“He creates an impression of massiveness, solidity purposefulness.”
The inspector causes a great amount of tension between the older and younger generations of the family. He has a big impact on Sheila and she felt the most guilt and remorse for what she had done to the young innocent girl. Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Birling, with which the inspector has a much harder time of convincing them of their own guilt. The inspector states:
‘We’re always more impressionable on the younger ones’.
The inspector’s name could be, in many people’s opinions, a pun, Inspector Goole (Ghoul). A ghoul is a spirit, the supernatural – out of this world. He is very simple in his way of investigation
“One person and one line of inquiry at a time
That is the way I like to work”.
The inspector’s appearance is that of a tall man in his fifties who’s main power comes from his voice. I think the inspector is a psychic or supernatural being because of the way he seems to know when someone is hiding something and can seemingly sense what is going on.
There is a slight difference in the book and the film of ‘An Inspector Calls’ because in the book the inspector leaves the house of the Birlings but in the film he is waiting in Mr. Birlings study and when Mr. Birling returns the inspector had disappeared suggesting he is some sort of ghost (ghoul).
I think the inspector is the dead spirit of Eva Smith’s Father, this is In my opinion because he has a picture of her dead body when she isn’t even dead and gets angry with the Birling’s as though he knew the girl personally. He shows the characteristics of a lower class citizen that looks down on the attitude of the upper class citizens in Britain in the early 1900’s. When he enters the Birling’s house he is not warmly welcomed in and Mr. Birling was especially impatient with the Inspector for interrupting the family celebration of Sheila’s engagement to Gerald which I think Mr. Birling found beneficial to himself, as Gerald’s father owned a large rival business that would result as a partnership if his daughter married Gerald, expanding his own industrial empire. This is highlighted by the Inspector upon hearing of the engagement:
“What would be the effects of a merger between your company and that of Lord Croft?”
This again show us the character of Mr. Birling as someone who is money hungry and cares very little about feelings and emotions, and even his own family, it is the Inspector who has been sent to make the Birling family realize how selfish they are, and see the error of their ways.
Finally I would like touch on the fact that the family and Gerald were all in one way or another connected with Eva Smith’s Death but all, apart from Sheila, deny that they were to blame for it, the Inspector asks them all if they are in any way responsible for Eva’s death. In the end I think the Inspector did what he what he intended to do and that was make the Birlings and Gerald feel the most guilt possible for what they contributed to however small they were involved.
