ipl-logo

Dramatic Techniques In An Inspector Calls

1486 Words6 Pages

J.B Priestley, dramatist of the Play ‘An inspector calls’ written in 1945, portrays the story of a wealthy family in the industrial city of Brumley during 1912. They were holding an engagement party, until it was interrupted by a police inspector, who was investigating the suicide of a young woman named Eva smith. Lies reveal the series of events that lead her to take that decision. Priestly during the whole play makes the inspector’s presence powerful and dominant. The inspector is used to communicate the importance of looking towards a community and the way our actions affect each other. The character is also used to demonstrate the author’s socialist views and opinions, which refer to the injustice towards gender roles and social classes. …show more content…

Describing emotion and tone. “This girl killed herself - and died in a horrible death...you help - but didn’t started it” The use of the dash displays the character sentimental attitude. The dash represents the way in which the inspector is speaking. He is talking in a disjointed way, not fluently, making pauses in the middle of a sentence. The pauses provides a moment of reflection and tension to the characters to which the inspector is directing to. “taking charge masterfully” This symbolises control. It demonstrates that the inspector is in charge of the pace of how things are being revealed and expressed. The word “masterfully” means dominating. The fact that the Birlings do not protest or overlook what the inspector imposes shows power and control over them. This is due to the knowledge that the characters knows he has, therefore, they don't contradict because of his prior knowledge. This is a way in which the inspector controls how things are being revealed. letting to know that Priestly embodies in the inspector. “he walks, leaving them staring subdued and wondering” The play is a cyclical mystery. From the entrance to the exit of the inspector lies were revealed although the mystery from the start to the end continued to be there. This makes reference to the way the Birlings are left after the inspector’s exit “subdued and wondering” . Before he exits the inspector doesn't makes much reference to Eva Smith in his speech, meaning that he was mostly giving a didactic sermon for them to understand their errors and learn from them, making him to look as their conscience, creating sense to his unknown supernatural

Show More
Related
792 Words | 4 Pages

An Inspector Calls is a morality play, filled with controversial political viewpoints attempting to persuade the audience that socialism is the way forward. Such views are voiced by The inspector, Priestley's mouthpiece. The play is set in 1912, A year followed by world war 1, the miners' strike and the sinking of the Titanic, therefore, supplying the writer with the opportunities to use dramatic irony, which Priestley does, to further influence his audience in act 2 to reconsider accepting a capitalist society. Sybil Birling is one of Priestley's characters that lack development in their attitudes towards society, particularly the lower class.

Read More
1904 Words | 8 Pages

How and why does Eric change in An Inspector Calls? ‘It’s what happened to the girl and what we all did that matters’. In this essay, I am going to discuss how various characters influenced how and why Eric changed over the course of J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. He lost all respect for his parents, and they stop respecting him. This contrasts to Shelia and Eric, who end up mutually respecting each other by the end of the play.

Read More
731 Words | 3 Pages

One example of why the protagonist questions the social and political systems is when Equality 7-2521 says, “There is some word, one single word, which is not in the language of men, but which had been. And this is the unspeakable word, which

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

- The goals of feminism is to show the importance of women and to bring gender equity. It also reveals that historical women have been subordinate to men, which is the reason why there are still some patriarchal societies in the modern setting.   - This literary piece is a great example of feminism. It shows how men and women are portrayed; how women have more in them than what meets the eye; and how genders treat and react to each other. BODY 1 (answer to question 1)

Read More
1410 Words | 6 Pages

The repition of "I am a hard headed man of business" shows his arrogance and his capitalistic and emotionless mentality. "I say there isn't a chance of war" show his stubborn and arrogance. Priestly uses this dramatic irony to persuade the audience to side against Birling as they will think that he is foolish, unsympathetic and untrustworthy. As of portraying their stubborn and heard headed personality was not enough, Priestly makes it sure that the audience is able to clearly see mentality and coldness that capitalism brings to a human by making men emotionless and unsympathetic. "Well, we've several hundred young women there, y'know, and they keep changing.

