How does JB Priestly use dramatic devices to convey his concerns and ideas to the audience, as well as interest and involve them in his play? The play written by JB Priestly comes under several genres mystery, murder, detective, psychological thriller and whodunit. An Inspector Calls is also a morality play as it does teach the audience a lesson and has a meaning behind it. The play comes under a whodunit genre as we don’t know what made Eva Smith commit suicide, which makes the audience try and work who is to blame.
The play was made a whodunit genre to make the audience want to know how each member is responsible. This search for the suspect keeps the audience interested and guessing how each member is involved. The murder genre categorises An Inspector Calls as someone has died but on the other hand it isn’t of that genre as it was suicide. The play had characters being questioned by a person thought to be a police inspector which gives the play a detective perspective making the audience wonder how the inspector will outwit the family.
The play consists of 3 acts each ending on a cliffhanger such as the ending of Act 1 when Gerald admits cheating on Sheila and they without the presence of the inspector decide to keep it a secret from him and then the inspector walks in and says, “well? ” as if he knows what they have said which concerns the two (Sheila and Gerald) it’s also an example of the inspector’s didactic language. The play abides by the three unities, which are the unity of time, the unity of place and the unity of action.
Also there is a coupe de theatre, which breaks the three unities. This shocks the audience and makes them intrigued in what the coupe de theatre brings to the story of the play. JB Priestly was a socialist who believed that everyone was responsible for one and another. He conveys his political views through the inspector “We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. ” This is an example of Priestley’s socialist views being conveyed to the audience. Priestley wanted people to see sense in his beliefs and see that they are appropriate.
He does this by making his play have a problem, which is solved by his beliefs. This is shown as the Birling and Croft family were putting the blame on each other, as they are thinking of themselves separating them and making the situation worse, it makes you see that if people work together they could get through this. JB Priestley uses dramatic irony to make Mr. Birling look as though he has no idea of the world. The play was set in 1912 and was performed in 1945, meaning Priestley could employ the dramatic device, dramatic irony.
Birling claims the Titanic is “unsinkable” but the audience knows that the Titanic sank. He also says that “war is impossible” which the audience obviously know it isn’t. This makes the audience become nervous, as they get concerned for the Birling’s nai?? ve existence. The presence of the deadly sins within the characters make the audience nervous too as in a morality play, which the audience think it is, people who have deadly sins get punished at the end, making the audience nervous for how the family will get punished.
The deadly sins also make the audience know that being like that is not the way to be therefore learning a lesson. The deadly sins present in Mr. Birling is greed as he wants his business to succeed and Birling also shows pride as he thinks he has power for instance when he threatens the inspector about knowing “Chief Constable Colonel Roberts. ” Sheila shows vanity as she gets annoyed with Eva Smith for being better looking than her. Eric shows gluttony as he gets drunk most of the time which lead him to making Eva Smith pregnant.
Eric also shows sloth as Eric doesn’t work he also lusts for Eva Smith. Mrs Birling shows vanity as she feels insulted that Eva Smith gives her identity as Mrs Birling. Wrath is present in Mrs Birling as she gets annoyed with the rude interrogation of the inspector. Gerald shows lust as he makes Eva Smith his mistress during the previous summer leaving out Sheila who he is to get married to. The timing of the Inspector’s arrival is important as he arrives interrupting a strong anti-socialist speech from Mr Birling, “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.
