Creating And Sustaining Dramatic Tension in An Inspector Calls Essay

Discuss the ways in which J.B Preistley creates and sustains dramatic tension in An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls was written by socialist author J.B Preistley in 1945; however, the play was actually set in 1912. This is because 1912 was a year in which there were many technological advancements being made and the middle classes were thriving. It was also crucial to the plot in many ways; Eva Smith was involved in the type of strike happening in Britain around the time. It also helps to create drama and adds humour to the play when Mr Birling says how there will never be a war; everyone has too much to lose. The audience know, because they are living after 1945 that a couple of years after Mr Birling says this, war does break out. This creates dramatic irony and makes Mr Birling look foolish which will entertain the audience.

An Inspector Calls is a didactic play; a play that tries to teach you something or put across a moral message. The message that J.B Preistley was trying to get across to the audience is the importance of community and how it is important not to just look after your own. However, because J.B Preistley was writing a play for the commercial theatre, he knew that people coming to watch it wouldn't simply want to be lectured about the importance of the community in which they lived. Preistley now faced the challenge of writing a play that would not only get his message across to the audience but would also entertain them. Preistley could not simply narrate his message to the audience, however, he needed a character that would do this for him. This was the purpose of the Inspector, for during his time at the Birling household, he wasn't trying to find the Birlings guilty of an actual crime but to make them feel responsible for the girls suicide. J.B Preistley used the Inspector as his mouthpiece because the Inspector had the same views as he did and this way Preistley created a dramatic character and found a way to teach the audience his moral message.

In the play An Inspector Calls, there are three main ways in which J.B Preistley creates and sustains tension: dramatic revelation, mystery, and the use of the telephone. During the course of this essay, I am going to explain how each of these factors creates and sustains dramatic tension. Dramatic revelation is where Preistley gradually reveals bits of information that are shocking for the characters and the audience alike. The first piece of information Preistley drops into the middle of everything is perhaps the most shocking; a girl has been taken to the infirmary for trying to commit suicide by swallowing disinfectant. The way that Mrs. Birling responds to this piece of information makes the audience immediately dislike her, because she says how do you expect us to understand girls of that class. Mr Birling merely finds the death of this girl an inconvenience; he talks about the wretched girls suicide.

J.B Preistley also uses an element of mystery to bring tension and suspense to his play. There is no doubt that the biggest mystery in the play revolves around the Inspector; firstly who he is and secondly, the way he behaves. At the start of the play, we have no reason to suspect anything about him because he acts quite conventionally. By the way he conducts his inquiry with Mr Birling gives us no reason to suspect him, but the first hint Preistley gives us about him not being a real Inspector, is towards the end of Mr Birling's inquiry when Mr Birling explains how he dismissed Eva Smith for wanting a rise, and the Inspector asks him why he did that; why he didn't give her a pay rise. Mr Birling dismisses the Inspectors question as impertinent but Sheila picks up on it. We can tell from the quote you know Inspector, I just dont understand about you. Sheila clearly suspects something about the Inspector but the Inspector just brushes her comment away. The most extraordinary thing the Inspector does which creates a dramatic effect and sustains tension, is his use of the photographs of Eva Smith. By making sure that only one person sees the photo at once, it increases the curiosity of both the other characters and the audience. At the end of the play, Gerald helps the audience to realise, logically why wouldn't all the photographs be different or of different girls. The Inspectors identity however, isnt important but in order to feel empathetic or have human feelings towards a character, we need to know a bit about the characters background or at least know something about them. Since we dont know anything about the Inspector we cant connect with him on an emotional level; this is probably what J.B Preistley wanted because it puts his moral message about the importance of community across in a more effective way. The final way J.B Preistley creates and sustains dramatic tension in the play An Inspector Calls is probably the most effective; the use of the telephone in Act 3. At this stage in the play, Gerald had left the house after the discussion of his affair with Daisy Renton. The Inspector, having established that all the people in the room that night had had some connection with the death of Eva Smith has now left. But not before delivering a stern warning about how they would all face certain ruin unless they all changed their attitudes. This leaves the family to pick up the pieces of their ruined evening.

During his time out of the house Gerald had tried to figure out if Inspector Goole was a real police inspector. This is where the telephone comes into the play for the first of 3 times in the play. In order to prove that there is no real police inspector, that he is an imposter, Gerald needs to ask the police department of Brumley. Mr Birling however is the first person to use the telephone, to phone Colonel Roberts.

