Help the audience understandThe purpose of the inspectors Visit.

Authors Avatar

Show how a production of

“An Inspector Calls” could

Help the audience understand

The purpose of the inspectors

Visit.

        The play “An Inspector Calls” written by J.B Priestley is set in 1912. There are a few things that support this, that are heard in the first part of the play.

“The titanic-she sails next week”

“All these capital versus Labour”

“These silly little war scores”

All of these events happened just before 1912 and so we know that the play is set just before 1912.

        The Birlings are an upper class family with a high social position which can be seen by the fact that Mrs Birling doesn’t have to work and they have servants and maids to do house work for them. There high social position can also be seen because Mr Birling being a magistrate and is still on the bench.

        At this time the Birlings are in a great, and very happy mood. They are all looking forward to the wedding of their daughter and Gerald. They are all drinking port and are celebrating a special occasion with a large meal that has been set out for them by the maids. This is also another indication that the Birlings are a well off family.

        The inspector’s arrival changes the atmosphere a lot and turns the room into a hostile place. Mr Birling is very surprised to see an inspector and thinks that it is something to do with Mr Birling being a magistrate.

        The inspector interrupts Mr Birling taking to Gerald and Eric. Mr Birling is telling the two men how to look after themselves, and that’s the most important thing. Mr Birling gets this point across when he says

“A man has to make his own way-has to look after himself”

“That a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”

From these quotes that Mr Birlings says you can see that he only thinks about him and preaches that.

        The inspector arrives at this time and this is very significant, because this is what the inspector has come to prove wrong. The lighting is described as “pink and intimate” until the inspector arrives and then I think that the lighting should be “brighter and harder”. The lighting is as pink and intimate before the inspector comes as it gives the impression of the family relaxing and having fun. When the inspector comes it shows that the family are more on edge. The brighter light is there to show all corners and all secrets of the family.

        The inspector should stand at the head of the table to symbolise his importance to the rest of the family. He should stand with his head up and take his hat off to look disappointed with the Birlings.

        There are different ways of making clear that his arrival is significant. In the play there is soft pink light that turns to hard, bright light that shows all corners of the room, which represents the secrets that the Birling family have. One thing that I do believe you could change to show that the inspector has arrived is the tone of voice, and gesture. I believe that by altering the tone of voice, which at the moment is quite high and merry, you could show the inspector has arrived, by changing it to a low pitch and a tone of voice that has a certain edge to it. The tone of voice would change to a more caring and understanding tone and in some places worry.

Join now!

        During the play there are many times which the fact that the inspector is from the police is in question. We find out early on that the inspector’s name is Goole. This name could suggest that he is not really a police inspector at all. The word “ghoul” can often be used to describe a ghost or an object that isn’t really there.

        The first person to come across the inspector is Edna, who is a maid for the Birlings. When she announces the inspector to the Birlings she should use a tone of voice that would make it ...

This is a preview of the whole essay