Analysis of Elements of Plot in J.B.Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls'.
ABSTRACT
Di dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya melakukan analisis elemen-elemen plot
yang terdapat di dalam The Inspector Calls karya J. B. Priestley dan saya
menemukan lima suspense dan empat surprise. Suspense pertama adalah saat
Inspektur Goole menunjukkan foto wanita yang bunuh diri kepada keluarga
Birling. Suspense kedua saat Gerald Croft mendengar bahwa wanita yang bunuh
diri itu mempunyai dua nama. Suspense ketiga mengenai kehamilan Daisy
Renton. Suspense keempat mengenai seorang inspektur yang menelepon keluarga
Birling mengenai sebuah kasus bunuh diri. Suspense terakhir adalah saat di akhir
cerita pembaca mengetahui bahwa Goole bukan seorang inspektur.
Surprise pertama menunjukkan bahwa Sheila mengenal wanita yang bunuh diri.
Dalam surprise kedua, Gerald Croft mengakui bahwa dia pernah menjalin
hubungan dengan wanita yang bunuh diri. Surprise ketiga menunjukkan bawa
ayah dari anak Daisy Renton adalah Eric Birling. Susprise keempat menunjukkan
bahwa inspektur yang menelepon bukanlah teman kerja Inspektur Goole. Saya
menyimpulkan bahwa suspense, surprise and artistic unity yang terdapat dalam
drama ini saling memiliki keterkaitan yang erat.
v
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS OF PLOT IN AN
INSPECTOR CALLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of An Inspector Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Biography of J.B. Priestley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
iii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF AN INSPECTOR CALLS
This play, An Inspector Calls tells about the Birling family who is
celebrating Sheila Birling’s engagement to Gerald Croft, when Inspector Goole
suddenly calls, telling about a girl, (Eva Smith) who has committed suicide. This
play takes place in 1912, right before World War I in Brumley
The inspector interviews each of the Birling’s family members. What is
surprising for the reader is that after lots of questions, it turns out that all of them
are more or less responsible for the death of this girl. Mr. Birling knows the girl
because she was his formal employee, Sheila knows the girl because she fired her
from her company and Mrs. Birling knows the girl because she once asked for her
help, and both Gerald Croft and Eric Birling knows the girl under a different
name, Daisy Renton. What is more surprising for the reader is that Gerald Croft
had an affair with the suicide girl and Eric Birling is responsible for the suicide
girl’s pregnancy. Finally, at the end of the play, after the inspector leaves the
house, the Birlings find out that Goole is not an inspector.
18
BIOGRAPHY OF J.B. PRIESTLEY
John Boynton Priestley was born in 1894 in Bradford, an industrial city in
the North of England and died in 1984. He was an “all-round writer” which means
he wrote all different sorts of literature. His childhood was all in one a peaceful
time in a moderate socialistically atmosphere.
Mostly all of his stories were influenced by the 1st World War, where he
had been a front-soldier. He often describes the life of simple people by turning it
dramatically into an ethical and political position.
After this experience, he went to Cambridge studying history, politics and
literature. In 1929, he made a breakthrough with his novel, The Good
Companions. In An Inspectors Calls (written right after the 2nd World War 1945),
he shows his attitude towards human socialism. His work show typical criticism
towards all antisocial attitudes, such as greed and inconsiderate power struggle.
Source :
“ EN: Priestley – An Inspector Calls “
19
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
J.B. Priestley is best known as an ”all-round writer,” which means that he
wrote all different sorts of literature. He wrote a novel, The Good Companions in
1929. He also wrote a popular play, An Inspector Calls right after the World War
II in 1945. All of his stories were mostly influenced by World War I, where he
had been a front-soldier.
One of his plays, An Inspector Calls, is a detective story which really
catches my excitement. It uses simple language as well as having exciting plot.
This play tells about a detective who suddenly comes into the Birling‟s house and
accuses each of the family members for being responsible of murdering a girl.
Furthermore, the play An Inspector Calls makes me feel enthralled because the
ending is surprising. This is the interesting thing, which becomes the reason why
this play is chosen as both my reading and the source of my analysis. I am certain
that the main key why this play becomes interesting to read is on the ground of the
1
Maranatha Christian University
elements of plot in this play. These elements of plot (suspense, surprise and
artistic unity) make the readers always keep reading the play until the end.
Based on Perrine‟s theory, there are three laws of plot in which the play or
novel must fulfill to be a good play or novel. The first is suspense, which is “the
quality in a story that makes the reader ask, „What‟s going to happen next?‟ and
impels him to read on to find the answer to these questions” (Perrine 45). The
second is surprise, which is “proportional to the unexpectedness of what happens;
it becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from our expectation”
(Perrine 47). While it is said that the last element is artistic unity which, “… is
essential to a good plot; nothing irrelevant that does not contribute to the total
meaning; nothing that is there only for its own sake or its own excitement”
(Reuben).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
1. Which events act as suspense in the play?
2. Which events act as surprise in the play?
3. How do the suspense and surprise create artistic unity in the play?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To identify the events that act as suspense in the play.
