A girl of two names Eva Smith/Daisy Renton had died in the “Infirmary” and each person from the household; convicted of being an increasing for the reason for her suicide. The inspector had Eva’s diary, a letter and photograph from which he created an impression of someone, who no one saw except from the photograph. This makes him mysterious and powerful. When the inspector leaves, they also reveal that the whole inspection was a hoax, simply a malicious trick. Mr and Mrs.Birling just laugh, from relief saying, “Nonsense, you’ll laugh over it!” They do not accept any responsibility for their actions and learn absolutely nothing from their experience. Yet, Sheila and Eric do. J.B.Priestly’s main theme of the play is an exploration of the effects of guilt. Clearly the characters fall into two groups: those who are too hardened to accept any responsibility for Eva’s death and attempt to restore things to “normal” and those who feel shame and have begun to “learn something” from what they have done. Sheila passionately exclaims that they’re pretending everything just as it was before”. Birling thinks they’ve all be “had that’s all” but Shelia and Eric change completely from immature to respecting, understanding adults who are prepared to take entire responsibility. All Mr.Birling cares about is his reputation and social well being he hopes and preys that the situation will not turn into a “public scandal”. He begs the inspector for mercy “ I’d give thousands-yes, thousands” and receives an angry reply “you’re offering the money at the wrong time”. It is ironic that Birling refuses a few shilling to his workers but is willing to pay “thousands” to salvage his “precious” reputation.
The inspector moves the play along by forcing everyone to speak by rushing them and due to this, they become nervous and accidentally reveal the truth. He does this by deliberately asking questions like e.g. “do you want me to tell you the truth- in plain words?” and “I think you did something terribly wrong”. He is there for a purpose and that is that is to make sure they understand that they are responsible for their actions. Although Sheila and Eric do, Gerald does but not until the end of the play: until he thinks “everything’s alright” and holds out the engagement ring thinking everything can return back to normal. Shelia feels that the inspector “certainly inspected us”; he inspected them of what they knew. He controls the action by taking charge of the investigation. He over powers Mr.Birling when Eric asks for a drink because Mr.Birling thinks it is inappropriate “no you can’t” while the inspector firmly protests, “yes he can!”, this rudeness fuels some suspicions about Goole it is abnormal behaviour.
Goole builds up tension in many ways: frequently asking questions, making them rapidly answer and confess, forcing them to admit and also cliff-hangers increase the tension. Priestly had obviously thought deeply about the play, because he added the cliffhangers at the end of each “act” even at the final chapter of the play. Eric and Sheila say and admit to everything so the inspector does not have to necessary have to do any work, even if he was to be a complete stranger he would have no struggle. He cleverly draws information from each character effortlessly and remains solid and intake when the family breaks down. He seems to know why they should feel guilty, for what purpose. In addition, his probing questions leave them to confess, one by one and in a certain order, building up suspense on the way because you want to know what he or she has to say and why he asks the family in such an order; who will speak when and who will leave when? Inspector Goole demands, “I think you should stay” but Eric wonders “why” he adds “we respectable citizens not criminals”. At the end of act one Sheila says that Gerald is “a fool” because the inspector “knows when you’re lying” there is no point of covering the truth. This leaves the audience in suspense and wondering what will happen next and more interesting to watch and see. At the beginning of act two Sheila explains angrily about how she “begged and begged” her mother (Mrs.Birling) to stop, because they find out that her son, Eric was the father of Eva’s child. Mrs.Birling does not even feel sympathetic bearing in mind she worked for a charity and refused to help Eva and her child.
There are certain facts known by the audience such as the First World War (1914-1918), Second World War (1939-1945) and the sinking of the Titanic. They would know these facts because the play was set in 1912 but not written until 1945. Therefore, the characters would not have known about these significant dates, this dramatic irony at the very beginning explains why Mr.Birling spoke about the Germans that “don’t want war” and want “responsibility”, but as we know already this was not the case. J.B.Priestley became fascinated by Ouspensky’s theory and about the nature of time. A book by Ouspensky called “A New Model of the Universe” suggested that when we die we re-enter our life, and this will continue until we improve in a spiritual way and make significant improvements. Until we do so we live identical lives and eventually escape from the repetitions into a new life in which we do not repeat the mistakes. Priestley consequently decided to revolve his play around the theme; therefore, the inspector would have used the theory as a motive in his speech. He does not forgive the family of what they have done even when they freely admit to their faults because he wants them to see that they only way to find such forgiveness is through future good behaviour. This emphasises the morality of the inspector because he is more concerned with what is right or wrong than illegal.
Comparable meanings are shared in a poem by John Dunne called Mediterranean 17. He once said “entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, part of the main. No man is an island”. Dunne was another time theorist who influenced Priestley. His theory was that you could look back, see what actions led to your present, and look into the future to see what the consequences were. In conclusion, this could, if you wished, persuade you to change your actions to avoid the consequences. Inspector calls is time theoretical play, and Priestley wanted to show the audience/readers that what happened could have changed. The inspector arrives in reality before the suicide and gives them a chance to change the future, to see their consequences have led. Only Sheila and Eric are prepared to face up to their past actions and improve them. He was hoping that the second time around the world might learn from past mistakes.
Personally, I feel the inspector was like an “angel” that had come to give them a chance, to warn them and to improve from what they had done. I think the inspector’s function was to show the family how their actions led to fatal consequences. He tried to make them realise it was their responsibility that they had to accept, and not to blame it on their siblings. The end of the play was the only period during the whole play that he was acting “out of role”; an inspector would not be able to do so. His speech was thoughtful and meaningful that it seemed as if it meant something special it him. He meant if from his heart, not just his head and seemed to be somewhat hurt. A professional inspector would not say something like that especially not a police inspector because it is their duty not to show their feelings because it is informal. Even though it was a hoax, it did not seem as if his speech was. Overall, the inspector put the moral meaning in the story clearly shown in his speech. Everyone has responsibilities, which they have to accept, because their actions lead to consequences and that is something you can never blame on somebody else. You can never have a second chance, as the Birling family did, in conclusion, you have to think before you take action. Everyone has an “angel” overlooking him or her, but the “angel” will not tell you what right or wrong, good or bad thing you have done, because that is the whole meaning of living, of life, to make decisions for yourself.
