An Inspector Calls by
J. B. Priestley Priestley
Revision evision Notes Notes KEY POINTS Very
compact structure to the play, nothing is allowed to distract the audience from the central theme. There is no sub-plot.
The
play takes place in just one location. The action is continuous. continuous.
Act
One begins by introducing the characters and establishing the idea of a happy and united family looking forward to the future with a degree of confidence. In retrospect, there are a number of hints that all is not as it seems but these are not particularly obious until later in the play. There is nothing to warn us of the shock the Inspector!s isit will cause.
"ents
soon gather speed and it is not long before we are being informed of #irling and $heila!s inolement with "a $mith.
increases , firstly as %erald!s affair is uneiled &and the scandal it would cause' and $heila begins to realise that they are all implicated in some way !he is giing us rope ( so that we)ll hang ourseles! .
Tension
*rs
#irling!s attempts to shift the blame for the girl!s suicide leads her to blame the father of the unborn child.
The
tension is heightened heightened at this point by the dramaticentrance of "ric.
+ith
the departure of the Inspector it would appear that what follows will be something of an anti-climax as the Inspector's identity is put into doubt by a series of obserations made by the #irling family and %erald. "en the eistence of "a is called into uestion.
Howeer,
the tension remains to some etent as the two generations confirm the differences as suggested by the Inspector - the moral divide is ery great indeed.
The
final denouement, the phone call announcing announcing that a police inspector is on his way to ask some uestions about a girl who has just died in the infirmary is as shocking as it is surprising and ensures that the audience will leae the auditorium in a state of real shock.
!ic" S!##ary
Act I
$heila #irling has become engaged to %erald roft and as a result the #irling family hae enjoyed a family dinner together. *r #irling makes grand speeches giing his iews on technology and industrial relations, emphasising his opinion that a man should only care about himself and his family and no-one else. Their eening is suddenly interrupted by the arrial of a police inspector by the name of %oole who is making enuiries into the suicide of a young woman called "a $mith. The inspector has a photograph of the woman and from it *r #irling admits that he once employed her in his factory but had sacked her oer an industrial dispute oer wages. %erald roft backs *r #irling)s belief that he acted within reason. $heila and her brother "ric react differently, feeling that their father was harsh in sacking her. /oweer, upon seeing the photograph herself, $heila realises that she also sacked the same woman from her job as a shop assistant. 0uring the course of Act I it becomes clear that the inspector has an uncanny knowledge knowledge about the family)s dealing with the girl. /e then announces that the girl has in fact changed her name from "a $mith to 0aisy 1enton. The reaction that this causes in %erald makes it obious that he knows the girl also. #y the time we reach the end of the act the inspector is already suggesting that many people share the responsibility for the miserable eistence of the young girl which prompted her to take her own life.
!ic" S!##ary
Act II
There is by now an eident tension between $heila and %erald which becomes heightened when he admits that he had had an affair with 0aisy 1enton in the spring of the preious year. +hilst feeling angry with %erald for his inolement with the girl she does hae a certain respect for his openness and honesty with his admission. *rs #irling makes attempts to intimidate the inspector and control the situation. 0espite this, $heila feels that it is foolish to try and hinder the inspector)s enuiries and this appears to be well founded. At the point when "ric is out of the room *rs #irling is forced to admit that she also has an inolement with the girl. Two weeks earlier she had refused the girl who had come to her seeking help. It is then reealed that the girl was pregnant and the suspicion now points at "ric as being the father of the unborn child.
!ic" S!##ary
Act III
"ric confesses that he was he who had got the girl pregnant. /e also admits to haing stolen money from his father)s firm in an attempt to support her. +hen he hears that his mother refused to help the girl he is horrified and blames her for both the death of the girl and of the unborn child. At this point it becomes clear that nay family unity has now dissoled. The inspector has therefore done his job by showing each of them that they had a part to play in ruining the girl)s life. /e then goes on to make a speech about the conseuence of social irresponsibility which is in direct contrast to the speeches made by *r #irling at the start of the play. The inspector then leaes. %erald and *r #irling begin to hae doubts about the inspector)s identity and are gradually able to proe that the man was not a real r eal police inspector. This then raises further doubts between them all about whether they hae been talking about the same girl or indeed whether any girl had actually
killed herself at all. %erald telephones the infirmary who confirm that they hae no record of any girl dying there that afternoon. 2aturally there is a general feeling of relief upon hearing this. $heila and "ric still feel guilty about their action although they seem to hae been changed by the recent eents. The others, howeer, feel a greater sense of relief and their confidence in the rightness of their own actions is restored. At that point the telephone rings and *r #irling answers it. It is the police calling to say that a young woman has just died on her way to the infirmary and that an inspector is on his way to make enuiries about her death. The play therefore ends with the characters ( and audience ( knowing that all the eents which hae just occurred about to happen again, for real.
