Police Inspector Essay Example For Students

Police Inspector Essay J. B Priestley gives us a lot of clues in the play An Inspector Calls which makes us feel that things are not quite as they seem. In the play we see that there is a lot of tension in the Birling household, and there are a lot of secrets kept amongst them. In the play at the engagement party we find out that there are a lot of arguments going on between the men and the women. Also we find out that Gerald had been avoiding Sheila all last summer and Sheila feels that she should know what had happened last summer. Yes-except for all last summer, when you never came near me, and I wondered what had happened to you. We also find out that Sheila needed a ring from Gerald for reassurance. Next we find out that Eric was hiding something because he says in mid sentence Oh yes, I remember but then he pauses and doesnt tell anyone about it. This suggests to us that he was hiding something from the beginning. Paragraph 2 In the play An Inspector Calls J. B Priestley uses cliffhangers to attract the attention of the audience. Near the end of act 1 we see that Gerald and Sheila are having a conversation, Sheila is saying to Gerald How did you come to know this girl- Eva Smith? Gerald tells her that he does not know an Eva Smith, he only knows a Daisy Renton. Gerald asks Sheila not to tell the Inspector about Daisy Renton Yes we can keep it from him. From this we feel some suspense because we are finding out how Gerald came to know Daisy Renton but then the act ends with the Inspector saying well? So this makes you want to read more. Then we see at the end of act 2 when Mrs. Birling is talking to the inspector and she finds out that Eric Is addicted to drinking. Eric enters looking very pale and distressed and then the act ends. In act 3 we find out that the Inspector wasnt real so this makes us wonder who the Inspector really was which makes it a mystery. The play ends and it makes us still feel suspense because it doesnt end like a normal play, but in a way I think the ending is quite good because if it was to end in another way I dont think it would have been quite as appropriate to the play. Paragraph 3 J. B Priestley shows us in the play how the Inspector reveals the part the characters had played in the killing of Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton. In the play we find out that the whole family including Gerald played a part in the killing of Eva/Daisy. Mr. Birling we find out had sacked Eva Smith just because she was asking for a pay rise. She needed the money, she had a valid reason but still Mr. Birling had turned her away. Then we find out that Eva has a job at Milwards, she was happily living her life, starting over afresh until we find out later that Sheila had got her sacked. Sheila had thought that Eva was laughing at her when she was trying on clothes. Next we find out that Gerald meets her at the Palace bar, she was looking very sad and didnt look like she belonged there. She looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there. Gerald tried to help her by giving her somewhere to live, in his friends apartment. But both of them knew that this wasnt going to last forever, so in the end he left her as well. Also you have Eric who meets her at the Palace bar; he gets her drunk and has an affair with her. In a way he tries to help her by giving her stolen money, but she realized that she couldnt live like this so she refused the money. She then turned to Mrs. Birling for help, she had no where to live and she didnt have a lot of money but still Mrs. Birling refused to help her. She was convinced that a girl in her position shouldnt have been refusing money and was prejudiced against her case from the start. Paragraph 4 J. B Priestley reveals to us in the play the true nature of the characters as the play progresses. Mr. Birling in the play thinks very highly of himself, he is arrogant and very stubborn as he says in the play. We hard headed practical businessmen must say something sometime. This suggests that he is mainly talking about himself and shows that he doesnt care about anyone else. Mrs. Birling doesnt take any responsibilities shes not really aware about whats going on around her. How does Baz Luhrmann build upon this in his 2001 film of the same name? EssayThis is dramatic irony because what he was talking about happened in the form of the two world wars. Paragraph 7 J. B Priestley reveals to us in the play that there could have been more than one girl. In the play we find out that a girl called Eva smith dies from swallowing disinfectant. Also we find out that the Birling family and Gerald had something to do with it. What we dont know is if it was one girl or many. There could have been more than one girl because unless it was a coincidence, the girl couldnt have been involved with the whole of the Birling family. In act 1 we find out that Gerald did not know an Eva Smith he only knew a Daisy Renton. From that point on in the play the only people that knew a Daisy Renton were Gerald, Eric and Mrs. Birling, and the only people that knew an Eva smith were Mr. Birling and Sheila. So there could have been more than one girl, maybe Eva Smith didnt change her name to Daisy Renton; maybe they were entirely two different people. Also when the Inspector was showing the photographs to Mr. Birling and Sheila, there was no proof that it was the same photograph because the photograph that was shown to Mr. Birling, wasnt shown to Sheila and the photograph that was shown to Sheila, wasnt shown to Mr. Birling. So there was no proof that it was the same photograph and no proof that it was the same girl. But at the end of the day it doesnt matter if it was one girl or many because what the Birling family and Gerald did to the girl, was totally wrong as Eric says And I say the girls dead and we all helped to kill her-and thats what matters Paragraph 8 In the play J. B Priestley leaves us puzzled about the identity of the Inspector. In act 3 we find out that there was no Inspector called Inspector Goole. This makes us think that after all the questions he asked the Birling family and Gerald, how much information has he really taken with him. Also it makes us wonder how he knew all this information if he wasnt a real police inspector. How he knew all this information about this girl Eva Smith and how they were linked to her Theres no Inspector Goole on the police. That man definitely wasnt a police Inspector at all. As Gerald says- weve been had This leaves the play ending as a mystery but just as the Birlings begin to go back to their old ways, the phone rings and there is another Inspector on the way. This leaves us even more puzzled because what happened in the play was going to happen again. But overall I think the Inspector was just their conscience warning them that if they were to go back to their old ways then, they would have to be punished again. Conclusion I think overall throughout An Inspector Calls J. B Priestley keeps us interested by using a variety of techniques. In the play we see that he uses Dramatic irony in acts 1, 23. Also he uses cliffhangers to end each act which makes us want to find out what is going to happen next. He also reveals to us how there is a lot of conflict going on between the members of the Birling family. This is good because he leaves clues at the beginning of the play which develops the plot and makes us interested. It also makes us know more than we already do. Another thing Is that he reveals to us what role each of the characters played in Eva/Daisys life. Using all these techniques he uses suspense in the play to make us interested and read more.