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| Priestley ends each act on a note of high drama. Write about the way he builds up tension towards the end of each act. Describe how he leaves the audience with plenty to think about between the end of one act and the beginning of the next and after the play has finished. | |||
| An Inspector Calls was written by J.B Priestley in 1944 and first performed in 1945. In 1945, the war had ended and the British people had to decide whether to go back to the principals of the Edwardian era, or to go forward and create a new Britain, with more socialist views. In the Edwardian era, the upper and lower classes never mixed and wanted nothing to do with each other. Upper class men would try to become successful with businesses, and women only had to marry the right man for a good life. In the lower class, however, 8000000 people were unfed, and earned less than the equivalent of £1.25 per week. During the Second World War, this all changed. People from all classes had to join the armed forces, meaning that upper and lower classes would end up fighting together. Children were evacuated from the large cities to rich families in the country. For the first time, poorer people could see how the rich lived. Rationing of clothes also meant that people started to look the same. It was no longer possible to distinguish rich from poor. A further reason for change was that during bombing raids, rich and poor alike would shelter in the underground stations. This created a bond between the classes. The aim of Priestley’s play was to show people what life was like back in 1912, and to persuade them that there had to be change for the better. This is what the Inspector tries to tell the Birlings in the play | |||
Revision as of 10:02, 19 October 2005
An Inspector Calls is a popular drama of 1946, by the British dramatist J.B. Priestley. The play is often studied as part of the school syllabus, and is still frequently performed. The Royal National Theatre production, directed by Stephen Daldry, is often heralded as the definitive production, paralleling the events of the play with 1945. It has won 19 major awards including the Tony Award for Best Play Revival.
The plot centres on the visit made by a mysterious police inspector to a wealthy and apparently respectable family, for the purposes of enquiring into the death of a poor and unknown girl. The inspector reminds each family member in turn of his or her connection with the girl, leading each of them to suppose that their unintentional cruelty or thoughtlessness has brought about the girl's death. As the play ends we begin to question the reliability of the inspector, resulting in him being branded as a fake. The family calls the police station to find that Inspector Goole is not employed there, and they decide he was a fake. However, the younger ones in the family still hold his socialist message that everybody affects everybody else. Then the telephone rings and they are told that an inspector is arriving to ask some questions. As the curtains close, the true nature of the inspector is called into doubt.
The inspector is often envisaged as a 'guardian' type character delivering a message or motto to the audience. Some also believe that Priestly created the inspector as a ghost, the angel of the girl who committed suicide, showing the family who believe they are all innocent how the smallest actions create a chain reaction and lead events spiralling out of control. On the other hand, there are also people who believe that the Inspector is Sheila's son or grandson from the future, and whose main purpose is to warn the Birlings to realise their social responsibility or face the punishments of World War I which is set 2 years after the events of the play take place.
The 1954 British film version of the play starred Alastair Sim as the Inspector, with Arthur Young, Adam Kennedy, Etou Samuel, A. Staines., Olga Lindo and Bryan Forbes. It was adapted by Desmond Davis and directed by Guy Hamilton.