‘The Inspector represents the conscience…..’
"An Inspector Calls" by J B Priestley was written post-world war II and is set in the early 1900's; this is a time of great innovation and great threat. With "Titanic" about to make its maiden voyage and trouble in the Balkans about to spill out into the rest of continental Europe. The Britain of the time is one of post-industrial revolution. The top 3 % of the country, "the upper class", possess 98% of the wealth; ‘Classism’ is at the forefront of society and Socialism a distant dream shared by the few. Priestley, the playwright, is one of this minority and it is shown through in his work. No more so than 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 Inspector 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.
This is often a weakness that is accepted when the culprit is weak but in this case the Inspector is not weak. The Birling family learns to respect the Inspector, this is strange for the time as the Inspector is from a lower class but here he is controlling Mr Birling, but in their respect of him they are intrigued by him. The phrases "peculiar", "suspicious", "rude" and "assertive" illustrate their view towards him. Even so they let the Inspector battle with them for power in the conversations. Even the arrogant Mr Birling recognises this after the ‘interrogation’. He is forced to acknowledges that the Inspector has Socialist Tendencies, "Prejudice...socialist.... you let him bluff.”
This displays how set in his ways Mr Birling is. In this very sentence he is being narrow-minded, the way he dislikes the Inspector due to his socialist beliefs. Also, his attitude to the lower class throughout the play has to be criticised- he maintains a selfish and irresponsible outlook on living in a community. How can this ‘upper class man’ dish out the advice he does to Eric and Gerald Croft when he himself has committed this felony?
"Don't yammer and stammer with me man!" This is a direct quote from the inspector to Mr Birling. Here Priestley is trying to outrage the audience, to stir up the emotions, to try and bring the corruption of the class system into the open. This must be clearly portrayed by the actor playing the inspector, as a main part of the play is the emotions the characters provoke within the audience. During the play when Mr Birling discovers a problem his first thought towards solving it is to reach for his chequebook, proving the theory the Inspector holds towards the upper class, right.
"I've got to cover this up.’
Priestley is trying to stimulate the audience into taking a long, hard, critical look at themselves, money and power are supposed to be a privilege- not a weapon. However, at the same time Priestley is entertaining the audience, he is using socialist propaganda - only showing half the story.
