How does Priestley use characters, events andsettings to get the audience to think about important issues and ideas?
Godfrey Pablo English coursework Candidate No:8029 How does Priestley use characters, events and settings to get the audience to think about important issues and ideas? At first glance, this play simply seems to be about one average middle class family. The play evolves to show that their actions not only affect them but, others around them. This play is about more than just one family’s problems. It demonstrates that any action a person takes could seriously affect another’s life. We learn about each of the characters in the way that they respond to and answer the inspector’s questions. J.B Priestley gives each of his characters a flaw that represents to various degrees of the seven deadly sins. These are pride, sloth, gluttony, envy, covetousness, lust and anger. Each of the character’s relationships with the dead girl is based on their character flaw. This gives us the chance to explore her death from many different angles and how all the seemingly small events build up and push her towards committing suicide. Earlier medieval audiences would have believed they would be sentenced to hell. The more modern audiences would be familiar with the effects of war, so would be perceptive to the hints that Priestly lays throughout the play. They all look down on the dead girl and feel they are higher in society than her. This demonstrates how important class status was in that time, and how expectations have changed. J. B Priestley describes his image of Arthur Birling, the father of the family to be a “rather portentous” man. He is portrayed as being very confident in himself and thinks that because he is a well established business man, every thing he says must be true. He describes himself as a “hard headed practical man of business.” He is a ruthless boss and thinks he knows everything about everything. He lectures the younger generation and talks down to them, “you youngsters just remember what I said.” He may be a prosperous business man, but he still wants more. He is obsessed with making money and likes the idea of his daughter and Gerald getting married, as they could create a company that could ‘take over.’ Mr. Birling feels he has to prove himself to his wife and show her that even though he was from a lower class family, he is just as good as her. He managed to work his way up in his business becoming a respected business man. This is why he is so desperate not to jeopardise getting his knighthood. “A man has to make his own way – has to look after himself.” This is Mr. Birling’s outlook on family life and in the business world. He firmly believes it is the man’s responsibility to look after their family. He talks about all the “cranks” that think everybody needs to look out for everyone else. He is interrupted by the entrance of the inspector. He believes that he did nothing wrong by sacking Eva Smith. “She had a lot to say – far too much – she had to go.” According to him, he did what any other business man would do. Eva Smith started a strike so that women working in the factory could get a pay rise. Mr. Birling dismisses the fact that he should know her with, “we’ve several hundred young women there, y’know, and they keep changing.” This shows his feelings towards women in the workplace. He doesn’t think it necessary to become personally acquainted with his workers. When the inspector retells the story of Mr. Birling’s blame to Eric and Sheila, they react in the opposite way. The inspector talks about his theory that Eva Smith might have changed her name after being sacked by Mr. Birling because “she’d had enough of it,” Eric sympathises with her and says, “can’t blame her.” Sheila thinks her father is responsible, “I think it was a mean thing to do. Perhaps that spoilt everything for her.” She wants everyone to know her opinion. Later when they talk about women it the same social class as Eva Smith being cheap labour for the factories and warehouses to get their employers, Sheila is appalled, “but these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people.” During the interrogation, he tries to regain control in his own house when the inspector is there. This demonstrates the role that men had to live up to. They were believed to be dominating masters in the household, as a father in the family and even in the marriage. In the opening stage directions, Sybil, Mr. Birling’s wife, is describes as “rather cold.” She was originally from a family that were higher in the ‘social ladder’ than Mr. Birling’s family. She had to lower herself to his level. This causes her to become self conscious and determined to be permanently witnessed as being perfect and proper in the eye of the public. This makes us wonder why she married Mr. Birling in the first place. She follows Mr. Birling and agrees with what he says; leading us to assume that she does love him. It is in this way that Mrs. Birling is undermined by Mr. Birling as he is the man of the house. He could have been rich but lower class and Sybil was poor but upper class. She could also have registered that he was going to keep
