It isn’t long before Mr Birling attempts to deliver another lecture. He decides to give his view on how a man should live his life and who his responsibilities are. Little did we know at this moment in time, this is the main speech of the production. It is mysteriously delivered before the Inspector arrives and is the only one of Birling’s idea that is later to be contradicted. “A man has to make his own way-has to look after himself-and his family too”. The manner in which he delays the mention of his family implies that he is the main priority and he is only out for himself. “Community and all that nonsense”. This implies that he doesn’t care for the community and the people in it. This is proven correct by his disregard for Eva Smith later in the play. “A man has to mind his own business”, he continued to rant. From the knowledge that we receive from the opening scene, Mr Birling is probably the character that we learn most about. He appears arrogant, selfish and careless as he clearly states that he only wants his daughter Sheila to marry Gerald so he can strengthen his business relations with Crofts Ltd.
However it is Mr Birling who drop the biggest hint on what will happen next. He arrogantly boasts that there is a great possibility that will achieve a knighthood in the honour list, if he was to avoid a “police court or start a scandal”, that is. We know that the name of the play is “An Inspector Calls” so logic states that along with all of his embarrassing blunders, we should have easily expected Mr Birling to be involved in a “police court or start a scandal”. It is not long before the inspector arrives.
The Inspector’s arrival is greeted to an array of eerie sounds and gloomy lights creating the effect of a momentous and mysterious occasion. His slow methodical approach and dark costume reflects his style of interrogation. His seem to be devoid of the patience of a normal detective and his sharp and direct unorthodox questioning gives the impression that he may be a fake. The dictionary meaning of the word GHOUL, is someone who takes pleasure in others misfortunes. Though the inspector’s name is spelled slightly differently, but pronounce the same. This could be a subliminal hint on what we will later discover. As we know already, this turns out to be true as the Inspector is revealed as an impostor.
During the interrogation, we discover a lot more information on each character. We also learn that Mrs Birling inherits some of the characteristics of her husband. She to is confident but arrogant, selfish and unpleasant. This is shown during the way that she answers the detective. She shows an enormous amount of determination in an effort not to be caught out by the detective. She is the only family member not to succumb under the pressure and reveal any important information to the Inspector. She shows her selfishness as she drops her son Eric into the deep end so she can escape. Mr Birling shows a style in his survival of the inspector reflecting his “every man for himself speech”. He shows selfishness as he tries to clear his name from this scandal. He is prepared to go to any lengths and has no regard for any other of the family members. This is perfectly summed up by his reaction when the Inspectors announces that he has not only come to see Mr Birling. “You didn’t come to see me, then?. This delightful response emphasises his selfishness. He too, like his wife is prepared to drop his children in, his own flesh and blood, so he can survive and keep his reputation clean. It is little hints like these that make it no surprise when Mr and Mrs Birling show no compassion towards the death of Eva Smith later on in the play.
Each characters behaviour during interrogation greatly reflects their behaviour in the opening scene of the play. Sheila seems to be rather quiet and unhappy during the first scene. This is mirrored during interrogation. She seem to be guilty in the way she answers and take the death of Eva Smith the worst out of all the family members. This could be because she is already stressed as she does not feel completely confident in Gerald, who she is to marry.
Eric seems to be stressed leading me to believe that he has other things on his mind. He is not exactly enthusiastic when Mr Birling and Gerlad attempt to have a joke at his expense, “Well I don’t think it’s very funny” replies Eric. This is further proved when Eric and his father are talking about women’s clothes. He says “Yes I remember”. He then denies this. In addition, he answers his father in a defiant manner, “Nothing” . So it is no surprise when this defiance occurs later on in the play during a conversation with the family, “What does it matter now weather they give you a knighthood or not”. This kind of erratic behaviour makes it obvious to me that Eric knows something but is hiding it. During questioning, he finally cracks under the pressure and reveals what he knows.
We are presented with another dose of dramatic irony in the latter stages of interrogation. As investigation is about to come to a close, Mr Birling unhappily states “Look Inspector-I’d give thousands, yes thousands”. Mr Birling, realising what he has done is prepared to give thousands when Eva Smith originally only wanted three shillings. This again shows his disregard for anyone else. He is now prepared to give thousands to clear his name of the negative chain of events.
Just before the inspector leaves, we return to the speech made by Mr Birling in which he explains the ethos of life. The inspector, who has had the upper hand the whole play through, directly contradicts everything that Mr Birling first said. “We are all members of one body. We are responsible for eachother”. This is totally the opposite of what Mr Birling had explained to his children during the opening scene. The inspector concluded his speech by saying, “ If man does not learn this lesson, they will be taught in blood, fire and anguish”. As we already know, two deviating world wars were to follow and countless other wars have taken place since. It seems that man has not learned their lesson. From the ill-fated predictions made by Birling and the correct prediction made by the inspector, we automatically take the side of the inspector. Interrogation is ended with the most important speech in the entire play. This is an appropriate send off for the inspector giving the play a strong message which can be related to life.
The audience could have used the misinformed predictions Mr Birling to predict the mood at the ending of the play. The begging of the play is in a mood of joy and happiness. We knew that all of Birlings information would be correct if reversed. Therefore, if we reversed the current mood of the opening scene, you would have figured out the mood of the ending of the play. A house filled with sadness and regret. It is the exact opposite of the mood in the opening scene.
To conclude, the opening scene reflects largely upon what will happen later on in the play. The seeds are sown and throughout the production, the plot and theme grow and get stronger. Actions and speeches made at the beginning are cleverly intertwined with those at the opposite end of the play. This enables us to make fairly accurate predictions on the outcome of the play. The mysteries surrounding Eva Smith’s death and who Inspector Goole actually was, are never solved. This kept me thinking and guessing even after the production had concluded. Overall, the nature of the play and the subliminal clues placed for the audience allows us to foresee later actions of characters which can then use to help solve the crime ourselves. It is this that keeps the production mysterious, intriguing exciting and entertaining.
