Priestley makes sure the audience knows things the characters don’t. How does this affect our understanding of the characters?
Priestley makes sure the audience knows things the characters do not. This allows us to form an opinion of Mr Birling.
For example . . . . . . . .
- Mr Birling says the Titanic will not sink.
- Mr Birling says there will not be a war.
- Mr Birling seems to think he can see into the future.
- This makes Mr Birling seem arrogant and stupid.
- Mr Birling thinks he’s very important, but we can see faults in him.
Why did he use a family like the Birlings?
Priestley used a family like the Birlings because . . . . . . .
- They are rich and self satisfied.
- They only care about money and themselves.
- They use their power to hurt other people,
for example, Sheila got the girl sacked
- He wants us to see how unfair life is if people like the Birlings are in charge.
Who, or what is the Inspector?
The Inspector could be several things. He could be . . . . . . .
- Could be their conscience
- Could be their imagination
- Could be supernatural because he knows such a lot about them
When does he appear? Why is this important?
How does Priestley make sure we see him as unusual?
The Inspector appears . . . . . . . . He seems unusual because . . . . . . . .
- He appears just as Mr Birling says you should only look after yourself and your family
- He has no trouble getting the truth out of people
- He does not just get information out of people, he tells them if they have behaved badly
In which order does the Inspector question the Birlings and Gerald?
Why is this order important?
The order of questioning is important because . . . . . . .
Mr Birling
Sheila
Gerald
Mrs Birling
Eric
Everything takes place in one room in the time it would really take for the events to unfold—what atmosphere does this create?
The action takes place in one room, so we feel that . . . . . . .
- In one room, so we focus all the time on the action and not the scenery
- We feel that the characters are shut in and cannot escape
- The timing makes us feel everyone is under pressure to find out the truth
At the end, just when everyone thinks they have got away with it, another Inspector calls. What effect does this have on the characters in the play and the people watching? Is this still effective, do you think?
When another inspector is on his way, we see that the characters are . . . . . .
- Characters are frightened and worried
- Audience—wonder if it was all really true
Still effective because we want to know if the Birlings and Gerald really are guilty