working his way up. This leads on to another theme that runs through the play. This is the way that women were treated at the time, socially and in the family. In the times that this play was set in, men were definitely more dominate, while women were left to look pretty and not really say much. This also expands to display how women in different levels of society lived. Women in a middle class family, like Mrs. Birling, had maids to clean the house and servants. Women from poorer backgrounds had to work to survive. Because of this, Mr. ...
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working his way up. This leads on to another theme that runs through the play. This is the way that women were treated at the time, socially and in the family. In the times that this play was set in, men were definitely more dominate, while women were left to look pretty and not really say much. This also expands to display how women in different levels of society lived. Women in a middle class family, like Mrs. Birling, had maids to clean the house and servants. Women from poorer backgrounds had to work to survive. Because of this, Mr. and Mrs. Birling would be able to afford a nanny to look after Eric and Sheila. This could have led to them being neglected by their parents. This destroys any relationship that mother and children should have. This could be why Mrs. Birling doesn’t know about Eric’s drinking problem and is often sharp with Sheila. There would also be a feeling of separation from the father as well, but this is not as apparent in the play. When Sheila bursts out with Eric’s drinking problem she states bitterly, “and this is the time you choose to tell me.” She hates the fact that someone outside of the family could know that her family doesn’t follow her perfect little world that she is adamant is true. Mrs. Birling is either very motherly to Eric, and refuses to believe he has a drinking problem, or doesn’t spend enough time with him to tell. She feels that she is above any woman who has to work for a living. She answers the inspector very formally, “yes I expect it would. But what happened to her then?” She doesn’t want to get close to him. She is accepting to the fact that men are ‘better’ than women. She acknowledges that men spend time and energy at work. Sheila is suspicious of Gerald. She is an independent thinker and refuses to follow the image of women. She rejects to only be seen as an attractive object. She wants to show she has a brain too. She will not accept that Gerald might spend more time at work than with her, “all last summer, when you never came near me.” She realises that the inspector knows everything already, so there is no point in pretending they didn’t do anything. Eric has a drinking problem, but doesn’t receive any help from his family. He challenges his father, “yes, I know – but still -.This shows he is quite hard headed too and wants his opinion taken into consideration. He has a similar feeling to his father, that it is the man’s right to have his views considered. Gerald is also from a wealthy family. He seems to be deeply in love with Sheila, “hope I can make you as happy as you deserve to be.” He often agrees with Mr. Birling as is desperate to impress him. He’s very polite to Mrs. Birling as if wanting to make a good impression. The fact that he has an affair when he is so close to becoming engaged could demonstrate that is he is afraid of commitment. He was the only one that made Eva Smith/Daisy Renton happy. He says, she “knew it was coming to an end.” The inspector informs us that the girl then went out of town, alone, to make the relationship “last longer.” This displays that although the girl knew it could never last, she was still heart broken when it had to end. Although Gerald did make her happy, give her a place to stay and give her money, he probably upset her mentally the most. When questioned, Gerald answers freely, showing that he really wants to get his side of the story off his chest. He’s honest and wants to admit his connection. He tries to protect Sheila, “you’re obviously going to hate this, so why on earth don’t you leave us to it?” This could be a cover story. He could actually be embarrassed that the whole story might come out in front of his fiancé and he could just be protecting himself. He does want to keep the details to himself; there is a part of the relationship he wants to keep private. As soon as the inspector arrives, he is in control. Priestley describes him as creating “an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.” He forces the family to follow his way of questioning them; he also has a tendency to stare “hard” at the person he is addressing. He strips Mr. Birling of his fatherly duties when hr stops Mr. Birling from letting his son go to bed before he’s been interrogated. He seems quite bossy and doesn’t act like a real inspector should do. He already seems to know the answers to everything that the family tells him. So instead of pushing them with many questions, he asks the most relevant questions and gives them time to tell all they have to say. In the production we watched, the inspector walked through the audience. This was meant to create a feeling of anxiety and make the audience think that the inspector could call on them at any time. This makes every member in the audience study their conscience and makes them wonder if they have ever done something that could affect someone they’ve met in the past. The stage was set with two separate time zones. 