The Birling’s complacency is displayed in some of Mr Birling’s quotes during speeches. “You’ll hear people say war is inevitable. And to that I say-fiddlesticks!” the irony used by Priestley suggests that he is trying to make a mockery out the naivety of the upper class. Mr Birling becomes a character to dislike, “Just let me finish Eric. You’ve a lot to learn yet” the big headed attribute is ridden within the language.
Backing up this emotive language is stage directions. “Everyone looks attentively”- this shows Mr Birling’s pulling of the strings and controlling power in this dinner situation. A sense of contentment and warmth is shown consistently. “Smiling” is used on numerous occasions and “Exited” suggest that the family is oblivious to the current state of affairs in 1912. Subtle hints of tension are pasted over by Mr Birling who must cover these paper thin cracks to sustain his “Honor’s list” drive. The family comes across as puppets in Mr Birling’s show, but this is natural with characters such as Mrs Birling who desperately tries to maintain the illusion that women were house workers in 1912.
The sense of comfort is abruptly ended as an un-expected knock at the door changes the whole aspect of the play. This, being the first dramatic moment of the play, feeds readers with a little nugget of excitement. Timing of entrances and exits is crucial. The Inspector arrives immediately after Birling has told Gerald about his impending knighthood and about how "a man has to look after himself and his own."
Reverting back to the beginning of the play, the arriving of the inspector gives a few clues. Included in the stage directions is the colour and brightness of the lighting. Priestley also uses this as a dramatic device skilfully. The lighting first used at the beginning of the play is described as "pink and intimate" showing a 'warm' and 'joyful' atmosphere. However the audience gets the sense that it is just a screen covering up secrets and that they are in fact looking through 'rose-tinted glasses' and that it is not really what it seems. This is confirmed when the Inspector appears and the lighting changes to a "brighter and harder light" where it gives the impression of exposure and the revelation of truth.
The character of the Inspector has also been used as a dramatic device. He is used to convey a message, as a mouthpiece to Priestley's views. He makes it seem as if socialism is the true and honest way to live. The Inspector uses graphic imagery in order to shock the Birling’s into giving him information, "she'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out of course". This may be clutching at straws but the Inspector also has a feeling of omniscience and an almost ghostly presence. His name, Inspector Goole, indicates this as Goole sounds like Ghoul and Inspector sounds like spectre. The Inspector is used to 'correct' the capitalists and makes a strong statement in favour of socialism in his final rhetorical speech. In this speech he states that for lower class, "Eva Smiths and John Smiths" there is a "chance of happiness" in socialism. The Inspector also makes the audience realise that they are "members of one body" and that they should try their best to help people like Eva Smith, otherwise, as the Inspector implies, "they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish". This almost acts as a threat to the audience and incites them to recognize the value of Priestley's message. That statement leads onto the question “Has the world’s attitude changed at all from 1912, to this day?” There are so many questions designed to help the audience to help themselves. Mr Birling’s views are portrayed as wrong and the Inspector’s right. So, if the world still hasn’t learned the valuable lesson then it will be forced to learn it again and again in “fire and blood and anguish” until it understands.
The emergence of the Labour Party relates to the Inspector’s messages as workers, such as Eva Smith, were still not taken seriously by many employers. The promise of The Welfare State was a proposition that could excite many workers under the wrath of industrialists like Mr Birling. Many industrialists got rich in the 1800s. Men like Arthur Birling may have come from humble backgrounds but this new wealth allowed them to climb up the social ladder (social positions). Marriages between factory owners and aristocratic land owning families helped to secure new social positions. This again being a key factor to Priestley’s message with the town of Brumley being a stereotypical town providing much needed jobs in an industrial world.
When Mr Birling defends his innocence a number of points can be made about his quote:
“Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve percent to our labour costs. Does that satisfy you? So I refused. Said I couldn’t consider it. We were paying the usual rates and if they didn’t like those rates, they could go and work somewhere else. It’s a free country, I told them”
Priestley gives Birling the kind of language that he hopes would set him out in the audience’s mind as a profiteering capitalist, words such as “duty”, “labour cost” and “usual rates”. Birling’s use of the term “free country” is clearly ironic: he himself might enjoy a good deal of freedom but his workers know very little thanks in large part to the near enslavement of the low wages he pays and the lack of alternatives available.
