The Inspector uses a number of techniques when questioning. He creates an impression of purposefulness which he uses to conduct his inquiries. One of his techniques is to claim that he knows little but draws confessions from the most secretive of people, like Sybil Birling. The Inspector has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he is questioning before speaking which unnerves the suspects. He makes it clear that his purpose is to establish exactly whom it is that has made ‘a nasty mess’ of Eva Smith’s life and emphasises in graphic imagery her death to shock all present. Another effective characteristic of the Inspector’s questioning technique is to turn each character’s words and actions back upon themselves. He persuades the characters to reveal things which they would rather conceal. He also behaves like a priest to each character, encouraging them to confess or acknowledge their guilt for Eva Smith’s suicide, and to repent, but neither forgives or punishes. The scope and range of Inspector’s Goole’s questions surprises the Birlings as he makes comments about their characters and undermines their complacent assumption that they are respectable citizens. Those characters who resist telling the truth to the Inspector suffer more than those who are more open. Inspector Goole said to Gerald ‘if you’re easy with me, I’m easy with you’. Each character is made to face up to the fact that they must find the courage to judge themselves as only then will they have learned enough to be able to change for the better. Priestley wants the younger generation to disturb the values of the older generation, so their will be respect for all others within the community and not just a class ridden community. ‘I don’t know much about police inspectors – but the ones I have met weren’t a bit like you. As if – suddenly – there came a real one’.
The characters respond in different ways to the Inspector’s news and questions. Arthur Birling says that he thinks there is something in what the Inspector says but contradicts this by going on to say that he ‘can’t accept any responsibility’ for the fate of the girl even though he employed her at his factory and sacked her. As the Inspector’s questions him, Arthur Birling becomes impatient. ‘Then look at the way he talked to me’. Arthur Birling is offended by the Inspector’s attitude. Arthur Birling tells his son Eric that it was time for him to face ‘a few responsibilities’ which contradicts him denying any responsibility for Eva’s fate and reveals him as a hypocrite. His daughter, Sheila, in contrast, is quick to tune in to the inspector’s inquiry ‘why – you fool – he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet’. She does not know what each of the other characters are guilty of but she is quick to feel sorry for the dead girl and empathises with her. Her reaction to Eva’s death is one of guilt but inspector tells her she is not entirely to blame. Sheila is the force for presenting what the group should be feeling about Eva’s death and how their consciences should be responding. By the end of the play she has learnt compassion for her fellow human beings which provides hope for the future.
The Inspector behaves as the voice of social conscience to promote the message of responsibility towards others in the community. The message that Priestley puts across most plainly is that being responsible for oneself is not enough. ‘We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. The Inspector shows perhaps his true view, that social responsibilities become greater as privileges increase. At the end of the play he gives a stern speech about the need for collective responsibility because ‘if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish’. This is in direct contrast to Arthur Birling’s speech which talks about every one for himself and the survival of the fittest. Mr and Mrs Birling have no sense of responsibility towards others in society, as they believe every man should look after their own. They are only worried about the effect on their social status when people hear of their part in Eva Smith’s death. Social status is so crucial for the elder Birlings that nothing can threaten it. However, the younger Birlings, Eric and Sheila, are not so harsh and although they behaved terribly towards Eva, they do feel some remorse for her death which give hope that the new generation can change society for the better of others. They are more open-minded that the older, traditional generation and look at their parents views and behaviour critically and with condemnation at the end of the play. Priestley exposes the double standards of the supposedly respectable, and is able to give hope to the younger generation and supposedly less respectable, ‘Eva Smiths and John Smiths are still left with us, with their lives’ their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives’.
Priestley conveys the message of responsibility towards others in many ways throughout the play. Inspector Goole plays the traditional role of a policeman in a thriller slowly uncovering the truth through careful questioning, piecing together evidence with shrewd insight to build up the tension and suspense. But in a traditional thriller the identity of the suspect would be revealed. Here, however, each character is shown as an accomplice to Eva Smith’s death, ‘each one of you helped to kill her’. Eva herself is conveyed as a character which the audience will have sympathy for and is revealed as more honest and respectable than the Birlings. The manner in which the Inspector forces the characters to make confessions without presenting much to incriminate them ‘‘you needn’t give me any rope.’ ‘No, he’s giving us rope – so that we’ll hang ourselves’’ and the effect they have on relationships in the family is portrayed effectively by Priestley. Every scene has a purpose and everything is revealed in an order. Each character’s action and guilt is worse than the person who was questioned before. After each character’s action and guilt are shown the circle of guilt widens. This continuing build up of guilt shows that the Inspector is not a hoaxer. It is impossible to believe that everything that happened to Eva Smith was known in the correct succession and with relevant information to the hoaxer, is a set of coincidences. We as the audience do not see the Inspector as a hoaxer. We consider him to be a symbolic figure, but this is irrelevant to the play. The possible catastrophic consequence of the character’s action has been shown.
Inspector Goole has many important roles in the play. He acts as the storyteller and interrogator, linking the separate incidents into one coherent story. He often supplies background details and says ‘well, we’ll try to understand why it had to happen. And that’s why I’m here, and why I’m not going until I know all that happened.’ The Inspector suggests that the line between guilt and innocence is narrower than normally assumed. He acts like a priest and characters confess their guilt to them. The Inspector 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. It seems that Priestley did not want to promote a single interpretation of who the Inspector really is and his dramatic effect rests in this. To have his identity revealed as a hoaxer would have spoilt the unresolved tension that makes the end of the play so dramatic. The Inspector is also used to voice Priestley’s moral message of social responsibility towards others in the community. He says we all have to share guilt for others misfortune. At the end of the play he gives a stern moral speech about the need for collective responsibility otherwise there will be wars and hardship. Inspector Goole also acts as a political mouthpiece for advocating Priestley’s views. Priestley believes in social responsibility towards others.
Priestley’s characters are stereotypes of the social classes in Edwardian England. We see the different characters react to their guilt in different ways. The older generation do not show remorse or accept shame. The younger generation do however show guilt and a willingness of being able to change their beliefs, ‘‘you seem to have made a great impression on the child, Inspector’. ‘We often do on the young ones. They’re more impressionable’’. Gerald Croft has been raised with some sense of responsibility towards the less privileged in society but does hold views which are similar to the older generation because of the traditions of his class. Eva Smith’s character represents ordinary people who can be destroyed by indifference when society fails to grant them the right of basic human dignity. Priestley creates sympathy in the audience and in some of the play’s characters. They and we can see a young life destroyed by their complacency, selfishness and thoughtlessness.
An Inspector Calls is a play that has a strong message for the audience about the need to care for others in society. This play presents a short amount of time in which those who are amenable face up to their guilt and faults and are able to learn a moral message. In this way Priestley’s message has been conveyed effectively. Priestley’s aim is to influence the audience to the community and responsibility. Priestley placed twists to take the play away from a particular character, to make the play more significant to the audience. An Inspector Calls has considerable dramatic impact because the audience feels, responds and takes sides with characters as they are being questioned and are involved throughout the play. However post war audiences would appreciate Priestley’s divination of a lesson, ‘they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish’.