If I were to direct the play, I would have the telephone at one end of the room, away from the main action. Preistley manages to create suspense in the inevitable delay of the person at the other end of the phone as Mr Birling relays the news to the others, the obvious pause helps to build the tension here as the characters and audience wait for Colonel Rogers reply. The tension is also created during the wait between Mr Birling asking Colonel Roberts if Inspector Goole is a real police inspector and delivering Colonel Roberts answer. Also we are trying to read Mr Birling's expression and reaction; until he tells us about the Colonels response, we can only guess. If I was directing the play, in order to get the most effect out of this moment of created suspense, I would have Mr Birling glancing nervously around at the other characters in the room, perhaps giving his wife Mrs Birling a look of reassurance or a small smile.

The second time the telephone is used, is to find out whether a girl really was admitted to the infirmary after attempting to commit suicide. Here we need to think about the practicality of creating suspense; obviously it needs to be more effective and create more tension the second time around in order to have an equally powerful dramatic effect. One of the key factors that makes the second telephone call more dramatic is that Sheila and Eric arent as bothered about who the Inspector is; they are more worried about what they have done, in their actions leading to the suicide of Eva Smith. Sheila and Eric however, do become more involved with the action after the second use of the telephone, as they are now both involved at a much more personal level i.e. Eva Smith would have been the mother of Erics child.

The second time the telephone is used for dramatic effect is when Gerald uses it to call the infirmary. This time the pause needs to be longer, but not too long or it will no longer be dramatic. Obviously, the second time the tension is going to be greater, because at the other end of the phone, they need to check if anyone had been admitted in the last few hours and it is a large hospital. In order to make the building tension more effective, J.B Preistley needs to show how tense each character is and in different ways. If I was directing the play, I may have Mrs Birling remaining seated at a chair at the dining room table perhaps fiddling with her wedding ring or touching her hair to show she is nervous. Eric, who could have been seated before, might stand up and walk over to stand nearer to Sheila. Meanwhile Mr Birling who, as he had been continually drinking throughout the evening, would probably still be holding a whisky glass. To show his nerves in this scene, I would just have him staring at his glass, concentrating.

When they finally get the news that there isnt a girl in the infirmary who committed suicide, there is a big difference in the way that Mr and Mrs Birling react to how Eric and Sheila react. This is important as, while Mr and Mrs Birling recover quicker and are likely to have a bigger response to the news, their children are more more relieved because the death the of Eva Smith could have affected them in a much more personal way. Sheila isnt overjoyed, more relieved like Eric, who would probably put a hand to his forehead. Mr and Mrs Birling would share the moment; waiting a second or two before embracing each other in relief.

When the telephone is used for the third time, Preistley has to avoid being repetitive and predictable. The first two times the telephone is used, Gerald and Mr Birling dialled numbers but the third time it is used, the phone rings. The first reaction of the characters and the audience is shock, which helps create tension and suspense, because people dont know who is calling; except we can guess that because the call is so late in the evening it must be important.

At this stage, Mr Birling is ridiculing his two children because they refuse to see the funny side of being conned by the false Inspector. The five of them are all involved in deep conversation when the phone rings and they all freeze in shock. Mr. Birling will be very hesitant and apprehensive to pick up the phone. This is another way Preistley creates tension and suspense, which he builds up by the look on Birling's face as he had to prepare the audience for bad news. The tension is sustained by the way Mr Birling says the last line about how there is a dead girl in the infirmary who committed suicide by swallowing disinfect, and a police inspector will be arriving shortly to ask them all some questions; the look of complete horror on his face as he stares into space, before the curtain comes down.

By ending the play like this, Preistley managed to maintain the suspense even after the play has ended. It leaves the audience confused and curious about the implications of what the telephone call means. I believe that the Inspector gave the family a snapshot of their disastrous future during this play, and after he had left they are given a period of time in which to decide whether they will change their attitudes and the way they treat people. Since the family, Mr and Mrs Birling at least, decide they wont change, the second chance that they had is taken away from them.

Now we have discovered that An Inspector Calls is a play about how, in the end, the Birling's face ruin, but then the Inspector gave them a chance and if they had learnt from their mistakes, the disastrous future that they had glimpsed would never happen. However, the Birling's were too greedy and selfish; they were given the chance to stop it happening but because they decided not to change their ways, they now faced certain ruin.