Nearing the end of the 1940’s when the Second World War ended, it essentially changed Britain from conservatives, where the rich took care of the rich and the poor the poor – basically everyone took care of themselves, to socialists, where everyone took care of each other using the tax system; the money slowly passing from the rich to give to the poor. The inspector helps represents this in the play trying to change them but mainly succeeds with the younger generation Sheila and Eric as they take a different attitude to life at the end after facing their actions, Sheila asks her father how he can go on living the same and not changing to which he replies “[amused]: And you’re not, eh?” However Sheila retaliates “No because… what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish.” To which Eric agrees showing that the Inspector has shown a difference in their attitude, this may be because they are both still young and are influenced easily and are still learning, experiencing new things especially in that period of time, where life was even more precious than today.
The lighting used in the play were very important as they would determine the mood and atmosphere in the play, as at the beginning of the play where all the Birling family and Mr. Croft [are seated at the table] and [the lighting should be bright pink and intimate] showing a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere and a happy celebrating mood which is proven when Mr. Birling announces Mr. Crofts “engagement to Sheila” however this changes abruptly when [the Inspector arrives, …the n it should be brighter and harder] showing a difference in the atmosphere and mood as if something is going to happen and that the characters can sense it leaving them in confusion, which is then confirmed by the harshness of the pink.
The inside of the Birling’s home is described as [heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike] showing that it isn’t a family home and that it is more for show to show off their importance giving them a sense of self higher power. It also shows that it wasn’t an average home as [it has a good solid furniture of the period] giving the impression of their wealth and the type of personalities the characters hold before we read or watched the play. The cutlery used by them, [desert plates and champagne glasses] shows their wealth as well and that a celebration is taking place, it could also indicate that a celebration of their wealth is taking place as they are all in [evening dress of the period, the men in tails and white ties, not dinner-jackets] showing celebration but informal as they are not wearing [dinner-jackets] signifying it is a close family celebration. However the Inspector is the complete opposite as he is [dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period] showing that he could be trying to blend in and yet keep himself anonymous, like his personality and job hidden. The Inspector announces himself as an Inspector without any identification or badge showing Mr. Birling’s naivety to the outside world and to their being any fault around him.
Directly before the Inspector enters Mr. Birling is giving a speech to Mr. Croft saying an interesting fact about man having to make his own way through life, “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own…family” showing his strong belief in conservatives and his ignorance to change in the upcoming future, and he also says that he should ignore “these cranks who tell us that everybody has to look after everybody else… and then one of those cranks walked in – the Inspector” showing the irony of the Inspector as this could be what the Inspector was, to transfer them from the time of conservatives to the time of socialists as if it was the same transference the audience went through after World War One and the downfall of the Titanic when so many lives were lost and destroyed. The Inspector arrived when they were celebrating a happy joyous event in the family only for the Inspector to come and changed the celebration completely to making them feel depressed and guilty.
Mr. Birling is not entirely pleased by Inspector Goole’s method of questioning or his tone. Mr. Birling is known to be very highly respected business man and is used to been spoke to with admiration and thought of with high opinion. These quotes show the manner of which the Inspector spoke to Mr. Birling; “Why should you do any protesting? It was you who turned the girl out in the first place.” And when Mr. Birling tells the Inspector that he has made a “nasty mess” of their “celebration tonight” the Inspector retaliates by saying he felt the same when he saw Eva Smiths body, that someone had made a nasty mess of a lovely life. Both these quotes show a change in expression in Mr. Birling [Birling looks as if about to make some retort], which would not have usually been seen as he was highly regarded so he would have had to hold his temper, the play also shows that Mr. Birling doesn’t take let it pass as he stormed off in a huff and [closing the door sharply behind him] showing the audience that this was not how Mr. Birling was used to being treated and that they had a lot to come from the Inspector yet. The answering back surprised Mr. Birling also because it made him wonder how he was to react and how the rest of the evening would continue.