1945, when the play was written, down stage, and 1912, when the play was set, up stage. War sirens and children playing amongst rubble represented the years of the war. The older members of the audience would be familiar with this atmosphere and the younger generations would realise it was about the war that had recently finished. The inspector came on stage before he was mentioned in the play. He walks across to the house when he is due in the script. This makes an image that the inspector has come from the future. A ghostly premonition of what might happen. The sides of the house swing open. This displays that a similar thing will happen to the inhabitants of the house, that they will be pried open and all their inner most feelings will be laid bare for the inspector to examine. In a way, the inspector is meant to represent Priestley. The inspector comes from the future and can comment on what will happen, Priestley wrote the play after it was set. He comments on the chance of war happening. He and the audience know that war does indeed happen. This makes us realise that Mr. Birling can be wrong. He also talks about the Titanic being “unsinkable,” when in fact we know it sinks on its maiden voyage. This is supposed to make us understand the Birlings’ ignorance. Priestley can also give his opinion of women. The suffragists were soon to come, wanting women voting, getting them better circumstances in the work place. The First World War would have been more significant to Priestley as he joined the infantry at the age of twenty, narrowly escaping death many times. These experiences would have a great effect on his writing. Priestley’s mother and wife died, this could be a reason for the suicide victim taking a female role. Also in the same production, the director had a big crowd of ‘future people’ present on Eric’s confession. They show what it would be like for the Birling’s business to become a public scandal, as Mr. and Mrs. Birling are so obsessed that it will become. When the inspector leaves, he tells the family that he thinks they won’t forget what they have done. “There are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us.” The inspector reminds them that there are still many people stuck in the same situation as the girl focused on in the play. The inspector relays his beliefs that their lives are “all intertwined with our lives.” This is totally the opposite of what Mr. Birling had previously been telling Eric and Gerald. The fact that Mr. Birling doesn’t stand up and inform the inspector that he thinks differently demonstrates that he feels inferior to him. “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.” This is Priestley’s thought on why the war started and how, if we all looked after one another and became responsible for more than ourselves, people would be able to get on better. The inspector seems to lecture the family a lot almost preaching. The inspector was meant to teach the audience about being caught between the religious need for goodness and the temptation of evil. He represents a reverend teaching a church audience the difference between right and wrong, and if there were to commit a crime they would be sentenced to “fire and blood and anguish.” When they find out that the inspector isn’t a real police officer, Mr. and Mrs. Birling and Gerald laugh at what they perceive to be a hoax. Sheila and Eric are serious and aware of the consequences of their actions. Gerald is the one who informs the family of this news. He is relieved and relaxed knowing that he hadn’t just confessed to a real police officer. As soon as Mr. Birling discovers this new evidence he feels triumphant, as if he has won something. He’s happy that he is back in control. He talks in short sentences showing he’s excited and confident again. He admits his feelings of fright and is now happy that they won’t be a public scandal. When Sheila and Eric don’t concur with their way of thinking he tells them to “go to bed then.” He is punishing them for having their own opinion. Mrs. Birling is also pleased with the news. She thanks Gerald for notifying them of their ‘innocence’. She honestly feels that they can continue as they were before. She thinks that after the children have a good night sleep, they’ll see the funny side of it. “In the morning they’ll be as amused as we are.” Sheila and Eric can not believe the way their parents are acting. Just because it wasn’t a police officer, doesn’t mean that they didn’t do the things they did. They are still guilty and blame themselves. “You’re pretending everything’s just as it was before.” She says these words with passion, showing her emotion to the subject. Eric agrees with Sheila and is adamant to show he can’t just shrug of the blame. Sheila becomes sarcastic. She realises that hey all need to learn form what they have just found out. The older generation were beginning to learn while the inspector was still present, but as soon as they found out he was a hoax, they had an excuse to continue in their blissfully unaware life style. Sheila and Eric realise the consequences, even