During the play, Priestley uses the positioning between the Inspector and Mr Birling as a dramatic device. Mr Birling and the Inspector's views completely oppose each other. As the Inspector puts others first, whereas Mr Birling believes that you are responsible only for yourself. An example of this is during Mr Birling's and the Inspector's speeches. The Inspector talks about how "we are members of one body" and that we "are responsible for each other". However, Mr Birling makes a speech about how "a man has to make his own way" and how "a man has to mind his own business and look after himself". Priestley uses this opposition in order to dishonour capitalism and instead promote socialism. Another effective device used by Priestley is that of timings. He times the entrance of the Inspector so that he enters just after Mr Birling has made his speech, as if to discredit everything Mr Birling has just said.
Priestley uses symbolism extensively as a dramatic device during the play in order to express his views. He uses Arthur Birling as a voice for capitalism, who is ridiculed by the Inspector, a representative of socialism. The dialogue between them shows this, as the Inspector repeatedly twists what Birling says, showing that he is the voice of truth. For example,
"INSPECTOR: I'm sorry. But you asked me a question.
BIRLING: And you asked me a question before that, a quite unnecessary question too.
INSPECTOR: It's my duty to ask questions"
The Birling’s could also be symbolised by the seven deadly sins; Mr Birling being greed for sacking Eva Smith, just to save a few shillings, or pride for boasting about his wealth and high status. Mrs Birling could be wrath for being angry with Eva Smith over calling herself 'Mrs Birling'. Sheila could be envy for being jealous of Eva in Milwards, and Gerald could be lust for having an affair with Eva. The fact that they can be identified as sins shows how Priestley emphasises the immorality of capitalism, placing An Inspector Calls within the genre of a morality play.
Eric and Sheila's positive response to the Inspector's message, compared to Mr and Mrs Birling's negative response, is also greatly symbolic. Priestley uses this generation divide to show that the younger generation symbolise hope for the future. The fact that they are remorseful of what they have done suggests that they (and the future generation of adults) will make a conscious effort to improve human relationships. Unlike their parents, who are only interested in wealth and material items, Priestley shows that the younger generation will endeavour to perform their moral duties towards their fellow citizens - especially people such as Eva Smith.
Throughout the play, tension is continuously building up both between the Inspector and the Birling’s as well as within the Birling family. An example of this is when Sheila asks about where Gerald was "last summer" and Gerald tries to cover it up. This shows how the underlying secrets within the family create lots of tension. Another example of this is when Arthur Birling tells Gerald about his possible Knighthood, then refuses to tell Eric about it when he enters. Priestley also uses repetition in order to build up tension, even before the Inspector arrives Mr Birling keeps hinting that they might have done something wrong, he emphasises "so long as we behave ourselves". Priestley also uses uneasy laughter and accusations between members of the Birling family, such as "unless Eric has done something", in order to build up tension. Priestley uses tension as a dramatic device in order to keep the audience interested and anxious to find out more, and so alert to his socialist message.
Priestley also uses cliff-hangers to create tension. Such as at the end of the play, when Birling answers the phone to find out that a second Inspector is on his way and that what they thought was just a hoax was in fact true. Ending the play on this cliff-hanger makes the audience want to watch more and find out what happens next. It also keeps them thinking about the play and it's meaning afterwards. Another example of the use of a cliff-hanger is at the end of Act One when Gerald admits to Sheila that he had had an affair with Eva Smith. The Inspector then enters and simply says "Well?" this hooks the audience, as they want to find out what happens next in the play, keeping them on the edge of their seats. Act Two then begins, exactly the same as Act One ended. Priestley decided not to change anything in order to achieve a sense of continuity. Continuity is thus used as a dramatic device to keep the play focused and concentrated on one subject. This also raises the tension and draws in the attention of the audience.
Priestley emphasises the difference between the upper and lower classes very strongly throughout the play. He uses the Birling family as a representative of the Upper Class and Eva Smith as a representative of the Lower Class. Priestley shows how in 1912, Upper Class citizens, such as the Birling’s had no respect for Lower Class citizens. He uses this class divide to convey his message and to show that the rigidity of the class system is incompatible with his views on community and responsibility.
The fact that a meaningful message is represented would indicate that An Inspector Calls, as well as being a murder mystery, in the way that Priestley uncovers the story of the death of Eva Smith, is also a moralistic play. Priestley shows the audience how not to live their lives, using dramatic devices to demonstrate this. He makes the audience contemplate over the fact that they are actually "members of one body" and that they are all "responsible for one another" and has made them realise that socialism is the way forward instead of capitalism. In this way, An Inspector Calls is very relevant to today's society where people still do need to work together and help others in need. J.B.Priestley effectively uses many dramatic devices in An Inspector Calls, such as symbolism and timings. He applies them in order to portray his political views, using an upper class, Edwardian family to do so.