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AN INSPECTOR CALLS - DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS (Form (3 Unities (Time - action…
AN INSPECTOR CALLS - DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS
Opening
Doorbell rings as Birling says "
a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and -
" Inspector enters embodying Socialist ideal. - dramatic juxtaposition
Twist Ending
Phone rings - police saying girl just died. Changes mood from relief to horror.
Birling "
That was the police. A girl has just died"
Dramatic Irony
1912 - 2 years before 1st WW written for post WW2 audience - Birling
"I say there isn't a chance of war."
1912 - Birling describes Titanic -
"unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
Inspector - "
And I tell you that the time will soon come when, If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish.
" - just before WW1
Mrs Birling - calls father of Eva's child "
a drunken young idler"
before realises its Eric
Setting
Lighting
Change of atmosphere - "
pink & intimate"
until the Inspector arrives and then it should
"be brighter and harder."
Inspector "
moves nearer a light
" to show Sheila the photograph building tension.
One room - creates claustrophobic mood
Realistic setting, normal suburban home but author strips away normality when more is revealed about th behaviour towards Eva
Brumley - fictional north Midlands city - manufacturing city
Cliffhangers
Photograph shown to one person at a time keeping audience in
suspense.
Allows for twist at end when think it may have been several different girls.
Structure like a classic
whodunnit
with clues being dropped as it goes along until it transpires all the characters have contributed to Eva's death
Having Eric out of room while Sybil Birling is questioned allows tension to mount as it gradually becomes clear it is Eric who is father of baby
Background
Written in
1945
just after end of 2nd WW probably to warn people what could happen if community spirit not maintained
Set in
1912
- the Edwardian era, 2 years before outbreak of 1st WW
1912 Employers didn't take trade unions seriously
Eva's strike not led by trade union so little chance of success
No job security, unemployment pay or benefits.
Eric meets Eva at Palace bar & says
"she'd not had much to eat that day"
so hunger leading her to prostitution
Author's Viewpoint
J B Priestley from middle-class suburban family
Fought in 1st WW & badly injured - fought side by side with all kinds of men
Influenced by father's socialist views
Landslide victory of Labour Party in 1945 who established Welfare State, National Health Service & housing estates
JB using 1912 to remind people how it used to be & encourage the changes
Form
Often
revelation
about something or someone in which letters or documents are important
Backstory
- events have already happened before play begins
Strong
main plot
- events linked by cause & effect in Eva's story
Twist
at end of play leaves us asking what will happen next instead of conflict resolved & return to normality
3 Unities
Time - action takes place over short period in real time of play
Place - single location (dining room)
Action - one main plot
Whodunnit
/crime drama - investigation & clues uncovered creating suspense
Morality play
- characters represent ideas & symbols of particular social types - themes of equality & responsibility are moral
Structure
Mood changes when Inspector arrives
Build up of tension & climax at end of Act 1 (Gerald's affair) & Act 2 (Eric's involvement revealed)
Conventional 3 Acts
Act 3 - also build up of tension & climax of play reached when Inspector delivers final monologue
End - 2 twists - 1st
twist
as Gerald realises "
That man wasn't a police officer"
& then 2nd
twist
when hear Eva has just died & we are taken back to beginning of the play -
Inspector links chain of events