2. To identify the events that act as surprise in the play.
3. To show how the suspense and surprise create artistic unity in the play.
2
Maranatha Christian University
METHOD OF RESEARCH
I use library research for my thesis, first by reading An Inspector Calls as
the primary text. Second, I also read as well as compile some data from the
Internet so as to support my analysis of suspense, surprise, and artistic unity of the
novel. Finally, I make some conclusion from my analysis.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This thesis consists of three chapters, preceded by Abstract, Table of
Content and Acknowledgments. The first chapter is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problems, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.
The second chapter is the Analysis of elements of plot in J.B. Priestley‟s An
Inspector Calls. The third chapter is the Conclusion, followed by Bibliography
and Appendices, which contain the Synopsis of the Play and the Biography of the
Author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After having analysed the elements of plot in An Inspector Calls, I can
conclude that J.B. Priestley is a great detective playright due to the fact that he
succeeds not only in producing a good story which makes the readers feel satisfied
after having read the play, but also in creating the elements of suspense, surprise,
and artistic unity so perfectly that these elements make the story become interesting
to read.
Most of the elements of suspense in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls are
full of mysteries so as to make the readers wonder as well as question about both the
connection of each character and the plot of the story itself. The readers may ask
what kind of connection of each Birling family has with the suicide girl and who
Goole really is. Not only does the suspense make the readers feel anxious about
what will happen next, but it also makes the readers feel that they are brought into
the story and experience the story as though they are the part of characters in the
story.
14
Maranatha Christian University
The second element, which is surprise, is so great that it makes the readers
feel shocked by some events due to the fact that they appear unexpectedly and
unpredictably in the story. Those events show very unusual and strange things so
that the readers will be surprised, for example when Goole interrogates each of the
Birling family members, it is revealed that each family member knows the suicide
girl.
Based on my analysis about suspense and surprise above, I believe that
suspense and surprise are linked together to make artistic unity so that the plot in the
story will be well-connected. J.B. Priestley puts suspense as well as surprise in the
right order and interestingly gives the readers interesting unexpected events in order
for the readers to enjoy the play and not to feel bored in reading until the end of the
story. In other words, the three elements in An Inspector Calls are related to one
another to make the story easily understood.
Generally, in a detective novel, suspense is the most important element
because the purpose of a detective novel is to make the readers feel the curiosity in
their minds and thoughts. Then, when the readers are trapped in the suspense, they
are turned into the unexpected results which make them feel surprised. On account
of that, the artistic unity appears as the result of the strong collaboration of suspense
and surprise in the story so as to make a good story. Obviously, the example can be
seen through the play, An Inspector Calls. At first, the readers do not know what
connection that the Birling family and the suicide girl is. The readers only know that
the Birling family is a rich and respectable family. When Inspector Goole
15
Maranatha Christian University
interrogates them, all the Birling family members know the suicide girl. The readers
wonder why the rich and respectable family as the Birling family has a connection
with the suicide girl and what their connection is. Then, the readers feel surprised
through the statement of Inspector Goole when he interrogates each of the Birling
family members.
Based on my analysis of suspense and surprise in the novel, I find that the
element of suspense in the play, An Inspector Calls, is better than the element of
surprise due to the fact that it makes the readers feel curious when reading the story.
However, the element of surprise in this play is also very thorough to support the
element of suspense that it makes the readers feel surprised after they know the facts
which they never expect before.
Based on the reasons above, I conclude that J.B. Priestley is successful in
uniting the elements of suspense, surprise and artistic unity into the plot of the
story so that it becomes relevant and exciting to read, for the simple reason that
the three elements of plot are well blended in the plot of the story. It is not
surprising that An Inspector Calls turns out to be one of J.B. Priestley most
famous detective plays.
16
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Priestley, J.B. An Inspector Calls. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1947.
References
Internet sources
Priestley. An Inspector Calls. 20 Mar. 2009.
Reuben, Paul P. "PAL: Appendix G: Elements of Fiction." 4 Feb. 2008. PAL:
Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. 28
Mar. 2009.
Wilson Mike.”Chemainus Theatre Festival The Season An Inspector Calls”.12
Nov. Vancouver. 13 Apr. 2009.
Books
Kenney, William. How to Analyse Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1966.
Perrine, Laurence. Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich Inc, 1974.
