An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

The author of this play is John Boynton Priestley. The Inspector Calls

is set out in 1912, around two years before the outbreak of the Fist

World War. Looking back on it now, or the perspective of 1945 when the

play was actually produced in the Edwardian era. Priestly uses this

era to show irony because in the play he talks about the Titanic not

sinking and a war never occurring again. This was very ironic

especially to the audience in 1945 because they would already know

that the Titanic had sunk and had also experienced wars between the

time the play was set and the time it was produced.

In this play there is a rich, upper class family who were named the

Birlings. In this family there was money the minded father of the

family called Mr Birling and his wife. They had two children in the

name of Eric and Sheila. Sheila was engaged to a rich man's son called

Gerald Croft. This play is all about a suicide case involving this

family. An officer who is called Inspector Goole is investigating the

case. He is a hard talking inspector, who is trying to find out why

Eva Smith (the person who committed suicide) took her life.

In this essay I will examine how Priestly ends each act on a note of

high drama. I will look at how the tension builds up and will describe

how priestly leaves the audience plenty to think about during the ends

of the acts and during the invitation.

At the end of act one Gerald admits that he knew Daisy Renton (Eva

Smith). He only says that he knew her and was hesitant to go on and

explain how he knew Eva.

"All right. I knew her. Lets leave it at that"

After Gerald says that sentence tension begins to build between him

and Sheila. Priestly presents this drama and tension by building it up

gradually in the conversation. Tension is very high and increases hen

Sheila figures out what the relationship between Gerald and Eva was.