to upset Sheila he says, “…this girl was going to have a child”. Sheila then reacts by crying, “No! Oh-horrible – horrible…” This suggests that Sheila is a very emotional girl and even when she shows remorse and guilt the Inspector shows no sign of reassurance to her. He won’t let her or any of them go until they get what they deserve. The Inspector is also very strong and powerful and in control. For instance when Mrs Birling says “… you have no power to make me change my mind.” and the Inspector says simply “Yes I have.” This suggests to the audience how powerful and strong he feels himself to be. It also implies that he knows something, to make himself so sure. This puts pressure on the character, mainly Mrs Birling and this gets her feeling aggitated and uneasy towards him.
Mrs Birling represents a person who is very powerful in the way that she trys to act. She is also very stubborn at answering any questions that the Inspector asks. She likes to blame everything on everyone else but dosen’t like it when she gets blamed herself. She also never seems to be ashamed of what she has done. An example of all this is when she says, “If you think you can bring any pressure to bear upon me, Inspector, you’re quite mistaken. Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of or that won’t bear investigation…” This implies that she doesn’t want to be interrigated and is quite stubborn.
The character that would be sympathised the most would be Sheila because she has the most emotion. She implies this when she says, “No! Oh- horrible – horrible! How could she have wanted to kill herself?” This implies that she is upset and destraught. Priestly intended for us to feel upset and sad so we would feel sympathy for the characters.
Dramatic Devices
Priestly uses a range of dramatic devices to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Firstly he uses Dramatic Irony for example, in Scene 2, Mrs Birling says, “Drunk young mans fault.” From this quote the audience may realise that it is Eric that Mrs Birling is condemming. Secondly Priestley uses Dropping in clues. This is another dramatic device, for example in Scene 2 Sheila says “But don’t you see…” From this quote it helps the audience to realise that Mrs Birling is falling into a trap. She is condemming herself. Sheila is vital in pushing the awareness of the audience on. Thirdly he uses Cliffhangers for example, In Scene 2 Shiela says, “ Mother I begged you and begged you to stop”. From this quote the audience realise that Sheila is trying to stop her mother from telling the Inspector because she knows Eric was responsible.
Language
The way Priestly uses language can also affect an audience powerfully. Firstly he uses emotive language, which makes the audience feel sorry for the characters. For instance when the Inspector says, “… just remember that this girl was going to have a child.” This implies that Priestly wants the audience to feel sympathy for the woman with the child. Secondly, Priestly uses short, fragmented sentences to increase the pace and urgency of the writing. He also wants the tension to build up as the play moves on. For example when the Inspector says, “No hushing up, eh? Make an example of the young man, eh? Public confession of responsibility – um?” This implies to the audience that tension is building and there is a sence of urgency in the play.
Conclusion
The extract overall was very effective at putting Priestly’s views across to the audience. This extract was a very important section in the play and was made a very powerful section. The play is most probably relevant to a modern day audience because it gets a message across to people and things still happen now, like what happened in the play. An example of this is when Mrs Birling says, “ … and have been refused assistance”. This implies that years ago people get sacked etc and that is still happens nowadays. I think the play overall was very good. It had some sad parts in the play, like when the Inspector says, “The girl had a baby”. It had a very good story line and structure to the play. It was quite an exciting play and it built up tension as the story went on. Most people guessed that Eric was the Dad to baby about three-quarters of the way through but I didn’t realise until the end few pages. If I had to rate the book I would give it 8 out of 10.
