J.B. Priestley also became amazed by theories about time such as Ouspensky’s theory and Dunne’s theory (Source: York notes). Priestley’s idea of socialism comes from his father who kept a circle of socialist friends. This was a scene which Priestley soon found himself involved in, which he used in his later works such as An Inspector Calls.
The Inspector is man in his fifties as said in the following description which is stated in the text; “The inspector need not be a big man but creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. He is a man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit. He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking." This shows the type of effect he has on each character he interrogates. This is because of his impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. He has come to the Birlings residence for a reason and he uses his massiveness and solidity to draw out answers from the Birlings though he already knows the answers.
The Inspector’s name may also suggest his role in the play. The name “Goole” is the name of a town at the mouth of the River Humber (Source: York notes). This implies the Inspector is going to fish for information and swim through the lives that the Birlings and Mr. Croft leads. The name is also echoes the word Ghoul. A Ghoul is a spirit which as a rampant interest in death and is a spirit which takes life from dead people; this could show that the Inspector only exists due to Eva Smith’s death.
The Inspector also works methodically – he only deals with “One line of inquiry at a time”. His method when interrogating is to show the person concerned a piece of evidence and then to make them talk about it. Moreover, he is a figure of authority, and he is undeterred when Mr. Birling talked of his friends in high places and his own high authority place in society. Every time he deals with a family member, he talks very powerfully and he cuts in when he feels something unnecessary is being said. He particularly does this to Arthur Birling as Birling thinks that a policeman will listen to what a man of his social standing will have to say.
The Inspector is not a believable policeman. The characters in the play sense it as Mr. Birling keeps on getting interrupted in his speeches. He has an omniscient manner; he already knows what each character has to say. He seems powerful and mysterious. He is less concerned with what is legal but more concerned about what it the right thing to do. His harsh attitude and lack of acknowledgement of social standings make him and unbelievable inspector. In addition he shows that he will stop at nothing for truth and justice.
The language used by the Inspector in his quest for justice is not expected of a policeman. He speaks weightily and carefully and he mostly gives instructions or asks questions – this shows that he is in control of events. The tone he uses is authoritative and intimidating but the words he uses are expected of an inspector. He can make tense moments occur with very few words. In his longer sentences there is a broken up style; “At last she found another job – under what name I don’t know – in a big shop, and had to leave there because you were annoyed with yourself and passed your annoyance on to her”. In the sentence above it links from one point to another showing (which reinforces Priestley’s idea) that we are all interlinked in society. The inspector’s final speech uses a totally different category of language; it sounds like a strong moral – even biblical speech; if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”. This sounds nothing like a policeman’s conclusion to an investigation.
The structure in the play is well made; the action occurs smoothly in the plot. The acts end on climatic points and try to make the audience guess what will happen next. The acts are divided in a way to allow lapses of dramatic time. This type of structure shows the influence of writers of the period such as Agatha Christie. The play is a mix of the typical Agatha Christie whodunit along with a medieval morality play.
The use of An Inspector Calls as a kind of medieval morality play represents that Priestley was trying to get point across to the audience. The inspector shows the voice of Priestley and his belief in socialism. This is shown in the Inspector’s final speech, where he states that we must change our ways from the capitalist method where the working class are exploited and we must work together as one body which in turn reinforces Priestley’s political message.
Actual Essay Word Count = 1,075.