if they are not sure if they really happened, “but it might have done,” and want to change their behaviour to others. When they find out another inspector is on his way, the curtains drop with all the characters looking guilty and dumbfounded. The end and what the family will tell the new inspector is left for the audience to predict. This ending gives all the characters a second chance to do the right thing. It also follows the theme of learning through time and with experiences. I think that this play is full of morals and hints on how one should behave. The play’s progression is built on the audiences’ and even each of the characters’ ignorance of knowledge of the whole story. The characters never prove that the girl they affected actually was the same one. This too is left for the audience to choose. I think for the benefit of learning, it was. At first this play seems to be a normal detective story. As the play unfolds it become a ‘whodunit’ theme, with the inspector slowly revealing the story of Eva Smith. The audience’s attention is captivated with the thirst to know who was ultimately to blame for driving the girl to commit suicide. Priestley uses climaxes to keep the audience in suspense. The audience is left at the end of every act with a ‘cliff hanger,’ dying to find out what will happen. At the end of each act, hardly any time has elapsed. This makes the whole play seem more realistic. The set, the Birling’s dining room, is kept constant throughout the play so there is nothing to distract the attention from the action and dialogue. The end is left to the audiences’ imagination. Each person would react differently depending on their own past experiences. The play was written with this dramatically memorable ending to keep the audience thinking, even after they have left the theatre. The Characters Actions were very 'ghostly' as he appeared out of nowhere, and then left, leaving the family confused and disorientated. 'Goole' may have also deprived from 'googly,' which is a term used for a cricket ball to bounce in an unexpected direction. 'Inspector Goole' fits perfectly with the character, as the arrival of the inspector was most certainly unforeseen. It is clear from this information that he is an intentionally mysterious figure and is a representative of something to come. His unanticipated arrival undeniably made the Birling's feel perturbed. According to the appearance of the Inspector, we become conscious of the fact that the Inspector looks entirely normal. 'A man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period.' But this is undermining a faultless stereotype for an inspector. However, in this case, looks are definitely deceiving. He arrives without warning, but in stage directions he, 'creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity,' but most importantly, 'purposefulness,' indicating that his significance is extremely essential. He is totally different to all the rest of the characters and seems to take control by speaking 'carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before speaking.' Right away, Birling orders the Inspector to sit down giving us the impression that he is still in complete rule, and starts questioning him instead of how it is meant to be- the inspector questioning the offender, but this all changes when the family hear that 'two hours ago a young woman died in the Infirmary.' The role of the inspector was to make the family aware of Eva Smith's death. ... ly tells everyone that the Inspector was a hoax, he says, 'That man wasn't a police officer.' Mr & Mrs Birling are delighted at this news, Sheila and Eric are still not convinced and Gerald has mixed feelings. Gerald does not celebrate at this news like Mr & Mrs Birling do, but he his pleased and I think he has understood what the Inspector had to say. Mr & Mrs Birling are totally different people, compared to Gerald and Sheila. Mr Birling is proud of having made a success of his life. He regards himself as "a hard-headed business man" who has "learnt in the good hard school of experience." He believes that "a man has to mind his own business." He has no time for "community and all that nonsense." This is in stark contrast to the Inspector who, later in the play, expresses a very different view. The inspector say's "We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for ea Perhaps doesn’t realy exsit – inspecter Mr Birling · prosperous factory owner, not the social equal of his wife. He is 'a self made man' · first priority is to make money 'It's my duty to keep labour cost down' · welcomes Croft into his family as he represents a business link between his firm and that of Gerald Croft's father (a rival) · has an honest approach to life, he tells the Inspector that he wouldn't listen to Eva Smith's demand for a wage rise 'I refused, of course' and is surprised why anyone should question why. · Strongly believes that 'a man has to make his own way'. He does not consider the harm he may cause to other people because of his attitude. He is a 'hard headed business man ' · he is a magistrate and former mayor who is looking forward to receiving a knighthood · he is very aware that Gerald's mother is rather against her son's marriage because she believes him to be