Mrs. Birling shows the same attitude with the Inspector as her husband had, arrogance, keeping up the act that their actions played no part in the suicide of Eva Smith. If the Inspector’s purpose was to change the Birling family and make them take responsibility for their actions it didn’t work either Mr. Birling or Mrs. Birling as throughout the play Mr. Birling kept making reverence to the fact he sacked her two years previous, “ I discharged her from my employment nearly two years ago” and Mrs. Birling shows no remorse or any sign of guilt in the play even after being questioned Inspector Goole. When the inspector begins to question Mrs. Birling she was very confident and proud [Mrs. Birling enters, briskly and self-confidently] showing that even after her family have been embarrassed and humiliated for their past she feels that she has nothing to hide and has not done anything wrong, Sheila tries to warn her that this confidence wall will be knocked down and she will feel all the worse for it. A excellent example of Mrs. Birling’s arrogance and her need for social status is shown when she makes it clear that the father of Eva smith’s unborn child should be humiliated and disgraced in public, even after Sheila attempts to stop her, and finds out it is her own son, “make an example of the young man…public confession” however being the Inspectors suggestions Mrs. Birling agrees strongly with them until the truth hits home. Even though Mrs. Birling shows a slight change in her attitude to the whole situation it isn’t the one that the Inspector had hoped for, guilt, remorse and more respect for the rest of the world.
Eric and Sheila Birling are the youth of the Birling family and are the ones most affected by the Inspector presence in the play. Sheila shows the Inspector respect throughout the whole play, unlike her parents. There aren’t many stage directions or certain types of emotions needed for Sheila or Eric in the play, and this could be because they already understood the depth of their actions before the Inspector arrived, even though it was a time of celebration at the beginning and then it was somewhat depressing at the end they kept their emotions conjoined with the questions. Sheila was [excited] when she was celebrating her engagement to Gerald and the was [agitated] when the questioning came round to her and she understood what she did, however Eric wasn’t very happy during the celebration, he is [confused], [uneasy] and [defiant] showing that he mood is already set for the Inspector as his involvement with Eva Smith was recent. Is doesn’t change much when the Inspector is around, but the stage directions show him to be speaking more [miserably] quite often, showing the audience that he does understand his mistakes and his guilt, and J.B.Priestley used repetition quite clearly for the Eric’s character which helped the audience to imagine Eric as a troubled and misunderstood young man.
However the Inspector conducts his attitude very impatiently when he begins to question Mr. Gerald Croft as the evening begins to draw to a close and as the audience anticipates the end and the outcome of “inquiry” which is shown by the stage directions used [sharply] “Come along, Mr. Croft.” and [to Gerald] “Go on.” Showing his impatience as we all know, with exceptions to the Birling family and Gerald Croft, why he is. This adds dramatic irony to the audience’s point of view and to their idea of Mr. Birling’s personality in the play, where he acts and says he knows all and we know that he doesn’t.
The word Goole has a few different meanings but the one I find the most relevant to this play is, ghoul- a ghostly spirit that feeds from the dead.
I feel that he is a figment of their imagination, or like a ghouls of their imagination, created to draw out their guilt and where it may feed off the dead it feeds off their guilt and consciences as the Inspectors timing is very suspicious. Before the Inspector arrived Mr. Birling was giving a speech about how “a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself- and his family too” and then the Inspector arrived with the intention to change that, to which Eric compared him to “cranks who tell us that everybody has to look after everybody else… and then one of those cranks walked in – the Inspector”. He may also have been created to help them move with the time to change them so that they will be a part of the new and changing upcoming future as at the end the Inspector makes a very impressionable speech; “we are members of one body…we are responsible for each other…and I tell you that the time will come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish” which is the exact opposite of what Mr. Birling said at the beginning showing the change in his timing and their life are the same; beginning to end and bad to good. Also no one else in the play saw the Inspector, but however the maid in the book does leading me to speculate on other theories as to who or what the Inspector is.
I speculated that the Inspector could be physic as he knows not just what has happened but what will happen, Eva Smith’s brutal suicide. He also makes reference to the war “fire and blood and anguish” is how he talks about it and we, the audience, know this to be true and this was how the war left us.
However, I still believe that the Inspector was created by the Birling family and Mr. Croft consciences’ to make them change and see their mistakes and learn from them, making every single one of the Birling family’s answer in some way correct. And I feel that J.B.Priestley used the Inspector and the play to change us and teach us a lesson in morals, as every single one of us is a character in the play from Mr. Birling, the most self-righteous man, to Sheila Birling, the ‘daddy’s little princess’.