Settin$
Ti#e T i#e an% Place
3.#. 4riestley fought in ++I, and was a radio newscaster during ++II. /e witnessed both of these wars that were being fought in order to sae society In An Inspector alls written just after ++II, 3.#. 4riestley seems to ask 5+hat kind of society are we fighting to sae67 The social issues that were so prealent in the labour strikes of 898: were ill important in 89;<, because the ery definition of society means that human beings don)t lie alone and that each one is responsible for their actions towards the other. #y setting his characters in a time of innocence and hope, 4riestley can
speak een more strongly to his audiences who hae lied through a time of despair. The pride and complacency of the #irlings seems all the more foolish to an audience who knows what is about to happen to the "nglish people. The lessons that "ric and $heila learn are een more poignant when one reali=es that ery soon all classes in "ngland, upper, middle and lower, will be inoled in the same tragic war. +hen studying An Inspector alls it is necessary and also highly important to look closely at the setting of it. The play is set in the fictitious industrial city of Brumley. #rumley, although not a real place, has a lot of background information information gien about it. Arthur #irling is hoping for a knighthood through his actiity in local politics and haing been >ord *ayor of #rumley. There are clearly a large number of poor and needy women liing in #rumley resulting in the #rumley +omen)s harity Organisation. At the time the play was set many such organisations eisted and relied mainly upon financial financial support from wealthy wealthy people, such such as *rs #irling? #irling? help was gien to indiiduals at the discretion and decision of those benefactors. 4riestley makes other references, apart from the #irlings, towards social injustice. As for the action of the play ( it all happens in the #irling)s dining room. The room is described as being @ substantial substantial and heaily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike ).). This description of the room mirrors the lives of the Birlings. They are outwardly respectable and enjoy a comfortable and well off way of life and yet their relationships with one and other are not at all cosy and there are a great number of tensions between them. The realism of the stage set is important as it gies the audience a sense that they are in the safe confines of normality. This is something that
4riestley often liked to begin his plays with. /oweer, the mysterious role of the inspector and the telephone call at the end of the play suddenly introduce the audience to an element of the unreal.
C&aracters
'r Birlin$
A successful business man, a magistrate and someone who is actie in local politics, *r #irling has also had the honour of being >ord *ayor of #rumley. /e hopes that all this will lead to him being gien a knighthood and therefore becoming more socially acceptable to $ir %eorge and >ady roft, particularly considering his humble beginnings. beginnings. /is description is of heay-looking ng and portentous man ).). This description helps to gie an a @heay-looki impression of him being of a threatening appearance. /e is pleased about the engagement of $heila to %erald roft, as he beliees it will be good for his business. It is central to the play that his attitude to business and the fact that a man should @ look after his own) is is discredited by the confessions that the inspector brings about. *r #irling strongly beliees that !a man has to make his own way! . /e does not consider the harm he may cause to other people because of his attitude. /e is a !hard headed business man! and and refuses to accept any responsibility for "a!s death. /e is increasingly annoyed by the Inspector!s uestioning and "ric!s unsympathetic attitude. The most disturbing part of the play for #irling is the scene in which he learns that his own son is shown to be a thief, a drunkard and is responsible for fathering a child. +hen he learns of all this he eclaims !Aou damned fool - why didn!t you come to me when you found yourself in this mess6! "en at the end of the play, he continues to ignore the shameful things that his family has done. +hen it appears that the Inspector might be a hoaer he happily beliees eerything is as it was a few hours ago. This is an eample of pride coming before a fall, a moment later he is panicking as the phone rings again.
C&aracters
S&eila Birlin$
$heila is the #irling)s daughter and engaged to be married to %erald roft. $he is in her early twenties and is described as @ pretty) . The attention surrounding surrounding her important engagement gies her great pleasure, showing her to be somewhat self-centred. $he thus starts the play as someone whom the audience would regard as superficial howeer, this changes once she hears of the girl)s death and her potential part in it and becomes more caring and sensitie. $he shows genuine remorse about the fact that it was her who caused the girl to lose her job at the shop. $he learns of her responsibilities to others less fortunate than herself &the idea of the community' and is sensitie. /er readiness to learn from eperience is in great contrast to her parents.
