The play isn't supposed to be realistic and in turn Inspector Goole was a device to get each member of the audience to examine their consciences. Priestley also wants to create the eerie impression that what we read and watch in the play is a ghostly premonition of what might happen if we do not take responsibility for our actions. Priestly also expresses that learning
happens through time and from experience. The inspector is almost omnipotent, towards the end of the play, it seems he knows everything.
The play is set in 1912, just before the First World War and the play was first preformed in 1945, just after the Second World War, at a time of
great depression. Priestly uses the fact that the play is set in a very
revolutionary era, to expand on Mr. Birling's personality and show the
audience that he is very pompous. Priestly does this by using dramatic irony,
it is used throughout the play and starts very early on in the play. An example
of this is when he says
"The Germans don't want work. Nobody wants war" Two years later the First
World War begins, and it seems he is wrong. On stage he doesn't know this,
though the audience know this, and get the picture of him being pompous,,
Another example of dramatic irony is when he is talking about the Titanic
being
“..Absolutely unsinkable”, though we know that the Titanic, in fact did sink. The audience gathers from this that Mr.Birling is pompous to the extent that he believes he can tell the future, the reality is that he's nothing more than a foolish man.
1912 is a time of change, with the industrial revolution occurring, the suffragettes fighting for women's rights and labour strikes occurring, it was definitely a time of change, so the message Priestly tries to express would be very imperative. 1945 is also very important as it is it is the start of the great depression. Great Britain had won the war after many years of fighting the Germans and her allies, many soldiers had died fighting and everyone was very poor. Many people had lost loved ones, and people were generally unhappy. The economy was at one of its lowest points in history, the message was especially relevant at this time as we had just come out of the war.
At the beginning of the play, the lighting is “pink and intimate” and the room is made to seem like a warm and cosy family room, it is filled with happiness. The Birlings are chuffed that their daughter is getting married, and it is a joyful occasion. Though on entrance of the inspector all this changes, the lighting becomes harder and brighter. By changing the lighting, the mood also is changed. This is a dramatic device, and shows the tension being created by the inspectors. the harder and brighter lights also give the feel of a police officer interrogating good suspects, but in this case an inspector interrogating the Birlings. As the lighting shows the tension being created, the audience becomes more interested and suspense about what happens next is created.
The doorbell is used on several occasions to interrupt the flow of the play and is used for the emphasis to be moved onto something else. The first example of this in the play is when the inspector arrives, Mr.Birling is lecturing Eric about the liberties Eric receives and how when he was a young chap, it was unheard off. Priestly then wants to end this conversation and the best way is, through the doorbell ring, suddenly the emphasis goes off Mr.Birling and goes onto the inspector. This is because the sudden interruption of the doorbell is very sharp, and it moves the attention off Mr.Birling.
The inspector enters significantly, and almost immediately takes the role of the main character in the play. The characters that are currently on stage are perplexed by the entrance of the inspector, This is because they are bewildered about reasons concerning his arrival. This tells us that the inspector is a very dominant character and commands a lot of intrigue. Mr Birling's immediate reaction to the inspector is that he is here regarding a warrant. Mr Birling soon realises that the inspector is new to the areas, and he starts to boast about his achievements and makes sure the inspector knows that he is no ordinary person, he is much superior to most people in that town.
Upon being told that the inspectors visit is nothing regarding to a warrant, he becomes quite startled. The inspector shows Mr Birling the photo of the girl and both Erie and Gerald become involved and want to see this picture, thus wanting to know more. Both Gerald and Erie become nervous and tense upon being interrogated, but both eventually tell the true story. When Sheila enters the room, she is bedazzled by him, but co operates with the inspectors and answers all his questions. Ms Birling also puts up a front but eventually fails down and answers all the inspectors' questions. It turns out that each character has something to hide, but it all comes out that day. The inspector explores each characters personality, while the audience learns more and more.
Throughout the play characters continually enter and exit. This is a dramatic effect and is used to further the storyline. The first character to leave the stage is Sheila, after recognising the photo, she leaves the room to have a short cry. This is expressed in the stage directions as
“She looks at it closely, recognizes it with a little cry, gives a half-stifled sob, and then runs out”. She is soon followed by her father, Mr.Birling, who by this time has become very agitated and nervous. This emotion is shown by him slamming the door on his way out and “staring at the inspector angrily”. This quote from the stage directions shows his anger, and anger sometimes arises from the emotion, nervousness. Mr Birling leaving is a moral defeat for him. As it shows though he acted tough at start of the play, he has realised he can't no longer and the inspector has won. At this time Gerald and Eric exchange ”bewildered and perturbed glances”, they know if the inspector has got to Mr Birling that have very little chance of holding up a front.
When the inspector leaves, he leaves the characters on stage astounded and silent with their thoughts. The silence is finally broken, when Mr Birling shifts the blame onto Eric for the situation. Sheila, Gerald and Eric all realise what they have done was wrong, and accept it upon their heads. Each exit has been added to describe the characters emotions. Priestly has used exits to widen the plot.
Act one ends with Sheila informing Gerald that the inspector knows everything, and that he shouldn't hold back information. The characters and the audience have realised that the inspector knows everything but is pretending to the characters that he doesn't, just so he can get them to admit to it. This is called Socratic irony. Sheila has realised that neither she, nor Gerald can hide from the inspector, and she knows the truth will come out/
The inspectors visit metamorphoses the younger generation's character. Whereas Mr and Mrs Birling are more than happy to forget about what had happened that evening as it seems that it hadn't been a real police inspector. Their characters stay the same throughout the film and feel no remorse for the young girl. Priestly has used these two characters, personalities to further his message, as in the inspector's final speech he refers to them. He states that they will learn through;
"Fire and blood and anguish" Unlike the younger generation,
"You seem to have made a great impression this child inspector" comments Mr Birling, and is soon is answered with
"We often do on the young ones. They're more impressionable" Priestley uses this to imply that there is potential for change in the younger generation which is not evident in the older generations.
At the start of the play, you don't know much about the Birlings, but as
there happy, you get the image of them being quite a close family unit. As the play advances, you learn something's wrong even before the inspector arrives.
“..Except for all last summer, when you never came near me" This is a quote Sheila says towards Gerald, which gives a little taste of what is to come. Another example of this is when Mr Birling is talking about women's clothing being a token of their self respect. Eric adds to this conversation with
"Yes I remember (but he checks himself)''. The first part of this quote is Eric stating he remembers something about women, but the stage directions show that he doesn't want it to come out, and he wants to keep it so himself.
At the end of reading through the play, I would have hoped to have learnt from the example of The Birlings. Priestley teaches that you can only run from your actions for so long, before your conscience catches up with you.
I believe upon writing this play, Priestley wanted to make us think, to make us question our personalities, and beliefs. He wanted to show us that everyone can change, and that if we don't learn the lesson at first, eventually we will. Priestley hoped that the audience would learn from the Birlings mistakes and wouldn't commit them again in the future. He realised that the world was changing along with the society we live in, but people's views weren't changing. I also believe he wanted us to not judge others by the class they are in. For instance, not to judge a beggar and believing that by his own wrong doing, he got himself into that situation but instead to help him. Priestley achieved his final goal by using different dramatic techniques to involve and interest the audience.
