When the inspector first arrives he speaks carefully and very firm. He also has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he is addressing before speaking to them. The inspector also creates at once an impression and solidity by the way he is dressed in a plain darkish suit. He also shows no fear of Mr. Birling because he doesn’t care if he knows his boss. Not forgetting he also says that he’d “like some information about a woman who died two hours ago in an infirmary”. That’s how he grabs the attention of the family. When Mr Birling is speaking the inspector cuts through his speech quickly, that shows he is dominant and just wants him to answer the question. He is also in charged of the way he likes doing his work. “It’s the way I like to do work”, not forgetting “one person and one line of enquiry at a time”. Finally the inspectors character is cool, dominating, unafraid, sure of himself and doesn’t repeat himself.
The technique the inspector uses is kind of clever. He has a picture of Eva-smith and questions Mr Birling first. He shows Mr Birling the picture by him self, but the rest of the family wants to see the picture of Eva–smith as well, but he doesn’t show them. The reason why he doesn’t show them because, he wants to see if they recognise her by themselves and hear there version of their story and how they are connected to her. Towards Sheila, Eric and Gerald, the inspector is much gentler; He makes them tell their story, Also he lets the young people speak without interruptions, but condemns the action but not the person With Mrs Birling he is much harsher because, she is big-headed. He is a lot sharper; he is also giving her the justice she deserves. Mrs Birling is so big-headed that she doesn’t realise she was getting her son in trouble, because she wanted to get herself out of it. She blames the death of Eva-smith all on the baby father which is Eric. When she soon finds out what she has done she is shocked and embarrassed.
Inspector Goole leaves once he has questioned the whole Birling household. The first part of the final speech he made was like a politician. He’s taking charge masterfully. He keeps on repeating the word “remember”. By repeating the word remember he wants them to know that they were all responsible and had a part of guilt of Eva-Smiths death. He also says “You can’t even say I’m sorry”, because it’s to late for them to apologise. Then again in the second part of his final speech, he uses the word “remember” again. He speaks with a firm voice, a strong voice, and very dramatically. He uses words in groups of. three. “Millions and millions and millions….their lives, hopes and fears…” The inspector also tells the family, that if they don’t learn their lesson “they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish. Finally he slams the door shut. J.B priestly makes the inspector leave well before the end because; he wanted the Birling to reflect on what they have heard. Some of the family realise what they have done and feel bad.
The inspector had a huge effect on the young characters (Sheila & Eric). Eric & Sheila feel that everyone was responsible and feel guilty for what they’ve done. “The girl’s still dead, isn’t she? Nobody brought her to life, have they?” The older characters don’t feel guilty for what has happened. When Gerald comes back he tells them that he was doing some investigation on the inspector. He tells them that there was no one named inspector Goole on the force. The older characters think the inspector was making it all up; however Sheila & Eric don’t care if he was or wasn’t an inspector, because he brought the truth out of them and they, now know they have all helped Eva-Smith to commit suicide and, that made Sheila & Eric learn to change their ways. The inspector was trying to make a difference in the way they lived their lives, reflecting back on their behaviour, attitude to wards people and the way the way treated people. Mr & Mrs Birling first of all took this serious but now they find it as a joke. “ I’ll admit now he gave me a bit of a scare at the time”. Sheila feels the inspector was correct in his moral judgement. “ He was our inspector all right”. After the Birling family had their discussion about the inspector, the phone rings. Something strange and spooky happened while Mr Birling was talking on the phone; he tells the family that a young girl has died in the infirmary after swallowing some disinfectant.
The inspector called to show the Birling family that they have all participated in the reason why Eva-Smith committed suicide. The inspector used the Birling family as a n example to show people that they can learn from their mistakes, but if you don’t you will be punished over and over again. It wouldn’t matter if he was a real inspector or not, because he made them all admit they had a part connected to her death.; however if he was or wasn’t a real inspector he couldn’t press charges because none of them actually killed her. Inspector Goole was very successful in serving his purpose, because he made them all confess and, made the younger characters feel bad about them selves. I believe inspector Goole was very well used in the play, because he brought fear, suspension and tension all at the same time. I also believe the play was very successful in making the audience think about their own attitude, it shows that little signs of stress can add up and make a person very depressed.