C&aracters
'rs Birlin$
Owing to her coldness and lack of conscience, *rs #irling is seen as being unsympathetic unsympathetic and out of touch with reality. It is this lack of understanding understanding that leads to her making seeral snobbish comments and een to be unaware of her own son)s heay drinking. $he is described as a @rather cold woman and her husband)s social superior) . $he is led by the Inspector to condemn her own son, when she tries to blame the young man who got her pregnant, for "a)s death. This dramatic irony is ery powerful in showing that gain she does not think of the conseuences of her actions. $he is too busy trying to protect herself from blame that she fails to see the trap into which she is led. /oweer, she shows signs of weakening when she realises that her actions had resulted in the death of her own grandchild. Once the inspector leaes though, she uickly recoers her old self, emphasising her harsh harsh and uncaring nature.
C&aracters
Eric Birlin$
"ric is an opposite of his sister and @ not uite at ease) . /is father does not approe of him and his mother cannot see his faults one of which is a drink problem. /e has made the dead girl pregnant and he has also stolen money from his father to support her. >ike his sister, howeer, he feels both a strong sense of guilt and real sympathy towards "a $mith. /e is ery willing to take responsibility for his actions, whilst also blaming his
mother in particular for what she has done. "en when it seems as if they are all @off the hook) he is not willing to forget what he has done and this makes him uite an admirable characterB he does not take the easy way out.
C&aracters
(eral% cro)t
$heila)s fiancC and the son of her father)s industrial rial. /e is respected by *r #irling with whom he shares an opinion on the way to conduct business. $elf confidence and at ease with anyone he comes into contact with are his main traits. /e is courteous and tactful towards the #irlings. It comes to light that he has had an affair with the dead girl who had changed her name to 0aisy 1enton at the time. Of all the characters, he seems to be the only one who treated "aD0aisy with some degree of kindness, offering protection and some temporary happiness, but he still leaes her in the end. /e is also the character who first works out that the Inspector is not real, and like the older #irlings, seems to think this lets eeryone off the hook.
C&aracters
T&e Inspector
The Inspector, named @%oole), is described as creating @ an an impression of massieness, massiene ss, solidity and purposefulness) . /is role grows as the play unfolds and the story of each character is reealed. +hilst they are broken down he remains solid and despite attempts from the others to distract him from his purpose he stays this way throughout. /e is the one who makes things happen in the play. +ere it not for him none of the secrets that the others hae would be reealed and it is he who demonstrates how people are responsible for the affect they hae on the lies of others. /is sombre appearance in the play is in direct contrast to the #irling family. There is an air of celebration in the room until he enters bringing with him the news of the dead girl. Erom then on it is he who controls eerything.
/e manipulates each character skilfully, to ensure they reeal the truth about their inolement with "a. +ith some he is encouraging, with others he is aggressie and demanding. This is determined by each character)s willingness to accept responsibility. The most important theme of the play, it could be argued, is responsibility. At the beginning of the play *r. #irling gies his &limited' iew of responsibility in a long speech. *r. #irling!s definition of responsibility is immediately followed by the arrial of the Inspector. The Inspector gies his &ery wide' eplanation of responsibility immediately before he leaes. /e leaes the play with perhaps the most important speechB “e don!t live alone. e are members of one body. e are responsible for each other. "nd 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.$ The play is about social responsibility. responsibility . Priestley uses the play to present his ideas on responsibility and society. He uses the character of the Inspector as a mouth-piece for his ideas. ideas . Priestley is suggesting that we should all look after one another , and that those who have power over others should use it for the common good, not just for their own benefit. It is clear by the end of the play that these t hese are Priestley’s views.
C&aracters
Eva S#it&*+aisy Renton
+e neer see the character of "a $mith, but the play reoles around her. $he is linked to all the other characters, ecept for the inspector and "dna, who all seemed to hae played a part in her downfall. /er eistence and death are in direct contrast with the wealthy lies of the #irlings and %erald roft.
The Inspector tells *r. #irling that "a $mithD0aisy 1enton 5 left left a letterFand a sort of diary 7, 7, which could eplain how he knows so much about "a and he connections with the #irlings and %erald.
