J B Priestley's Creation of Tension in An Inspector Calls In this essay I will be explaining how J B Priestley creates tension for the audience of an inspector calls as each character gradually reveal their involvement with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. The characters are forced to confess by the way that the inspector appears to know everything already for example when the inspector says "I think you remember Eva smith now don't you, Mr Birling" (act 1) he seems to have superior knowledge to the characters and this makes the characters feel that he knows everything already so they confess, an example of the inspector having superior knowledge is "the end of September nineteen-ten" (act 1) this shows that the inspector already knows the answers to his own questions so there is no point in the other characters attempting to lie to him. The way that the inspector talks to the characters one at a time without letting anyone interrupt and catch him out makes it easy for him to catch them out also the way that he shows the photo to them only one at a time makes it easy for him to swap the photos around that he shows them, an example of him only letting them speak one at a time to him is "one line of inquiry at a time" (act 1) an example of him showing the photo to them only one at a time is "all in good time" (act 1)these quotes show that the inspector is as omniscient about talking to people one at a time as he is about the photo. These points create drama and tension for the audience by making the audience want to know what all of the characters know about Eva Smith all at once instead of ... ... middle of paper ... ...se because they are at the end of an act and create the feeling that there is something more to find out in the next act. The cliff-hangers relate to the twist at the end of the play because it leaves the audience thinking about the whole play and trying to make sense of it, Inspector Goole's name alone suggests that something may be going on that is if the audience knew that Goole is a seaport town this may suggest that something "fishy" is going on or that he will be fishing for the facts of Eva's death. Also Goole sounds like ghoul which is a spirit which is said to take fresh life from corpses and he is only there because Eva has died. The twist at the end adds suspense and more drama and tension to the end of the play by making the audience want to know what happens to the characters after the play has finished.
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.
photographs of the pictographs and talking about them to several people. His second visit to the
Another way to show this is the way he talks to people, e.g. when his
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
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.
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
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.
they have done even know they do not lead her to her suicide. But a
satisfied. He talks a lot and likes the sound of his own voice. He's a
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.
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
telling stories about his life without really setting up a structure for the audience to follow.
... Eva Smiths all over the world and that we are all members of one body
... may mean that if a person does not learn from their mistakes the first