The Inspector is extremely confident when speaking. This conveys to the audience that he is more powerful than the other people in the house. Furthermore it makes him seem strange and suspicious to the audience. This is because he seems to know everything the family is going to say before they say it. Also, he does not really uncover the truth, he already knows it. He only uncovers it for the characters benefit. This makes him not like a real police inspector because they uncover the truth creating tension. The Inspector acts like a narrator in the play. He tells the story at his own pace. The Inspector links separate incidents into one coherent life story. He often supplies dates or fills in back ground. This adds to the tension because the audience does not know where and from whom the Inspector got the dates and the character background information.
He undermines that the characters complacent assumption that they are decent citizens. Each character finds this a devastating experience. The characters that resist telling the Inspector the truth suffer more than people who are open with him. For example the Inspector says to Gerald “…. if you’re easy with me, I’m easy with you”. He makes no judgement upon Gerald and also tries to stop Sheila from blaming herself too much. However he begins to loose patience with Mr Birling. For instance “Don’t stammer and yammer at me again, man. I’m losing patience with you people”
He is an enigmatic figure. We never learn his first name causing the audience to wonder who he really is. He neither changes nor develops, but frequently repeats, “I haven’t much time.” This creates tension because the audience do not know why he has so little time. Inspector Goole’s name is a pun on ‘ghoul’ a malevolent spirit or ghost. He could be seen as some kind of spirit, sent on behalf of the dead girl to torment the consciences of the characters in the play, or as a sort of policeman conducting an inquiry as a preliminary to the Day of Judgement, or even as a for warming of things to come. This adds to the tension because the audience does not know who the Inspector is. Priestly did not want to tell the audience who the Inspector really is. To reveal his identity as a hoaxer or some kind of ‘spirit’ would have spoilt the unresolved tension that is so effective at the end of the play. The Inspector behaves as the voice of social conscience. For example “ You see, we have to share something. If there’s nothing else, we’ll have to share our guilt.” He is a socialist meaning that he believes that everyone should share.
The character I am studying is called Eric and he is Mr Birling’s son. Eric is characterised as ‘half shy, half assertive’. At the beginning of the play he did not know what his parents were really like and at the end of the play he did not like their real personalities. He conveys the difference between young men and older men. This is shown when Eric does not catch onto the jokes Mr Birling and Gerald share. For example in Act one when the Inspector rings the doorbell, Gerald and Mr Birling shares a joke and Eric says, “ Here what do you mean?” and when he realises it was a joke he says “ Well, I don’t think it’s very funny.” This shows the difference in age between the three and also makes Eric seem very young like he’s being treated like a young child. When Eric says “ Here, what….” he does not share the joke again between Mr Birling and Gerald. He attracts attention, and then suspicion, by his evident alarm at the news of the Inspectors visit. This makes the audience think that Eric could be hiding something. Eric arouses curiosity with his sudden guffaw in Act one. This may mean that Eric knows something about Gerald that the others do not because Sheila has just been scolding Gerald for not seeing her over the summer because of his work.
At the beginning of the play Eric is extremely laddish. This is because he makes immature comments. For example when he guffaws. He is also very unaware of current situations. For example he never gets the jokes being told. He also does not see how bad it was to get Daisy Renton pregnant. He thinks of her as just another women. He does not care about her and he looks down on her thinking that he is more important. This shows that he does not understand what he is doing and how his actions are affecting other people. Eric is the immature child of the Birlings family. He is in the youth generation so he goes out at night and drinks a lot which can cause other consequences. Priestly makes the writing leading up to Eric’s entrance. Mrs Birling heaped the blame on the man who got the women pregnant. This is before she new it was Eric. For example “ Then he’d be entirely responsible.” Mrs Birling is as blind to the irony of what she is saying as she has been to everything else. She is trying to get herself out of trouble by unknowingly blaming the death upon her son. This makes it very dramatic because the audience does not know what action the Inspector is going to take on Eric and how he will be treated when he walks into the room. Mrs Birling also says, “ I’m glad to hear it.” She says this triumphantly because she thinks that she has outwitted the Inspector. However Priestly is allowing a false sense of security to develop before the Inspector outwits her. This creates suspense.
During the play Eric is exposed as a drunkard, the father of an illegitimate unborn child, a liar, a thief and an embezzler. Firstly on a drunken night Eric got Daisy Renton pregnant. He tried to give her money that he stole from his father’s office but she would not accept it. He also lied to his parents about getting drunk which he did frequently.
The Inspector gets the truth out of Eric through quick easy questioning. Before Eric arrives back Mrs Birling tells the Inspector that the man who got this young girl pregnant should take all the blame and be punished for his actions. The Inspector uses simple questions without interruption. For example “Was she drunk?” This is a short simple question. By this the audience can tell that the Inspector wants to be quick with his questioning but does not want to hurry Eric. When the Inspector says” No I’ve never wanted to play” he is deliberately misunderstanding Eric. This provides a contrast to the serious relations, which follow. The audience does not know if the Inspector is making fun of Eric or they don’t know if the Inspector thinks that his expression was simply good manners.
Eric does not lie or pretend that he didn’t do anything when being questioned. This is shown at the beginning of Act three when he says, “ You know, don’t you?” Also the Inspector lets him get on with it without speaking long sentences. This is to get necessary information quickly. Eric does not seem surprised that they have been talking about him and that they all know about his incident with Daisy Renton. This shows that Eric has matured from the beginning of the play to the end.
At the end of the play Eric has learnt to stand up for himself. For instance “ Well I’m old enough to be married….” Eric is complaining that he is being criticised like a child. Mr Birling reacts extremely differently to Gerald’s relationship with Eva Smith and Eric’s relationship with her. Eric and Shelia had the best education and had whatever they wanted. However they are still treated like children. They have lacked seeing what life really is. They have not noticed what is really happening in the world. This is why they treated Eva Smith so poorly. However Eric’s social attitude does change by the end of the play. This is shown when he states, “ Whoever the chap was, the fact remains…” This quote shows how Eric has changed during the course of the play. He is now more mature and responsible. He can see his own mistakes and understand why they came about. This is extremely different from when Shelia reveals his drunkenness he says, “ Why you little sneak.” He now has feelings for others around him and understands how his actions can change people’s lives. Eric also believes that people should now be treated with the same respect as each other. I think that the truth about Eric would have come out but later than it did. This is because Eric would have felt bad stealing and had to tell his parents. Also it is extremely hard to keep such an important fact like an unborn child from your parents therefore the truth would have come out.
The Inspector leads the plot and lets it flow. This makes it easier for the reader to understand. He also facilitates the plot and acts as the narrator. Priestly uses dramatic devices to keep the audience gripped to the storyline making them want to read on. He is successful in creating a moral tale. He makes the audience think about what they have done in their lives and what they could have done to prevent it from happening. It also makes the audience wonder what they would say to the Inspectors questions and how they would react. This is why I enjoyed this story and wanted to keep reading on.