Eva,s Ti#eline
$eptember 898G "a sacked by #irling H o. 0ecember 898G "a employed by *ilwards. >ate 3anuary 8988 "a sacked by *ilwards. *arch 8988 "a becomes %erald!s mistress. "arly $eptember 8988 %erald breaks off the affair. "a leaes #rumley for two months. 2oember 8988 "ric meets "a. 0ecember 8988D3anuary 898: "a finds she is pregnant. >ate *arch 898: *rs. #irling turns down "a!s application for help. "arly April 898: "a!s suicideDthe Inspector calls
Priestley uses a range of dramatic devices for different purposes. For example, set, lighting, sound effects, props, characterisation, timing and dramatic irony.
+ra#atic +evices
Sta$e +irections
t the beginning of ct ct ! he uses stage directions to set the scene and give us information about the Birling family before family before we even see them. "e can tell that the Birling family are a comfortably off middle middle to upper middle class family. family. "e can also tell that they are all feeling relaxed and relaxed and confident at confident at the beginning of the play. •
set # large suburban house
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furniture # ‘solid …but not cosy and homelike’
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props $ suggests wealth ‘champagne glasses’, ‘decanter of port’
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costume ‘evening dress of the period’ white tie and tails $ a formal occasion
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lighting $ ‘pink and intimate’
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characters and how they are described by Priestley
t the start of the play the %irlings are seated and relaxed. %y the end all standing and shouting&crying.
+ra#atic +evices
Sta$in$
ll the action ta'es place in one room# it is claustrophobic and intense# the pressure builds within the closed room. %irlings are shown to live in a closed, protected world and the Inspector is not welcomed from the outside. The entrance of the inspector •
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ound !ffect#(here’s !ffect#(here’s a ‘sharp ring of a front door bell’ and bell’ and )dna interrupts %irling in the middle of his speeches. (he ‘sharp’ ring ring would startle the audience $ and suggests that the Inspector may be a *sharp’ +as in intelligent and possibly aggressive person. (he ring also interrupts %irling suggesting that the Inspector will have power and control over %irling. (here is a change of lighting from pink from pink and intimate’ to ‘brighter and harder ’ ’ when when the inspector arrives. (his suggests again that the Inspector is a *hard’ character who will wrec' the cosy world the %irlings live in. His name *Inspector -oole’ also suggests something unpleasant&interesting about the inspector $ e.g. *ghoul’ means ghost
+ra#atic +evices
+ra#atic Irony
+when an audience 'nows more about the characters&action than the characters on stage. Priestley uses dramatic irony to show how ridiculous and wrong Birling"s opinions are. ).g. •
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Birling says war won"t happen *I happen *I say there isn’t a chance of war’ but audience 'nows there were two #orld #ars about to happen %irling says that the Titanic won"t sink $ sink $ *unsin'able’ $ we 'now it did, later that year. %irling thin's there"ll be no tension between employers and employees *you’ll be living in a world that will have forgotten all these /apital versus 0abour agitations’ but there were stri'es in!123#!1!4 because of poor conditions and the $eneral trike of %&'( (he dramatic irony ma'es the audience thin' Birling is foolish and lacking in knowledge about the future. It also makes his political opinions seem wrong. Priestley is also showing an audience his concern that such idiotic people have some degree of power in this society. )ould )ould you relate this to his Priestley"s experiences*
+ra#atic +evices
B!il%in$ Tension
%. The inspecto inspectorr develops develops the the dramatic dramatic tension tension (he inspector ‘creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’. He also spea's ‘carefully, weightily’ and ‘has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking’. (his interests an audience $ we want to know why he is there and how people will react to react to his 5uestioning. (he Inspector *inspects’ or interrogates each person in turn. t urn. He shows a photo of )va 6mith to each character in turn that only they see. (he audience is intrigued and intrigued and wants to 'now what this is. •
Interrogation of %irling. %irling feels uncomfortable and tries to threaten -oole with his friendship with /olonel 7oberts. udience thin' %irling is selfish and arrogant.
