How does J.B. Priestly use drama in the first act?

The Inspector is harsh on the family and especially Mr. Birling in many places, probably out of sheer frustration, because despite these clear messages being thrown at him, Mr. Birling doesn't show any sign of remorse or change in his attitude. Mr. Birling simply wishes to pass the blame and is most worried about his social status. It is difficult to feel sorry for Mr. Birling because it is his own fault that he his too pompous to change. Even when words like the Inspector's 'Public men, Mr. Birling have responsibilities as well as privileges', are thrown at him. At the end of the play when the hard hitting news from the Infirmary that a girl really has died shows on his face as vulnerability, shock, disbelief and confusion, then you may feel sorry for a man who is out of his depth. This part of the play is very well written because the main body of the play is a build up of tension and a slow revealing of the facts of Eva Smith's life and death.

Finally, the Inspector and she are in agreement, and she fully understands everything that he has been trying to teach them. Her concordance with the Inspector is shown in her echoing of his words when she says to Gerald during her questioning of him about Eva/Daisy "We haven't much time". The Inspector is always aware of the lack of time and that everything is controlled by it. Little things like this show that she understands the Inspector. Also Sheila says to her parents "It's you two who are being childish- trying not to face the facts". At that moment she seems to tower over them just like the Inspector did. She goes on to say that "it doesn't make any real difference [if he was a real Inspector or not]" because in her opinion he fulfilled his purpose. The main reason for her change in attitude is that she has an open mind and is willing to listen to what people have to say. More importantly, she tries to improve the bad aspects of her personality. She admits "I behaved badly too. I know I did. I'm ashamed of it". It is obvious that she wants to change because she keeps saying, "You're pretending everything's just as it was before" and she does not want it to be that way. The only other person to share her attitude is Eric. This shows that the younger generations do have open minds and care more for other people. She benefits from the Inspector's visit and if another inspector were to come, then she would immediately tell the truth. She has learnt not to hide things from people. I think that she will try to improve her family's relationship and help people in need, treating everybody with the same respect. Mrs. Birling is more hard-hearted than her husband. She is fully aware of her social status, and uses this to gain whatever she wants.

Birling says a lot of things that immediately make the reader think of dramatic irony .A good example of this is during Birling's speech he says the Titanic is "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable." And also "These silly little war scares" It says in the stage directions that it is a "sharp ring" and which makes "Birling stop to listen" This shows it must be of some importance because it actually stops him talking, which creates tension. The Inspector's introduction, announced by Edna "Please sir, an inspector's called" is rather low key, but it creates tension by hiding a lot of facts and keeping the Inspector anonymous for the moment. The stage directions read "he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness." Immediately there is a more solemn atmosphere because as he creates an impression of massiveness, you wonder what he has come here for, why he is here in this seemingly nice and comfortable family home. One page 1 it reads that there should be a change of lighting, from "pink and intimate" to "brighter and harder" This is important because of the way it shows how the presence of the Inspector causes unrest in the nice scene. However Priestly has made it almost out of character in the way that he gives a long speech, almost one of the longest in act one.