An Inspector Calls is a murder mystery book (play), written by J.B. Priestly, where little by little more is revealed, keeping the reader (viewer) hooked, as they want to find out more. During the book Priestly shows the attitudes and the way things were at the time, such as how there was cheap labour and how people were arrogant to things such as war ever happening. Throughout act 1, Priestly also strongly conveys his views of the time through the character of the inspector and his views becomes a central theme in the novel, this theme being responsibility and how there are consequences to all your actions, as any one of them can trigger a chain of events. One method the author uses to illustrate his concerns with these attitudes along with his views is through a plethora of dramatic devices, such as the setting of the book, as in 1912 - when the play was set, two years later the First World War occurred and in the text Mr Birling plays down the talk of any such thing ever happening. Moreover the play was released to the theatres in 1945 when the Second World War had just finished. This contributes to the irony, while also showing the arrogance of a typical person of those times and is done so all through the book.
In the novel the writer doesn’t only use dramatic devices to show his concerns and ideas he also uses them to create interest, tension and to involve his reader into the story. A prime example of this is the simple use of a doorbell, which from then on changes the mood of the entire play. The noise of the bell signals the soon entry of the inspector, while also cutting Mr Birling off in a speech to Eric and Gerald where he says how a man who looks after himself and his family wont come to much harm and how you shoul...
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...down all the while using him to represent and convey his political views of socialism and how us as a society should be more moral towards each other.
Through act one your view of the Birlings changes as you begin to see them more as individuals with there own part to play rather than a rich, posh, happy family having dinner, furthermore you start to get an idea of the personalities of most of the characters through these dramatic devices, while a sense mystery is being created behind each of them as their roles become slowly unravelled. The playwright conveys the strong morale message of the wrongs in those times throughout the first act which are accentuated by the inspector’s presence, such as the role of women, the arrogance of some individuals and the lack of honesty and truth between families; some of which are things that are still relevant in today society.
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.
J.B. Priestley's Inspector Calls. An Inspector Calls is a play set in spring 1912. The writer, J. B. Priestly, tries to build up a view of Mr Birling through the set. stage directions and in his speeches.
At the start of the play, we are introduced to the Birlings who are no
The Dramatic Techniques J.B. Priestley Used to Create and Develop Tension in Act one of An Inspector Calls
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.
worked for him and asked for a pay rise and was fired from her job by
An Inspector calls is set in 1912, in a time before the war, and when
A ‘sharp ring is heard of the front door bell’ interrupting Mr. Birling’s dialogue that explicates “that a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself” as though the ‘sharpness’ of the ring is opposing Birling’s ‘solemnity’ in his words. The stage direction instantly demonstrates juxtaposition between the Birling and the other anonymous individual; this also generates tension because of the fact that the individual is yet to be introduced. Eric felt very ‘uneasy’ after Edna said to Birling that an Inspector has arrived which gives the audience clues of Eric being involved in a crime, Eric’s uneasiness also makes Birling ‘sharply’ stare at Eric- this creates suspense for the audience.
Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
The play "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as "dramatic irony" and "direct mouthpieces", which define the genre of the play as non-illusory, to impart his left-wing message.
In the play “An inspector calls” by J.B priestly, Mr Birling and Shelia Birling have contrasting attitudes to social issues. The author uses this to difference to highlight the diversity between generations and their reaction to situations faced. Arthur Birling is the father to Shelia Birling and is presented as the old fashion generation whereas Shelia is the young generation, who is more aware of the responsibility she has towards other people.The play begins with Mr birling and his family celebrating the engagement of Shelia and Gerald. The atmosphere is happy and light-hearted. Before the inspector arrives, Mr Birling is happy with life and himself “It’s one of the happiest nights of my life.” This shows that Mr Birling is quire selfish because he only thinks that it is one of the happiest nights of his life and not of Shelia and Gerald.
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.
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.