Dramatic Tension in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

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Dramatic Tension in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley The play, An Inspector Calls, by J.B Priestley is full of dramatic tension that changes throughout the play depending on the characters involved. This tension that has been created by the arrival of the Inspector has affected the relationships within the family and Gerald Croft, a person soon to be married to Sheila Birling. Not only have the relationships changed but the attitudes of certain characters have also altered, almost completely, as their perspectives of the society and position seems to matter no more. This is in relevance to Sheila and Eric Birling especially. The tension mounts as each revelation is revealed through the intense questioning by the Inspector that brings about attitude changes within the members of the family, nervousness, and anxiety to what happens next that leads to Eva Smith's devastating consequences. Individual responsibilities have been laid out by the Inspector that the members did not know they had. Although, most important of all, the family members knows what tragedies had been placed inside the family structure that will destroy the dynamic and external family view. Through the analysis of the family members, Mr and Mrs. Birling have remained unchanged but they have faced the facts in the end that their children were not the children they thought they knew. The time of speech and dignity of the Birling family have changed dramatically over the acts of the play through the demands placed on them by the Inspector. They did not know that something sinister existed beneath their 'upper crust appearance'. It was only brought to life by the ... ... middle of paper ... ... of the Inspector. Gerald telephones the Infirmary, only to find there has been no suicide taken in that day. This heightens the mystery surrounding the Inspector. Overall, the family will never be the same again. A well -to do British family has had their complacency disrupted by the appearance of Goole. Priestley heightens the audience's suspense by his skilful use of climaxes within the carefully controlled plot and by ensuring that the audience is left puzzled at the end of each conclusion at the end of each act. The inspector is the most character in the play for his remarkable, unique, and intimate questioning and persuasion for the human race. These issues are put through to the 'upper crust' with great approval by the audience for his ideas on an equal world, which many people regard this as their utopia.

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