The way the inspector treats different people, seems to be decided on how courteous they are to him. However he never uses rudeness as an excuse to bring his point forward to the person he’s speaking too. I’ve noticed that throughout the play the Inspector manages to retain almost constant patience with the Birling family despite their ignorance and denial. The inspector has the ability to empathize with characters such as Sheila and Eric because he can recognize that they repent of what they have done and are beginning to realize social conduct. Sheila Birling is almost an accomplice for the Inspector; taking up criticism of other characters. Sheila sees no point in hiding the truth and she is not malicious as Gerald says but simply desires to get the reality of the situation and to have the knowledge that she isn't entirely to blame for Eva’s suicide. The inspector acknowledges that Sheila is willing to accept new ideas and concepts. The inspector describes this as being impressionable, and says, “we always have more of an impression on the young ones” She is affected by the Inspector's revelations about family and society and because of this the inspector rewards Sheila with his gratification. The inspector considers Sheila and Eric to be accomplishments so he treats them with respect.
The reactions of the audience are manipulated because new truths are revealed about the family of each character. So over the duration, the picture of the story is built, and is not given away straight away. The alibis of each character are not always in correlation so the audience feels the desire for an explanation of the circumstance. The play evokes thoughts in the audience when dramatic events are revealed like the manipulative antics of Gerald and Eric. The audience’s empathy and anger moves in sync with the Inspectors thoughts of the family, as both the inspector and the audience come into the realization of things at the same time. The inspector has the ability to convey the emotions of the audience through his words. This is further evidence that the inspector is supernatural.
A modern audience would react differently to how a 1940’s audience would react because the opinions upon what is considered lawful and sociably expectable would have evolved. A 1940’s audience would have had a larger array of opinions regarding social conduct compared to today’s society. As a generalization most wealthy people would not affiliate with the poor, and if they did it maybe only be for them to perform tasks of labor. This is because in the 40’s era most audiences would have contained more aristocratic wealthy business men as these people where more likely to visit the theatres than the poor. This maybe why priestly wrote the play so he could relay his viewpoint. However in a modern society most people now acknowledge social conduct and abide to treat most people courteously regardless of their stature.
At the beginning of the play events gather speed and moments of tension build as we are informed of Mr Birling and Sheila's involvement with Eva Smith. The Tension increase, firstly as Gerald's affair is unveiled, and Sheila begins to realise that they are all implicated in some way 'he is giving us rope - so that we’ll hang ourselves'. Tension then mounts to a higher extent when Mrs Birling's attempts to shift the blame for the girl's suicide leads her to blame the father of the unborn child. The dramatic entrance of Eric then heightens the tension at this point. As a far as dramatic tension is concerned this is the list of what occurs during the inspectors visit.
With the departure of the Inspector it would appear that what follows will be something of an anti-climax as the Inspector's identity is put into doubt by a series of observations made by the Birling family and Gerald. Even the existence of Eva is called into question. However, the tension remains to some extent as the two generations confirm the differences as suggested by the Inspector - the moral divide is very great indeed. The final denouement, the phone call announcing that a police inspector is on his way to ask some questions about a girl who has just died in the infirmary is as shocking as it is surprising and ensures that the audience will leave the auditorium in a state of real shock.
The Inspectors is the predominant feature of the play as he ensures that the story retains a constant air of tension. Priestly keeps a compact structure to the play as nothing is allowed to distract the audience from the central theme and there is no sub-plot The inspector utilizes questions that demand simple answers from the candidates. This is so he can piece the evidence together himself. He ensure that he is constantly in conversation with the family and doesn’t allow them to row amongst themselves unless he’s specific given them permission to talk, this way something new is revealed at quicker intervals and the story doesn’t become a prolonged string of family arguments. The inspector reveals all the controversy and establishes every truth this gives the impression that he is the driving force of the play and that he decides in which direction the story shall take.
Priestly makes the inspector interrogate each character separately so that he can detain each characters opinion without confusing the audience of thickening the plot too much. The separate enquires deliver the information to the audience in a more comprehendible form. The inspector prefers to here each alibi supposed to them al at once so he can siphon the key points to make further enquiries upon. He also considers that morals can be taught quicker if the situation is less busy.
Some characters are reluctant to participate with the inspector. A good example of this is Mrs. Birling, who is even more hard-faced and arrogant than her husband. She acclaims herself to be superior to her husband and notifies him on his inappropriate behavior at the dinner table when he complimented the chef. She is very snobbish and ignorant, and uses her social position to try and intimidate those with a lower position. She resents being contradicted, even when caught lying by the inspector. Despite Mrs. Birling not being an accomplishment to the inspector with regards to the lessons she’s learnt, he had extracted more information from her by questioning her individually.
