An Inspector Calls - Stage Directions

Question 1

Act 1, Opening Stage Directions:

What quotations show the audience tht the Birlings belong to a wealthy family?

Answer 1

‘Large suburban house’
‘Belong to a prosperous manufacturer’
‘Solid furniture’
‘Are in an evening dress’

Question 2

Act 1, Opening Stage Directions:

What might lavish displays of wealth have on the audience in 1945?

Answer 2

People that were directly affected from the end of the war may have been happy for the birlings for having access to good resources and good money whereas others may be annoyed or jealous

Question 3

Act 1, Opening Stage Directions:

What might ‘heavily comfortable’ suggest?

Answer 3

Suggests that the items are too much, overbearing, pressuring and forcing comfort in the home where there is no real comfort

Question 4

“Pink and intimate… then brighter and harder”

Answer 4

Opening**
The lighting shift mirrors the Inspector’s arrival. From comfort to interrogation

Question 5

“He creates at once an impression of massiveness”

Answer 5

Inspector**
His authority transcends class. “Massiveness” is abstract – moral or spiritual weight.