17
Maranatha Christian University
Di dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya melakukan analisis elemen-elemen plot
yang terdapat di dalam The Inspector Calls karya J. B. Priestley dan saya
menemukan lima suspense dan empat surprise. Suspense pertama adalah saat
Inspektur Goole menunjukkan foto wanita yang bunuh diri kepada keluarga
Birling. Suspense kedua saat Gerald Croft mendengar bahwa wanita yang bunuh
diri itu mempunyai dua nama. Suspense ketiga mengenai kehamilan Daisy
Renton. Suspense keempat mengenai seorang inspektur yang menelepon keluarga
Birling mengenai sebuah kasus bunuh diri. Suspense terakhir adalah saat di akhir
cerita pembaca mengetahui bahwa Goole bukan seorang inspektur.
Surprise pertama menunjukkan bahwa Sheila mengenal wanita yang bunuh diri.
Dalam surprise kedua, Gerald Croft mengakui bahwa dia pernah menjalin
hubungan dengan wanita yang bunuh diri. Surprise ketiga menunjukkan bawa
ayah dari anak Daisy Renton adalah Eric Birling. Susprise keempat menunjukkan
bahwa inspektur yang menelepon bukanlah teman kerja Inspektur Goole. Saya
menyimpulkan bahwa suspense, surprise and artistic unity yang terdapat dalam
drama ini saling memiliki keterkaitan yang erat.
v
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Method of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Organization of the Thesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTS OF PLOT IN AN
INSPECTOR CALLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
APPENDICES:
Synopsis of An Inspector Calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Biography of J.B. Priestley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
iii
Maranatha Christian University
APPENDICES
SYNOPSIS OF AN INSPECTOR CALLS
This play, An Inspector Calls tells about the Birling family who is
celebrating Sheila Birling’s engagement to Gerald Croft, when Inspector Goole
suddenly calls, telling about a girl, (Eva Smith) who has committed suicide. This
play takes place in 1912, right before World War I in Brumley
The inspector interviews each of the Birling’s family members. What is
surprising for the reader is that after lots of questions, it turns out that all of them
are more or less responsible for the death of this girl. Mr. Birling knows the girl
because she was his formal employee, Sheila knows the girl because she fired her
from her company and Mrs. Birling knows the girl because she once asked for her
help, and both Gerald Croft and Eric Birling knows the girl under a different
name, Daisy Renton. What is more surprising for the reader is that Gerald Croft
had an affair with the suicide girl and Eric Birling is responsible for the suicide
girl’s pregnancy. Finally, at the end of the play, after the inspector leaves the
house, the Birlings find out that Goole is not an inspector.
18
BIOGRAPHY OF J.B. PRIESTLEY
John Boynton Priestley was born in 1894 in Bradford, an industrial city in
the North of England and died in 1984. He was an “all-round writer” which means
he wrote all different sorts of literature. His childhood was all in one a peaceful
time in a moderate socialistically atmosphere.
Mostly all of his stories were influenced by the 1st World War, where he
had been a front-soldier. He often describes the life of simple people by turning it
dramatically into an ethical and political position.
After this experience, he went to Cambridge studying history, politics and
literature. In 1929, he made a breakthrough with his novel, The Good
Companions. In An Inspectors Calls (written right after the 2nd World War 1945),
he shows his attitude towards human socialism. His work show typical criticism
towards all antisocial attitudes, such as greed and inconsiderate power struggle.
Source :
“ EN: Priestley – An Inspector Calls “
19
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
J.B. Priestley is best known as an ”all-round writer,” which means that he
wrote all different sorts of literature. He wrote a novel, The Good Companions in
1929. He also wrote a popular play, An Inspector Calls right after the World War
II in 1945. All of his stories were mostly influenced by World War I, where he
had been a front-soldier.
One of his plays, An Inspector Calls, is a detective story which really
catches my excitement. It uses simple language as well as having exciting plot.
This play tells about a detective who suddenly comes into the Birling‟s house and
accuses each of the family members for being responsible of murdering a girl.
Furthermore, the play An Inspector Calls makes me feel enthralled because the
ending is surprising. This is the interesting thing, which becomes the reason why
this play is chosen as both my reading and the source of my analysis. I am certain
that the main key why this play becomes interesting to read is on the ground of the
1
Maranatha Christian University
elements of plot in this play. These elements of plot (suspense, surprise and
artistic unity) make the readers always keep reading the play until the end.
Based on Perrine‟s theory, there are three laws of plot in which the play or
novel must fulfill to be a good play or novel. The first is suspense, which is “the
quality in a story that makes the reader ask, „What‟s going to happen next?‟ and
impels him to read on to find the answer to these questions” (Perrine 45). The
second is surprise, which is “proportional to the unexpectedness of what happens;
it becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from our expectation”
(Perrine 47). While it is said that the last element is artistic unity which, “… is
essential to a good plot; nothing irrelevant that does not contribute to the total
meaning; nothing that is there only for its own sake or its own excitement”
(Reuben).
