“In Act One of ‘An Inspector Calls’ how does Priestley use dramatic devices to convey his concerns? - page 4
Keywords: Act One; Dramatic devices and How it is conveyed to the audience
By Shin on 13/06/2008
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 4 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
She says, "But these girls aren't cheap labour -they're people." -This shows that Priestley doesn't want people to be easily influenced by Mr Birling. This also reveals that Mr Birling and his social friends despite having wives go around to places that have prostitutes in them. This disgusts the audience.
Another example of changing is Gerald’s and Sheila's engagement. Her engagement with Gerald is broken off because Gerald is questioned about Daisy Renton aka Eva Smith who changed her name. Because of this, Gerald starts to become a bit more modest and starts telling Sheila and the family everything. As well as Sheila and Gerald who changes a bit due to the Inspector introduction, Mr Birling also changes. Eva Smith demanded a pay rise but he simply refused to do so. Because of his actions that took place before the arrival of the Inspector, Mr Birling feels guiltier; the audience feel pity for him but believe that he deserves it because he should have taken a bit more responsibility. Priestley shows that any actions you take will have a consequence similar to today's issues.
Priestley uses the way character exits are used to further the plot in order to convey his concerns about the real culprit. The members of the audience feel more interested than they were at the start of Act One because in their minds several questions arise about who was the reason Eva Smith killed herself over for and why. Speeches made by Sheila like "What does the girl look like?" to the Inspector and hints given by the Inspector, "At the end of January last year" keeps the audience more interested because it creates a mini cliff hanger that suspense’s the audience and it makes them wanting to discover more about the investigation. As the audience hears each little hint, they would guess or know what will happen next. Priestley uses irony to keep the audience entertained and to strengthen the plot of An Inspector calls.
Priestly uses the Inspectors use of photograph to control the Birlings in order to convey his concerns about the responsibility of each and every Birling. Mr Birling, in a speech to the Inspector says, "Any particular reason why I shouldn't see the girl's photograph?" -Mr Birling was feeling tempted to prove the Inspector wrong. However, the Inspector is possibly changing the girl's photographs to make each character feel very nervous
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