marrying beneath him socially · he is optimistic about the future, yet we know that what he predicts will not become true (NB dramatic irony) · he refuses to accept any responsibility for Eva 's death. He becomes increasing annoyed by the Inspector's questioning and Eric's unsympathetic attitude · he tries to threaten the Inspector by talking about his friendship with the Chief Constable · the most disturbing part of the play for Birling is the scene in which he learns that his own son is shown to be a thief, a drunkard and is responsible for fathering a child. When he learns of all this he exclaims 'You damned fool - why didn't you come to me when you found yourself in this mess?' · Eric’s reply indicates that Mr Birling was never close to his son 'Because you're not the kind of chap a man could turn to when he's in trouble'. Such a response indicates that things aren't going to improve much after the play ends · he represents a very unattractive sort of person. At the end of the play he grudgingly wishes things were better but even here he still thinks in terms of money 'Look, Inspector - I'd give thousands' · he continues to ignore the shameful things that his family has done. When it appears that the Inspector might be a hoaxer he is happy to believe that everything is as it was a few hours ago. He copies the Inspector and laughs when he remembers the faces of Eric and Sheila and accuses them of being 'the famous younger generation who know it all'. This is an example of pride coming before a fall, a moment later of course he is panicking as the phone rings again · Mr Birling represents Priestley's hatred of businessmen who are only interested in making money. He will never alter his ways and it is left to the younger generation to learn from their mistakes Sheila · at the start of the play she is 'very pleased with life'. She is young, attractive and has just become engaged · her happiness is soon to be destroyed as is her faith in her family · her response to the tragedy is one of the few encouraging things to come out of the play. She is genuinely upset when she hears of Eva's death and learns from her own behaviour · she is very distressed by the girl's suicide and thinks that her father's behaviour was unacceptable. She readily agrees that she behaved very badly and insists that she never meant the girl any harm. · The Inspector says that she is only partly responsible and later on, when he is about to question Gerald, he encourages her to stay and listen to what he has to say so that she doesn't feel entirely responsible · not only is she prepared to admit her faults, she also appears keen and anxious to change her behaviour in the future, 'I'll never, never do it again' · she is aware of the mystery surrounding the Inspector, yet realises that there is no point in trying to hide the facts from him · she is mature about the breaking up of her engagement and remains calm. She won't be rushed into accepting the ring back once the Inspector has left · she is unable to accept her parents attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven't learned anything from the episode. Although the Inspector might be a hoax, the family have still behaved in an entirely unsuitable manner · she learns of her responsibilities to others less fortunate than herself (the idea of the community) and is sensitive. Her readiness to learn from experience is in great contrast to her parents · very compact structure to the play, nothing is allowed to distract the audience from the central theme. There is no sub-plot · the play takes place in just one location, the action is continuous (NB Priestley observes the Unities) · Act One begins by introducing the characters and establishing the idea of a happy and united family looking forward to the future with a degree of confidence. In retrospect, there are a number of hints that all is not as it seems but these are not particularly obvious until later in the play. There is nothing to warn us of the shock of the Inspector's visit · events soon gather speed and it is not long before we are being informed of Birling and Sheila's involvement with Eva Smith · tensions increase, firstly as Gerald's affair is unveiled (and the scandal it would cause) and Sheila begins to realise that they are all implicated in some way 'he is giving us rope - so that we=ll hang ourselves'. · Mrs Birling's attempts to shift the blame for the girl's suicide leads her to blame the father of the unborn child. The tension is heightened at this point by the dramatic entrance of Eric. · with the departure of the Inspector it would appear that what follows will be something of an anti-climax as the Inspector's identity is put into doubt by a series of observations made by the Birling family and Gerald. Even the existence of Eva is called into question. · however, the tension remains to some extent as the two generations confirm the differences as suggested by the Inspector - the moral divide is very great indeed · the final denouement, the phone call announcing that a police inspector is on his way to ask some questions about a girl who has just died in the infirmary is as shocking as it is surprising and ensures that the audience will leave the auditorium in a state of real shock
