Dialogue of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
Scene: Eva Smith walks into a charity committee room. Mrs Birling and
a member of the organisation are sat at a desk. Eva is upset and
holding her stomach.
Mrs Birling: How may I help you?
Eva Smith: I need some help madam.
Mrs Birling: That may be possible, Can I take your name?
Eva Smith: Yes, It’s Mrs Birling.
Mrs Birling: Mrs Birling! It can’t be! Are you sure?
Eva Smith: Yes of course I’m sure why?
Mrs Birling: Never mind. How may I help you?
Eva Smith: I’m having a really hard time recently, my husband deserted
me and has left me on my own and pregnant. I need some help!
Head of Committee: So your definitely sure that the father of the of
your unborn baby is your husband’s?
Eva Smith: Yes.
Mrs Birling: So Mrs Birling, How did you come across that name?
Eva Smith: That’s the surname of my husband. Why do you ask?
Mrs Birling: It’s just funny how you have the same name as the head of
charity. Tell me more about your husband.
Eva Smith: Oh well I don’t really no what to say, we wasn’t exactly
married as such but I always looked at him as my husband.
Head of Committee: What so you’re not technically married to Mr
Birling?
Eva Smith: No, I’m afraid not.
Mrs Birling: So you lied? Is there anything else you’re not telling us
because we need to know the facts?
Eva Smith: Well, seeing as you now know that my name isn’t Mrs
Birling..
Mrs Birling: (interrupting) why did you use that name? You had no
right!
Eva Smith: Yes I no I didn’t and I’m awfully sorry, it was the first
name that I could think of.
Head of Committee: You most certainly didn’t have the right of using
that name. Is there anything else you’re not telling us, maybe the
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
J.B Priestley use of Sheila Birling to Convey His Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls
it will create. He makes a toast to the couple and to the fact that
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
Oh dear! I can't believe what I just did, it was so hilarious, I hope
Sheila Birling is another character in ?An Inspector Calls? who also points this out during the play, ?You fool- he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don?t know yet. You?ll see. You?ll see.?
In “An Inspector Calls”, during the extract, Priestley uses tension to create a dramatic scene. Tension is an important part of the play as in many situations, such as when the audience finds out about Eva Smith’s death, it leads to feelings like guilt and shameful confessions, among the characters.
The war was said to bring fire blood & anguish in to our lives. WW1 -
“No,” I answered hollowly. “I can’t say you did.” Her eyes looked down to the floor until she built enough courage to continue her story that I knew I couldn’t avoid.
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
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.
· The social class system at the time when the play is set, (rich and
In an Amazon.co.uk interview titled “Magic, Mystery and Mayhem: An Interview with J.K. Rowling,” when asked about the way she came up with the names of characters in her books, she replied, “I invented some of the names in the Harry books, but I also collect strange names. I've gotten them from medieval saints, maps, dictionaries, plants, war memorials, and people I've met!” J.K. Rowling chose these names for a reason based on the deeper meanings behind every character's name and the way they relate to their roles and personalities. In Octavia E. Butler's short story “Speech Sounds”, Rye and Obsidian were the names she chose for her characters. Rye, the name of the main protagonist which symbolizes home and earth yearns to reconnect with her family and to rebuild a family of her own while Obsidian, the supporting character, is named after a type of lava stone, which is believed to contain magical properties that “absorbs and destroys negative energy such as anger, criticism, and fear” (Zagata). The names of the characters have two purposes: to describe the character's role and personality, and to give them an identity.
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
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.