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%eginnings of conflict between younger generation +6heila and older generation +%irling. 6heila responds much more instinctively and emotionally to the report of )va 6mith’s death. (his creates tension and the audience feel some sympathy for 6heila. Inspector leaves the room, having introduced )va 6mith’s change of name to 8aisy 7enton. +udience want to know why this has occurred. 0oo' at the final exchange between 6heila and -erald. In a sense, 6heila begins the inspector’s tas'. (he fact that the audience 'nows that -erald is involved +the third out of five characters suggests to the audience that the momentum will continue and that all the characters will be involved. (he inspector returns at the end of the scene and as's his 5uestion ‘Well?’ (his is a cliff-hanger audience want to watch on to t o see how $erald and heila react. +ct ' also ends with )I /+0$!1. The front door slams, announcing !ric"s return, but the audience have to wait until +ct +ct ' for his confession. 2The front door bangs every time someone enters or leaves the house. (he characters and audience can hear this, and wonder who enters the house# effective house# effective sound effect in creating tension.3 '. Timing
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Timing of entrances and exits is crucial. For example, the Inspector arrives Timing of immediately after %irling has told -erald about his impending 'nighthood and about how 9a man has to loo' after himself and his own.9 heila runs off stage when she realises she is the reason !va was sacked - creates intense atmosphere. heila and $erald are left alone to discuss 4aisy 1enton- this draws information out for audience. great deal of tension has been created for the audience by the end of +ct % and % and they have the desire to 'now how all the characters were involved. %y having a brea' at this point between cts :ne and (wo (wo and creating a dramatic pause Priestley pause Priestley creates tension for the rest of the play. play. ct ! ends with the Inspector as'ing, ;"ell<= (his builds suspense for the start of act 4 which begins with the same 5uestion and we are desperate for the answer. (ension is further created by the way information is gradually revealed, revealed , one person at a time. (he audience and characters are 'ept on their toes.
Priestley has already suggested to the audience some of the themes that themes that he develops later in his play e.g. the idea that those in power are often undeserving of that power and power and foolish +as foolish +as shown in his presentation of %irling in particular and that the younger generation are more open to positive change +as change +as in his presentation of 6heila’s remorse. >ost importantly he has suggested that the Inspector is going to be the character to 5uestion the arrogant self#confidence that the %irlings have, just as he as a playwright confronts his audience’s own prejudices pr ejudices about power in society. 5. Th The e !ndi !nding ng (he ending ending leaves leaves the audience on a cliff#hanger. In ct ? the %irlings believed themselves to be off the hoo' when it is discovered that the Inspector wasn@t real and that no girl had died in the infirmary. (his (his releases some of the tension # but the final telephone call, announcing that a real inspector is on his way to as' 5uestions about the suicide of a young girl, suddenly restores the tension very dramatically. It is an unexpected final twist. 6. 4ra 4ramat matic ic truct tructure ure7$e 7$enre nre Follows the rules of $reek 4rama# 4rama# the three unities of place, action and time are kept to in a realistic manner . i.e. (he 8rama all unfolds in one place# place# %irling’s 8ining room. ction ction all ta'es place in one evening, time passes in the same way as in real life. (his ma'es the play realistic. (he Inspector acts like a $reek chorus 20arrator3. He 20arrator3. He sums up what has happened, and explains to both actors and the audience the lessons we must learn. )5ually might be seen as a simple crime7 mystery play# play# *"ho dunnit<’ Furthermore, (he play has myth-like 8uality in that it carries a moral message that message that we should ta'e better care of our fellow human beings, so in some ways is li'e a parable. parable. A. The Inspector himself adds dramatic tension tension
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He controls the pace and pace and tension by tension by dealing with one line of en5uiry at a time. 6lowly the story of )va@s life is unravelled, li'e in a @whodunnit@. He is in command at the end of ct I and the start of ct 4, and the end of ct 4 and the start of ct ?. He is a brooding, inescapable presence, very much in control.
T&e#es
Responsibility
(he Inspector wants each member of the family to share the responsibility of )va@s death he tells them, "each of you helped to kill her." However, However, his final speech is aimed not only at the characters on stage, but at the audience too "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, and what we think and sa and do!" d o!"
T&e#es
Class
Priestley is trying to show that the upper classes are unaware that the easy lives they lead rest upon hard wor' of the lower classes. (hey’re selfish&uncaring and immoral. ((I(B8)6 ((I(B8)6 to 0:")7 /066
((I(B8)6 ((I(B8)6 to BPP)7 /066
To this character, !va was...
+t the start of the play this character was...
cheap labour
>r %irling
someone who could be fired out 6heila of spite
'een to be 'nighted $ to cement his hard#fought rise to upper class happy spending time&money in expensive shops
a mistress ho could be discarded when it suited
-erald
prepared to marry 6heila, despite her lower social position
easy sex at the end of a drun'en night
)ric
aw'ward and secretive
insolent and acting above her position in life
>rs %irling
6ocially superior
9ake a similar table for the !04 of the play.
