There is considerable dramatic irony in Gerald’s wish that the inspector be fobbed off the audience is aware that there is no chance of this happening and that there will be a showdown with Gerald the tension at the end of the act is thereby rachetted up we know Gerald will reveal all. Sheila concludes with the triumphant and emotional repetition of ‘You’ll see’ this emphasises the sense of inevitability and the audience begins to view the inspector as a champion of the oppressed. Tension mounts at the end of Act 1, with Sheila’s awareness that ‘We haven’t got much time.’ And further pressure is put on Gerald through her persistent questioning.

He later ineffectively tries to ‘leave it at that’ but Sheila is determined to discover the truth and won’t be put off by being called ‘darling’ or by weedling charming smile. She starts immediately with an uncompromsing ‘Well, Gerald?’ Gerald denies involvement, as other characters have previously, but the audience knows he is involved because his ‘What!’ response to Daisy’s name is wholly involuntary. This lack of dialogue raises audience anticiption but instead of the inspector pressing home his advantage he leaves – but not before looking ‘from Sheila to Gerald’ signifying that he expects Sheila to dig out some of the truth whilst he is out. The stage business of going to the whisky decanter dramatically delays the dialogue as well as indicating the degree to which he is unsettled.

Specially notable is his ‘startled’ stage direction being contrasted with the Inspector’s steely ‘steadily’. Gerald is shocked by the name ‘Daisy Renton’. His ‘steady’ response and ‘stern’ tone confirms his authority and control. He is relentless, revisiting Birling’s ruthlessness and Sheila’s pettiness to ensure Sheila realises that they are responsible for her destruction. The inspector’s references to Eva are brutally realistic: he states ‘She’s dead’ and re-uses the word in his phrase ‘that dead girl’ after Sheila’s self-pitying, shallow question ‘why had this have to happen?’ the finality of Eva s death is further emphasised by the inspector not using her name.

What does this section reveal about the characters and what is dramatically effective? SOME RELEVANT OBSERVATIONS Extract Question: Reread from: ‘Inspector: (harshly) Yes but you can’t.

An inspector calls heinemann