“The Germans don’t want war!” and “[Russia] will always be behindhand”.
We know that these statements are incorrect because of the war between Germany and England and Stalin’s influence on Russia. However, Mr. Birling seems oblivious to the warning signs of such serious matters. Or he just decides to blank out all the bad aspects of life, which do not concern him directly. When the Inspector arrives, Mr. Birling tries to use his influence as a highly placed local to put down the Inspector. This attempt is immediately dismissed as the Inspector does not seem to be interested in Mr. Birling’s influence. To try to show his importance Mr. Birling remarks that he was
“An alderman for years- lord mayor two years ago…is still on the bench”.
However, the Inspector does not take any notice of this and continues with the investigation.
An Inspector calls meets the criteria of extent with all the entrances in the first act. The background is set mildly with a sentence at the beginning telling the reader exactly what the room looks like. The theory
And the ideas of the play are portrayed by the writer through the inspector and the guilty causes of the family.
At the end of act 1, the inspector leaves Sheila and Gerald in the room together. While he is gone they discuss some things to do with Gerald’s affair. The inspector knows that they are going to talk through what has happened and that is exactly what he wants. At the end of the scene it seems as if you are there with Gerald and Sheila, you can sense that there is going to be an argument. After they have finished talking the door opens slowly and shows the inspector standing there saying “well?” This is exactly what he wanted to happen. The inspector’s exits and entrances are done to perfection. When it comes near to the end of the play you can tell that the inspector is running out of time. He hurries everyone along and when it comes to him going he just walks straight out of the door.
The dénouement of an inspector calls is both logical and plausible because it keeps the reader in suspense at the end, because we don’t know whether the family is going to get the blame or not. This is all Mr. Birling cares about. Whether his reputation is ruined or not!
Sheila Birling learns a lot during the play and undergoes, in a short time space, a change that usually only happens over a very long period of time. This is caused by what she has to go through during the play. First, she finds out that she was involved in Eva’s suicide. This makes her think about the sort of person she is and this starts the change of attitude inside her. Then, she finds out that Gerald had been having an affair with Eva/Daisy, this makes her think about the sort of people she lives with and loves. She becomes more mature as the play progresses. This is symbolic of her moving from an enclosed life into the real world and her being enlightened by the truth of her part in Eva’s death. When the Inspector leaves, Sheila takes over his role and tries to teach her family that they should care for other people of all classes. At the end of the play, she has higher moral standards and has learnt to show compassion for every human being no matter what they look like, their social status or how much money they have. She is no longer a dependent girl and it is obvious that the Inspector is successful in making her see the consequences of her actions.
Mrs. Birling is more hard-hearted than her husband. She is fully aware of her social status, and uses this to gain whatever she wants. She shows little consideration for her subordinates, and this is accented in her position on the charity organization.
She has the seat on the charity council, not because she wants to help the poor, but because she wants to feel more superior to the lower classes. Her use of influence is shown in the line
“I used my influence to have [Eva’s case] refused.”
She tries desperately to put the Inspector in his place, but as with Mr Birling, he ignores her irony. She seems to feel that she has the authority to remove the Inspector from her house whenever he decides to say something with which she disagrees. . Mrs. Birling seems to know little about her family and their habits. This is displayed at the end of Act Two, when she finds out that the child Eva was carrying was Eric’s. This shows that she may not show much interest in her children’s lives, as she prefers to concentrate more with her own. She endures many shocks, and she learns more about her family than she ever thought she would know, especially about Eric and his drinking habits. This is because she is self-centered. At the end of the play she shares her husband and Gerald’s jubilation that the Inspector was a hoax. She learnt nothing from the experience, and would probably make the same mistake again, making her seem very ignorant.
Mistaken identity is one of the major story lines through out the play. Certain people through the family might know the woman who committed suicide as different names. These names are Daisy Renton or Eva Smith.
“Now she had to try something else.
So she changed her name to Daisy Renton”
Everyone thought her name was Eva Smith but she changed it to Daisy Renton. So everyone who knew her as Daisy Renton was lied to. They were mistaken. So this young woman was 2 people with 2 lives, each different. So some people in the family knew her as Daisy Renton and some as Eva Smith. When it was let out that they all knew this one girl but as a different name, they found out that they all had something to do with her life and her committing suicide.
At the end of the play they find out that there is another mistaken identity. This time it is the inspector although he is not an inspector.
“That man wasn’t a police officer
What? (Astounded)”
They only find out towards the end of the play that the man that was interrogating them wasn’t an inspector after all. They have been fooled, but if this man is not an inspector, then who is he. How does he know all of the stuff that they had done. They don’t have a clue.
When the inspector first introduces him self as Inspector Goole it makes the reader stop and think. The name Goole suggests a ghostly figure.
J. B. Priestley is using the inspector as his mouthpiece. Everything that Priestly wants to put across he uses the inspector to do so. The moral of the story is all of our actions affect each other and that we should learn to respect those around us.
