How does Priestly prepare the audience for the downfall of the Birlings in the opening scene of the - page 1
Keywords: inspector calls
By Paul John Carew on 26/03/2009
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 1 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
The play was set in 1912 during the Edwardian period. In the Edwardian period everybody was put into classes. During this period there was a big gap between the rich and the poor. A small minority of people had all the money and all the power.
Priestly tries to make the Birlings look like a perfect family but he wants us to look beneath the surface of the Birlings perfect lifestyle to see that its really the opposite of a perfect life and that they are all at each others throats and that they don’t have a homely lifestyle.
The play was set when King Edward was on the thrown. The play was written in 1945 and was first performed in 1946.
The play takes place in real time. During real time t6he Birlings eat dinner, have a party, and get interrogated by the Inspector and then the Inspector leaves. This takes place over 2 hours. Priestly uses real time so he can make the play more realistic so a message can be passed on to a younger generation.
The play has a few different genres. The first genre was a whodunit. It shows that the play was a murder, mystery play. The reader wants to know who killed the girl but during the play there is a twist it turns out that the Birlings and Gerald Croft all had a part in the killing over the girl they have no respect and have no responsibility for their actions. Another genre within the play was a morality play. The play has a message. The message within the play was that people should look after each other and take responsibility for actions they perform. The last genre within the play is the ghost story. The way in which the inspector is called Goole this contrasts with the way ghoul is spelt meaning ghost. It is supernatural. As the inspector interviews the Birlings then leaves the girl only just dies as the inspector leaves. It shows that there is something supernatural behind the play.
The play begins with the engagement party of Shelia Birling and Gerald Croft. The party gets interrupted by inspector Goole. The inspector quizzes the family about the death of the girl. Each person is responsible for the death. When the inspector leaves they find out that the inspector isn’t a real inspector and the
Last 5 comments…
There have been no comments posted for this article, but you need to register if you want to be the first!