Discuss the role of the inspector in an An Inspector Calls.

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Alex Welham 10T

Discuss the role of the inspector in an An Inspector Calls

All three acts, which are continuous, take place in the dinning room of the Birlings’ house in Brumley, an industrial city in the North Midlands.

Mr Birling his wife Mrs Birling and his son Eric are celebrating the engagement of his daughter Sheila and Gerald Croft. An Inspector calls round to question the family on the death a girl called Eva Smith who committed suicide by drinking strong disinfectant because she was very depressed.

The author J.B.Priestley was born on September 13, 1894 Bradford, West Yorkshire and died August 14, 1984 Stratford-Upon-Avon. Priestly was educated at Cambridge University, and by the age of 30 had established a reputation as a humorous writer and critic. His first major success came with a novel, The Good Companions (1929), he became better known as a dramatist. Without doubt, his best known play is An Inspector Calls (1946).

He fought in WW2 and this experience had a lasting effect on him. The play is set in 1912, only 2 years before the outbreak of WW1, and in the inspectors’ final speech he seems to hint at the trouble to follow. “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”  

The play deals with the issues raised by an elite society, represented by the Birlings, possession of most of the wealth and power in the country and at the expense of the majority of the poor people, represented by Eva Smith.

I think that Priestley had quite strong socialist views which seem to emerge in the voice of the inspector. At the time, the top 3% of the country “the upper class”, possessed 98% of the wealth; class is at the forefront of society and socialism a distant dream shared by few. Priestley is one of these few and this shows through in his work. No more so when he uses the inspector to symbolise his feelings towards society. “We don’t live alone.... members of one body.... responsible for each other.

This is one of the major principles of socialism. Everyone is equal. You can see that the inspector is a passionate socialist by the way the inspectors line of enquiry alters, it turns to a more personal line as though he believes entirely in what he is saying. “You helped but you didn’t start it (rather savagely) to Birling.” The Birling elders respect the inspector, this is strange for the time as the inspector is from a lower class, but here he is controlling Birling, but in their respect for him they are intrigued with him. The following phrases “peculiar”, “suspicious”, “rude” and even “assertive” illustrate their views towards him. Even so they let the inspector trample all over them like weak grass-weak and feeble.

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Even the “arrogant” Birling recognises this after the “interrogation”.

He even acknowledges that the inspector has socialist tendencies “prejudice…. socialist…. you let him bluff.” Birling is being hypocritical. In this very sentence Birling is being narrow minded, the way he dislikes the inspector due to his socialist beliefs.

Priestley chooses to set his play in 1912, before the Titanic sank and before both of the world wars. He creates dramatic irony through many of Birlings speeches. Birling say’s “why a friend of mine went over this new liner last week - The Titanic – she sails next week – forty six ...

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