How J.B. Priestley Uses Dialogue and Stage Directions in "An Inspector Calls

2233 Words5 Pages

The Birlings are holding a party to celebrate their daughter’s engagement with Gerald Croft. The pleasant scene is interrupted when a rather shady looking Inspector gives them a visit, investigating the suicide of a young working-class girl in her middle twenties. Each family member is interrogated and they all find out that they are somehow linked to the girl’s death. 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. The first impression of Arthur Birling is in the initial stage directions, when he is described as ‘a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his fifties.’ The fact that he is described as ‘heavy looking’ and ‘portentous’ suggests that he has a fairly comfortable lifestyle, and has an inflated opinion of his own importance. Priestley has done this to fit the typical man of the house during the 1910’s. Sheila is described as a ‘pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.’ The fact that it says ‘very pleased with life’ and ‘rather excited’ shows that she is very proud of herself; this is typical with a girl in her twenties coming from an upper-class British family in the 1910’s. Priestley has done this carefully to blend in with the historical context of the play, which was set in 1912. Priestley has cleverly done this to fit with characters in the early 20th century, just like upper-class man of the house would be like Arthur Birling and any girl from the family would be like Sheila. Before the Inspector arrives, Mr. Birling ac... ... middle of paper ... ... not learnt anything from his mistakes and still continues to deny about taking any responsibility about the girl’s death. On overall, Priestley has presented the two characters, Arthur and Sheila Birling as completely differently. He wanted to match the story to the historical context of the 1910’s, but he has done this differently with Sheila. This is because the play was written in 1946 and the world had two wars and has started to comprehend the strength of community. She is the young generation of the 1910’s this means in a few years down the line, a war is going to break out and if they keep making the same mistake over and over again, it’s not going to turn out any better, by this, we see what happens in the second world war. This is why Sheila has been presented so that she understands consequences of what might happen if we don’t pull ourselves together.

Show More
Related

  • Divisions in Rayson's Inheritance

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    To an extent, the characters in the play represent aspects of the Australian identity and experience. However, Rayson's vivid grasp of speech patterns to evoke character, and her ability to manipulate the audience with humour and pathos move the text beyond mere polemic and stereotype. In an almost Brechtian way, she positions us to analyse as we are entertained and moved.

    Read More

  • The Role of Social Class in Priestly's, An Inspector Calls

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Priestley mainly uses the characters in the play to present his views, especially Mr and Mrs Birling, to present his ideas about class and society. In the Birling family, Mrs Birling is the most upper class, and is always referring to the lower class female factory workers such as Eva Smith as ‘girls of that class’. She seems to think that working class people are not humans at all.

    Read More

  • How Priestly Uses the Characters to Represent His Own Views on Society

    2022 Words  | 5 Pages

    How Priestly Uses the Characters to Represent His Own Views on Society The play "An Inspector Calls" is set in 1912 but was written in 1945. Edwardian society at that time (1912) was strictly divided into social classes and over two-thirds of the nation's wealth was in the hands of less than 1% of the population. Below the very rich were the middle classes (doctors and merchants, shop workers and clerks), after that came the craftsmen and skilled workers. At the very bottom of the social ladder was the largest class of all - the ordinary workers and the poor, many of whom lived below the poverty level. The men of industry treated the workers very badly and they were paid pittance.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

    Read More

  • Belonging In The Play 'Rainbows End' By Jane Harrison

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play focusses on three generations of Women, Nan Dear, Gladys and Dolly and where they felt as though they belonged. Nan Dear knew where she belonged and that was the humpy in the flats with her daughter and granddaughter. Nan Dear knows that she won't be accepted into white society just because she is an Aboriginal and those of a different colour or foreign country weren't accepted. Gladys and Dolly both wanted to be accepted into white society, they wanted to feel as though they belonged there.

    Read More

  • Inspector Goole and the Theme of Socialism in An Inspector Calls

    2333 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls

    2554 Words  | 6 Pages

    Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls

    Read More

  • Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    He uses the downfall of Eva Smith and a chain of events to demonstrate this. This leads to a very convincing and well-devised play, which puts across JB Priestley’s views clearly and precisely. In Edwardian Britain there was a great difference in the roles of men and women in society and the outlook of what and was not accepted differed substantially. A prime example of this in the play is when Mr Birling says ‘Nothing to do with you, Sheila.

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Inspector In An Inspector Calls

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Role of the Inspector in J.B. Priestley's play "An Inspector Calls"

    1728 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through his play Priestley endeavoured to convey a message to the audiences, that we could not go on being self obsessed and that we had to change our political views. He used the Birling family as an example of the Capitalist family that was common amongst the higher classes in 1912, who took no responsibility for other people and he showed this with the power of Socialism, represented by the inspector; the uneasy facade put on by the Birling family to cover up their real flaws and how they have treated those whom they considered to be lower class could not stand up to any scrutiny without shame for what had happened, showing that they know they have been wrong.

    Read More

  • Isolated and Marginalized Characters of Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    All the pieces in Alan Bennett’s collection deal in some way with people who are isolated or marginalized, either because of circumstances or because of their own idiosyncrasies. Every character is, in some way inadequate. Graham is a mother's boy, whose dubious sexuality seems to have caused him severe mental stress. Susan, the vicar's wife, is an alcoholic woman, trapped in a loveless marriage, whose caustic intolerance of her husband's calling alienates her from the rest of the parish and forces her into behaviour which is damaging and dangerous. Irene Ruddock is narrow minded and malicious, believing herself to be a guardian of public morals, when, in fact, she is no more than a dangerous slanderer. The actress, Lesley, believes that her talent is genuine, but has not the intelligence or wit to realise that she is, in reality, a failure. Muriel Carpenter has spent her whole married life refusing to face up to reality and suffers tragic consequences from years of selective vision and poor Doris finds her age and upbringing have made her an anachronism in modern society.

    Read More

  • Drama at the End of Act Two in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

    2500 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this section at the end of Act Two we find out that Mrs Birling

    Read More

  • Priestly's Political Message in "An Inspector Calls"

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play is very simplistic and overtly political. It heavily features varying aspects of non-illusory theatre to semaphor Priestley's political message. When reading the play, it is important to remember that the characters are not people but caricatures Priestley employs to manipulate the reader. This combines with the artificiality of the plot to form a completely biased play, from whichever angle one looks at it. However at the time of its publication it was not so outlandish, because it upheld the New Labour government, struggling so hard to bring about its reforms and stay in favour of a people who had suffered many hardships and were now looking to more years of difficulty and discomfort.

    Read More

  • An inspector calls

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Women In The Play Pygmalion

    1068 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play is set in the early twentieth century in London. This time in period was referred to as the Victorian era. During this era women had not gained the basic rights and privileges given to man. Women were looked at as housewives, their main role being to act properly, marry, and tend to the house and bear children. Although Higgins felt he knew what was best for Liza and how she should behave and act, he treated her as if she was inferior to him. Liza, now wiser and more confident in herself, began to feel as if she was being treated unjust and showed she was not to back down and she was to stand up for herself. This is best depicted through the body language and actions reflected in the narration and stage directions. Directions such as [Defiantly non-Resistant], [Snapping her fingers], [Disdainfully], [Composedly], and [Determinedly] (PDF Act IV Page 39 and Act V Page 49) allow one to imagine and picture her being confident as she is conversing with Higgins and telling him that she does not need him she is independent and the woman she has always wanted to be. The descriptive elements used for stage direction and in the narration convey more emotion to what the character is saying because the reader can imagine what is taking

    Read More

More about How J.B. Priestley Uses Dialogue and Stage Directions in "An Inspector Calls

Open Document