The play is set in 1912 yet performed in the 1945 and as a result of this the audience know more than the characters, therefore Mr Birling’s predictions that the titanic is “unsinkable absolutely unsinkable” which the audience do know is sinkable. This makes him look incredibly foolish and ignorant. Mr Birling is a capitalist he represents capitalism and capitalists in the audience feel foolish because it undermines capitalism, Birling sees himself as a “hard headed businessman” he is very self confident so it is funny that what he says is wrong. Priestly is making the audience think about their own political opinion and this creates a sense of tension.
Priestley creates tension using the character of the Inspector. The Inspector has a powerful appearance; he speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking. This creates tension when we become aware that Sheila’s sense of the Inspector’s power is shown when she laughs in a hysterical way and warns Gerald “Why-you fool- he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet “and Priestley informs us that this leaves Gerald ‘crushed’. This shows how powerful he is and the effect he has on the character. The Inspector‘s one word question ‘Well?’ at the end of the Act raises the Inspector’s position of someone who is an all-knowing inquisitor he just expects them to confess. This adds to our sense of mystery as to where the Inspector has got so much detailed knowledge from. We also see that in a strange way Sheila is beginning to identify with the Inspector’s point of view. She realises it is pointless to lie to him. Eric at this point is acting edgy and nervous he can’t explain why he starts laughing at random times.
We see Priestley create a division between the young and old in the play and as a result of this there is conflict between their differing ideas. The younger generation are more tolerant and open. The younger characters in the play, Sheila and Eric, represent the voice of socialism “Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?" this suggests that it is only fair and right to ask for higher wages and contrasts to Mr Birling’s view. There is also conflict between Shelia and Gerald this is created when the Inspector wants to talk to Gerald about Eva Smith. This creates tension because Shelia and Gerald are engaged and this could destroy their relationship. Gerald would like to talk to the Inspector privately, not when Shelia is around. “Then I’m Staying (Shelia), why should you (Gerald)?” this gives us a sense that this could destroy their relationship.
Priestly uses stage directions such as pink lighting and hard bright lighting to create dramatic tension. At the beginning of the play the lighting starts with a “pink and intimate”; until the inspector arrives and then it should be “brighter and harder”. The pink lights suggests that everything seems perfect, like viewing life through “rose – tinted spectacles” where in reality it is not however, when the inspector arrives the lighting is white which shows that he will disrupt this false sense of reality and reveal the truth. It's almost as if the lighting is acting as a spotlight to find out what truly happened to Eva Smith. This particular usage of lighting is called a dramatic device, as it helps tension rise within the play. This adds to the idea that he is a god like all knowing character. Priestley is clearly very disheartened with the upper classes, and this comes through heavily in the play. During the 1930s he set up the Common Wealth Party, a political movement committed to fighting for greater social equality in post-war Britain, in particularly a call for morality in politics. The writer is incredibly clever at mixing in subtle little things to interest the audience. For example, in the first scene everything seems to be happy and relaxed. However, there are tiny signs that something is not quite right. Traditional detective plays lead up to one big denouncement at the end. However Priestly takes his own spin on this genre and makes everyone in the play guilty. This ensures there are several denouncement of guilt. Eric seems strangely nervous, Sheila playfully teases Gerald for not having come near her last summer and Mr Birling tries overly hard to impress Gerald. Altogether act one is a great act in my opinion. It conveys the writer thoughts on society at the time, as well as interesting and involving the audience with a range of clever dramatic devices throughout the first act and this ensures that the audience and the characters are kept on edge and interested all through the play.