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
1. Which events act as suspense in the play?
2. Which events act as surprise in the play?
3. How do the suspense and surprise create artistic unity in the play?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To identify the events that act as suspense in the play.
2. To identify the events that act as surprise in the play.
3. To show how the suspense and surprise create artistic unity in the play.
2
Maranatha Christian University
METHOD OF RESEARCH
I use library research for my thesis, first by reading An Inspector Calls as
the primary text. Second, I also read as well as compile some data from the
Internet so as to support my analysis of suspense, surprise, and artistic unity of the
novel. Finally, I make some conclusion from my analysis.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
This thesis consists of three chapters, preceded by Abstract, Table of
Content and Acknowledgments. The first chapter is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problems, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.
The second chapter is the Analysis of elements of plot in J.B. Priestley‟s An
Inspector Calls. The third chapter is the Conclusion, followed by Bibliography
and Appendices, which contain the Synopsis of the Play and the Biography of the
Author.
3
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
After having analysed the elements of plot in An Inspector Calls, I can
conclude that J.B. Priestley is a great detective playright due to the fact that he
succeeds not only in producing a good story which makes the readers feel satisfied
after having read the play, but also in creating the elements of suspense, surprise,
and artistic unity so perfectly that these elements make the story become interesting
to read.
Most of the elements of suspense in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls are
full of mysteries so as to make the readers wonder as well as question about both the
connection of each character and the plot of the story itself. The readers may ask
what kind of connection of each Birling family has with the suicide girl and who
Goole really is. Not only does the suspense make the readers feel anxious about
what will happen next, but it also makes the readers feel that they are brought into
the story and experience the story as though they are the part of characters in the
story.
14
Maranatha Christian University
The second element, which is surprise, is so great that it makes the readers
feel shocked by some events due to the fact that they appear unexpectedly and
unpredictably in the story. Those events show very unusual and strange things so
that the readers will be surprised, for example when Goole interrogates each of the
Birling family members, it is revealed that each family member knows the suicide
girl.
Based on my analysis about suspense and surprise above, I believe that
suspense and surprise are linked together to make artistic unity so that the plot in the
story will be well-connected. J.B. Priestley puts suspense as well as surprise in the
right order and interestingly gives the readers interesting unexpected events in order
for the readers to enjoy the play and not to feel bored in reading until the end of the
story. In other words, the three elements in An Inspector Calls are related to one
another to make the story easily understood.
Generally, in a detective novel, suspense is the most important element
because the purpose of a detective novel is to make the readers feel the curiosity in
their minds and thoughts. Then, when the readers are trapped in the suspense, they
are turned into the unexpected results which make them feel surprised. On account
of that, the artistic unity appears as the result of the strong collaboration of suspense
and surprise in the story so as to make a good story. Obviously, the example can be
seen through the play, An Inspector Calls. At first, the readers do not know what
connection that the Birling family and the suicide girl is. The readers only know that
the Birling family is a rich and respectable family. When Inspector Goole
15
Maranatha Christian University
interrogates them, all the Birling family members know the suicide girl. The readers
wonder why the rich and respectable family as the Birling family has a connection
with the suicide girl and what their connection is. Then, the readers feel surprised
through the statement of Inspector Goole when he interrogates each of the Birling
family members.
Based on my analysis of suspense and surprise in the novel, I find that the
element of suspense in the play, An Inspector Calls, is better than the element of
surprise due to the fact that it makes the readers feel curious when reading the story.
However, the element of surprise in this play is also very thorough to support the
element of suspense that it makes the readers feel surprised after they know the facts
which they never expect before.
Based on the reasons above, I conclude that J.B. Priestley is successful in
uniting the elements of suspense, surprise and artistic unity into the plot of the
story so that it becomes relevant and exciting to read, for the simple reason that
the three elements of plot are well blended in the plot of the story. It is not
surprising that An Inspector Calls turns out to be one of J.B. Priestley most
famous detective plays.
16
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Text
Priestley, J.B. An Inspector Calls. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1947.
References
Internet sources
Priestley. An Inspector Calls. 20 Mar. 2009.
Reuben, Paul P. "PAL: Appendix G: Elements of Fiction." 4 Feb. 2008. PAL:
Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. 28
Mar. 2009.
Wilson Mike.”Chemainus Theatre Festival The Season An Inspector Calls”.12
Nov. Vancouver. 13 Apr. 2009.
Books
Kenney, William. How to Analyse Fiction. New York: Monarch Press, 1966.
Perrine, Laurence. Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich Inc, 1974.
17
Maranatha Christian University