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How Priestly Uses the Inspector to Create Tension and Suspense in An Inspector Calls
J.B. Priestly wrote 'An Inspector Calls' in 1945. It is set in 1912,
two years before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was written
about a time when there was a great divide between the 'haves' and
'have nots' (the rich and the poor).
The Birlings, the main family in the play, are considered to belong to
the better off, the rich part of society at the time. Normally, this
would influence the way that people addressed and spoke to them, and
the way that they themselves thought they could treat people. This is
shown throughout in the play, with the way the family try to influence
the Inspector.
As soon as the Inspector enters, there is an instant atmosphere. He is
created by J.B Priestly to 'create at once an impression of
massiveness, solidity and purposefulness'. This gives the audience the
impression that he has great authority in the play, and is a man not
to be messed with.
When he enters, he does not seem friendly, just professional. Mr
Birling: 'Have a glass of port…' Inspector: 'No thank you, Mr Birling.
I'm on duty.' He ignores Mr Birlings attempts to befriend him, and
make the meeting informal and casual. This in turn makes the audience
curious, and think about the severity of the issue about to be
discussed.
Mr Birling tries to show his importance to the police. 'I was an
alderman for years-and Lord Mayor two years ago-and I'm still on the
Bench-so I know the Brumley police officers pretty well'. The
Inspector just shrugs this off by saying 'Quite so'. This shocks the
audience that the Inspector is not patronised by Mr Birlings supposed
connections with the police, making them uncertain and perhaps
somewhat afraid of him.
The Inspector then goes on to explain Eva Smith's death, using blunt
tones and descriptive language. 'Burnt her inside out, of course…she
was in great agony…suicide of course.' This, again, shocks and appals
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
J B Priestley clearly had a strong moral conscience which led him to hold socialist beliefs wanting to bring about change against the capitalists who were exploiting the poor working class. In 'An Inspector Calls' Priestley cleverly uses dramatic techniques, lighting and stage directions to produce an emotionally charged setting to bring home a very important message to the correct society of his day and remains a challenge to the society in which we live in now.
Arthur Birling is glad because Gerald is the son of his business competitor and it will be a merger of businesses. Through the middle of the dinner there is a knock at the door. This is where we meet inspector Goole.
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
The Dramatic Techniques J.B. Priestley Used to Create and Develop Tension in Act one of An Inspector Calls
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
Examine Priestley's use of dramatic techniques to create tension in the play. Priestly was a socialist writer, and 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the plays in which he tried to display his socialist ideals in. The play was written in the 1940's, a little after the end of the Second World War, and it was first performed in 1946, in Russia, then later in England. Priestly had served in World War 1, and the terrible scenes he saw lead to him having socialist views. He was inspired by other writers whose views he shared, especially George Orwell and H.G.
The play is set two years before World War I, in 1912, and in the year
talks with. He is a man who has come to the Birling's house to do his
The Inspector, straight form his introduction, is commanding and authoritative. Upon his entrance he creates, “…at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”(PG.11) The Inspector continues to create this impression as he progresses through his speeches and through his interrogation of the family. The Inspector remains confident, sturdy and composed, while people around him crumble and fall to pieces. His ‘solidity’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Birling to digress from the points he is making. The Inspector is told to appear ‘purposeful’; this is shown where he explains to Birling that Birlings way of thinking “Every man must only look out for himself,” is not the case, and all warps of society are interlinked. The view is best illustrated in the Inspectors final speech, where he says, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”(p.56). This idea is one that Priestley, himself believed in deeply, and many of Priestleys writing shared this very theme.
The Role of the Inspector in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls "But I accept no blame for it all." Although this may sound like a statement from someone that is being questioned in the docks of court, this quote is actually from the both the Birling's (Mr and Mrs) in An Inspector Calls when they are asked questions by Inspector Goole. They are demonstrating here that because they are of the richer class, they cannot accept any responsibility for any problems in society, within the city. Of course, J.B. Priestley, the writer, is totally against this kind of thinking. The writer believes in collective responsibility between people, and this is demonstrated when the Inspector, who portrays the morals in this play, says: "We don't live alone, we are members of one body.
Goole. Some the Birling family are used to show how we are not to act
was genuine and this allows the audience to almost predict their own ending; how will the family react to the arrival of the real Inspector? Will they acknowledge this as a chance to admit to their mistakes or will they try and conceal their guilt? I thoroughly enjoyed studying An Inspector Calls and have learned a great deal about how society has changed and how moral ideals have evolved over time. I found the play effective although because of the way in which society has developed Priestley's morals may not be applicable to life today. As wealth and power have become increasingly more important socialist feelings of responsibility for one another have been progressively weakened.