Read More
504 Words | 3 Pages

In the play An Inspector Calls written by J.B Priestley, the use of morality and double standards gives us an insight into the society of the early 1900s; which remains relevant in social stratification, cultural and deviance aspects. Through the story of Arthur Birling, Mrs. Sybil Birling and their children Eric and Sheila. The upper-class family, with untouchable reputation, enjoy of an intimate party soiree in honour of Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft. Son of a well-known business man, Sir George Croft from Crofts Limited. When Inspector Goole pays a mood-changing visit, resulting in the systematic manipulation of the presumably respectable characters.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

J.B Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1945, the last year of World War 2 but sets it in 1912 a time of inequality where upper and lower class was distinguished and treated differently within society and where a big gap existed among poor and rich people. The play introduces us to the theme of social inequality and social responsibility displaying the fact that trade unions were very weak, workers had few rights, wages were very low and many other injustices where made specially towards women; they were treated very differently then men and they were looked on as less important in society. Lighting is changed at the arrival of the Inspector "The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder" this displays a contrast between scenes and atmosphere. It also shows the change in mood; suggesting a cheerful environment and a very joyfully and delight mood, everybody feeling thrilled for Shelia 's engagement and celebrating united as a family. But it changes to "brighter and harder" at the arrival of the Inspector and

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

The prejudice that the author brings forward strongly is the notion of feminism. The author’s main purpose of writing this novel is to examine the role of women played around

Read More
1643 Words | 7 Pages

When given the opportunity to seize their fates, Guildenstern advises that he and Rosencrantz “tread wearily, follow instructions” (40). Despite Rosencrantz’s sentiment that he “feels like a spectator, a very appauling business” (41), Guildenstern insists that “they’ve got us placed now” (41). With the inherent mindset of minor characters, the two immediately allow themselves to fall victim to the fixated infallibility of becoming passive to the hands of fate. Furthermore, they rapidly become comforted by their reality, as Guildenstern states that “there’s a logic at work-it’s all done for you, don’t worry [...] To be taken in hand and led, like being a child again [...] it’s like being given a prize” (40).

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

During her critic she focuses on Mrs. Mallard inner struggle against what she knows in her mind is socially acceptable but what she wants for herself which is not socially acceptable. Her emotions eventually win against the guilt allowing her to feel “self-assertion” in her perception against the social convention of patriarchy.

Read More
1041 Words | 5 Pages

In An Inspector Calls the character Sheila changes and matures significantly throughout the play. Priestly aims to encourage and persuade the 1912 audience to consider the negative power of capitalists and that socialism is a better way forward. Sheila contributes to Priestly’s moral message about socialism and capitalism by emphasising the possibility for change which is up to the younger generation. At the start of the play, Sheila is portrayed as a spoiled daughter who has been taught to be submissive to her parents.

Read More
1036 Words | 5 Pages

“Invitation to a Murder” Essay As the author of “Invitation to a murder” portrays a suspenseful tone during the story, Josh Pachter creates many situational ironies throughout the story. The setting of the story is on the evening of December 16th, 1971, at Eleanor Madeline Abbot’s home. The short story begins when Chief Inspector Lawrence A. Branigan received a letter inviting him to the murder of Eleanor Madeline Abbot’s husband, Gregory Eliot Abbot. Branigan decided to go to the event. When Branigan Arrived at the event, he realized that there were eleven other men present.

Read More
1642 Words | 7 Pages

Priestly attempts to exemplify in Mr Birling’s character into the type of mentality that majority of upper class capitalist business men had in the early 1900s in England. It is extremely ironic that the Inspector rings the bell of the house just as Mr Birling is telling Eric and Gerald that people must look out solely for their own interests ("a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and - “ act 1): throughout his interrogation, the Inspector champions the very opposite idea - that "we are all responsible for each other.” The Inspectors view on community as a whole is considered a very socialist view. Notably, Priestly was socialist after all and used the play as a more socially acceptable way of stating his opinion on social responsibility, politics and labour rights. The

Read More
1349 Words | 6 Pages

In essence, this attack is representive of Ibsen’s attack on the societal conventions. Through Nora’s ultimate rejection of her society’s gender roles, Ibsen illustrates how there is some ability for these entrenched roots to be ripped up

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

The issue of patriarchy will also be further elaborated on in this essay and how it affects the characters in the novel, not only in the given passage, but in the novel in general.

Read More

More about Dramatic Techniques In An Inspector Calls

Related Topics

Open Document