How Does Priestley Create Tension In An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls was written by J.B. Priestley after the Second World War. Written in 1945, however set in 1912, the purpose was to challenge the ideals of the general public of Great Britain and to convey Priestley’s own social and political message through the contrasting characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole who hold capitalist and socialist beliefs respectively. The date the play was set, 1912 represented an era that was largely controlled by capitalist principles and the mistreatment of the working class. By 1945 many of the class and gender boundaries central in the play were being questioned and partially addressed. Being a socialist, Priestley believed in responsibility, both individually and collectively. He wrote this play

as he saw an urgent need for social change. The Inspector represents Priestley’s voice and conveys his strong socialist views. He challenges the characters and therefore the audience about their treatment of the working class. Priestley uses Mr. Birling as a symbol to represent the selfishness and arrogance of capitalists in Edwardian society.

Priestley’s description of the set at the beginning of the play stresses the solidity of the Birling’s dining room and the dramatic stage directions in Act One give the audience a glimpse into the dynamics of the Birling household.

“It is a solidly built room, with good solid furniture of the period.” But a later section of this scene setting, on the walls are “imposing but tasteless pictures and engravings”, and the “general effect is substantial and comfortable and old-fashioned but not cosy and homelike”, suggests that although the Birlings have wealth and social standing, they are not loving or compassionate people. The setting of the play in a single room also implies their self-absorption and disconnectedness from the

world.

Priestley establishes each of the characters in the opening scene of the play. Arthur Birling is a capitalist businessman entirely focused on profit even when discussing the marriage of his daughter. “I’m sure you’ll make her happy. You’re just the kind of son-in-law I’ve always wanted. Your father and I have been friendly rivals in business for some time now – and now you’ve brought us together, and perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together – for lower costs and higher prices.”

Priestley uses dramatic irony effectively in the opening section to show how wrong Arthur Birling’s opinions are and therefore influence the audience’s views.

Priestley’s use of dramatic irony could be considered clumsy, but it underlines the fact that An Inspector Calls is a play with a point to make, strongly positioning it as anti-capitalist. In this way Mr. Birling’s credibility with the audience is undermined early on before the Inspector’s arrival. When Eric mentions the likelihood of war, Arthur cuts him off. “…you’ll hear some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say – fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t ant war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folks in the Balkans. And why? There’s too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.” He goes on to describe the Titanic as “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” and suggests that in time, “let’s say, in 1940”, “all these Capital versus Labour agitations and all these silly little war scares” will be long forgotten. The audience knows that two World Wars have been waged and the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. The audience are very aware therefore of the disparity between Birling’s predictions about the future and what actually happened between 1912 and 1945 making Birling’s views laughable. Priestley wanted his audience to dislike Mr. Birling and show his disagreement with capitalism through making Birling what he believed to be the epitome of it – pompous, self important and

arrogant.

It is ironically the difference between a socialist and a capitalist society that Arthur Birling is discussing in Act 1 when Inspector Goole arrives. “But the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive – a man has to mind his own business and look after himself.” This shows how Mr. Birling does not agree with community and helping out people in need. He has the motto of every man to himself. The Inspector’s arrival cuts Arthur Birling off mid-sentence, enacting the unfolding clash between two ideological positions that takes place throughout the play. The fact that the Inspector arrives while Birling is sharing his capitals views is a great example of dramatic timing and further highlights the differing views of Mr. Birling and the Inspector.

When Inspector Goole arrives everything changes. He tells the Birlings and Gerald that a young woman, Eva Smith, has committed suicide by drinking disinfectant and he has questions about the case. Over the course of the next two acts he lays responsibility for Eva Smith’s death at the feet of each of the Birlings and Gerald Croft, showing how their indifference to social responsibility has contributed to the death of this young woman. The Inspector represents Priestley’s voice and conveys his strong socialist views. The first stage directions about the Inspector emphasize his authority, describing his “impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”. The Inspectors role is to expose Mr. Birling’s lack of morality.

Lighting is used effectively in the play to further contrast moods. The introductory stage directions state that the lighting “should be pink and intimate” due to the joyous atmosphere within the Birling household with the engagement of Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. The lighting and the idea that the Birling family are looking through “rose tinted glasses” shows that this “warm” and “joyful” atmosphere is not really what it seems. As soon as the Inspector engages in dialogue, the lighting changes to a “brighter and harder light” where it gives the impression of exposure of the truth and the “arrival” of morality and enlightenment.

The Inspector is impervious to Arthur Birling’s close relationship with the chief constable. “I don’t play golf”, he tells Birling after Birling refers to playing golf together with the chief constable. “I didn’t suppose you did”, the industrialist replies. This exchange makes a clear point about class and the battle between egalitarianism and privilege. Details about the Inspector are scant and in this way he seems less like a person and more like a moral force. , mercilessly pursuing the wrongs committed by the Birlings and Gerald Croft and demanding they face up to the consequences of their actions.

His investigation culminates in a speech that is a direct expression of Priestley’s own view of how a just society should operate. “But just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone – but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering, and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, with what we think and say and do. We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. We don’t live alone. Good night.” Priestley uses Eva Smith as a representative of the forgotten people of society. She is one of the millions of individuals who are ignored and shunned as a result of a series of misfortunes. She received disdain from others and likely lacked capital or the means of support. The Inspector also discusses the concept of collective responsibility; everyone in society is linked in the same way the characters are linked to Eva Smith. Everyone is part of “one body”; the Inspector sees society as more important than individual interests. Priestley also adds a clear warning about what could happen if, like some members of the family, we ignore our responsibility. The “fire, blood and anguish” Priestley references could partially be attributed to the Second World War ending in 1945 the audience had just lived through. This could be argued to have resulted from governments blindly pursuing national interests at all costs. He could also have been referring to the Russian Revolution in 1917 in which poor workers and peasants took over the state and exacted a bloody revenge against the aristocrats who had treated them badly. Placing repetition in this speech, “millions and millions and millions”, the Inspector emphasizes the amount of people who are still living under ghastly conditions. By stressing the two personal pronouns, “them” and “us”, he makes the audience feel that they need to help them

By the end of the play the audience is left wondering if the Inspector is supposed to represent a real person or a supernatural being sent to warn the characters of what is to come and to teach them a valuable life lesson. Priestley uses the contrasting characters of Mr. Birling and the Inspector very effectively to espouse his egalitarian views. Mr. Birling is a capitalist who values business and profit above all else. He makes his views clear in the early speeches in Act 1 and these don’t change. Priestley’s flippant remarks about war make him look foolish. In contrast, the Inspector gains credibility because the audience is aware of how accurate his statements about the future are. The adverbs associated with the Inspector are very important: he speaks “carefully, weightily”, which gives his words authority. His power also comes from his ability to control the characters and events in the play. His entrances and exits are also well timed in order to create maximum tension. Priestley leaves the audience with a lot to consider about how to make a better, fairer and, more honest society where all are valued equally. Priestley uses the Inspector to challenge the views of the Birling family as well as the audience. Through the Inspector’s questioning and as events involving Eva Smith are revealed, we learn that we are all part of a community, the human race and, whether we like it or not, we are all responsible for those within our community and our actions do have consequences on others.