Priestley was a socialist meaning he strongly disagreed with the Capitalist structure that he believed promoted certain individuals above society. He strongly objected to greed above equality and middle class above working class. Therefore the Inspector is clearly used to represent Priestlies views on equality and fairness and Birling is used by Priestley to represent capitalism and those who think they are more important than society itself. Immediately it is clear to the reader that Birling is a very wealthy man when in the introduction it says,” The dining room of a fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous manufacturer”. This is done by Priestly to ensure the reader is immediately aware of Birlings status and authority within society.
Birling and the Inspector are very contrasting characters but similarities can be found such as the fact they both believe they are correct and are not easily persuaded to change their views on issues. However this leads to disagreements when Birling says,” Obviously I have nothing to do with the wretched girl’s suicide.” The Inspector is quick to reply, saying,” No sir I can’t agree with you there.”
Birling is used to represent capitalists who would never accept that they were wrong. Birling describes the girl as “wretched” implying that he never cared about her living or working conditions but only focused on the running of his business. He seemed to ignore the fact that without wretched workers like Eva Smith there would be no business and no big suburban house. This enforces my beliefs that Birling was narrow minded and full of ignorance and was not fully aware of events occurring around him. Birling talks of years of peace and prosperity ahead. Birling’s ignorance is confirmed when he claims,” The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war”. Yet at the time of Birling’s speech war seemed inevitable to most and less than two years after his speech the world witnessed the bloodiest war ever fought. Even more ironic Birling talks of hope for the future claiming the Titanic is unsinkable yet the unsinkable sank on its maiden voyage, it seems that Birling is not as aware of life around him as he would like people to believe. Birling believes life is all about looking after yourself and that you shouldn’t worry about others for that it is their own responsibility, He believes people should be left to solve any problems they encounter themselves without the help of others. Time and time again this self obsessed mentality is noticed. ”We employers at last are coming together to see that our interests.” Or when he says, ”we’re in for a time of steadily increasingly prosperity.”‘ Here he is talking about his fellow factory owners not the factory workers; he seems to forget about everybody else’s existence. He seems to be unaware or maybe he just is not concerned that his increasing prosperity will result in his workers decreasing prosperity. Birling once again reaffirms his desire not to show any concern for those in poverty when he says,” a man has to make his own way-has to look after….”
The Inspectors views starkly contrast with Birling’s. He is the complete opposite of Birling. He always thinks about others needs before his own and realises that everyone’s actions affect others, maybe indirectly or directly. The Inspector preaches they should love one another as much as they love themselves, this is true love. Birling however sees love or marriage as a convenient way of progressing up the social and economic ladder which becomes apparent when Birling is talking about the exciting prospect of Gerald croft marrying his daughter.” You’re just the kind of son- in- law I’ve always wanted. Your father…..” and he immediately talks about the benefits it will have on his potential knighthood and business. Birling is self centred and only agrees with something if it benefits himself. He does not seem interested that his daughter has found a man she dearly loves. Unlike most fathers he is not keen to get to know about the Man his daughter is marrying but instead he only seems interested in the family’s business and the Mans father who owns the business. This leads me to question whether love played any part in his relationship with his socially superior wife perhaps this is the cause of her cold heartedness. Maybe there is no love in the marriage but it just benefited both people socially and economically.
The Inspector Immediately changes the atmosphere of the household when he enters which can be known by the lighting which changes from soft and light to a hard dark more sombre colour. The word “Inspector” defines someone who looks very closely at things; this is his role in the play. Ironically the name “Goole” is the same as the seaport town of Goole notorious for its thriving fishing industry at the mouth of the River Humber suggesting that the Inspector is going to fish for information about the hidden lives of the characters. The name Goole also sounds like “ghoul” which may be linked to the Inspectors morbid interest in death, the Inspectors existence is primarily due to the death of Eva Smith after all. The Inspector uses his physic to impose an impression of solidity and massiveness to make things happen. His constant probing and questioning makes them confess in their own way without the Inspector their secrets would remain hidden. The characters then have the chance to decide whether they wish to change or not. It is very interesting to observe that only the younger generation seemed willing to change which is typified by Sheila who seems genuinely sorry about her involvement about the girls death she identifies the girl as a real person not just Cheap labour. Her selfishness is still present however when she realises she cannot go back to the shop again. Eric also one of the younger generation also accepts he made mistakes in the past and shows a willingness to change for the better. Like Sheila he is selfish as he has learnt little from his privileged education. He does however feel sympathy for Eva Smith as soon as he discovers how his own father sacked her. He is ashamed of his actions and shows he is capable of changing for the better. However it is questionable whether or not his stronger sense of guilt is only due to the fact that his consequences were so much worse than the others or because he genuinely feels sorry for the girl. The Inspector may have been able to change the younger generation’s views on past mistakes but he is unable to do the same with the older generation the audience realises this when Birling a business man who feels it is his responsibility to be successful in business and make biggest profit possible regardless of others. However his unwillingness to learn is revealed when it is revealed that the Inspector was a hoax and Birling immediately forgets about Eva Smith and just wishes to carry on with life as normal. Similarly Mrs Birling accepts responsibility as Chairwoman of Woman’s Charity Organisation but only sees a responsibility to help those she sees as deserving, confirming that the older generation, which ironically lived thorugh, both Wars have an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes.
The Inspector contrasts hugely with Birling. He is not ignorant but is aware of events happening around him, he sees life the way it is not the way he would like it to be as Birling does. Time and time again the Inspector conveys Priestley’s views of each individual’s right to equality. He states,” We don’t live alone we are members of one body.” Implying that the body represents life and we must all work together to ensure life is lived with enjoyment and fulfilment for the majority not the minority. He also confirms that,” we don’t live alone and that we are all responsible for each other,” however few people are prepared to fulfil their responsibility in life and he claimed that,” If men will not learn that then they will be taught it in fire blood and anguish.” Birling represents mankind because he did not learn from his mistakes. When he discovered the Inspector’s call was a hoax he simply wishes for things to return to the way they were before the Inspector arrived, Birling never believed there was anything to learn from past mistakes. However did men ever learn from their mistakes? It can be argued that they did suffer at the hands of fire and many men witnessed bloody scenes, which mentally scarred them for the rest of their lives, but this didn’t prevent the outbreak of World War 2.
