The play is set in 1912, which is exceptionally important as Priestley uses dramatic irony to portray the personality of Arthur Birling. He is highly conceited, and believes that whatever he says is true ‘The Titanic…unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” and ‘I say there isn’t a chance of war’. We know that these statements are incorrect because the Titanic sank in 1912, and World War I did eventually start. The audience instantly distrust and dislike Arthur, therefore not believing a word he says. Once convincing the audience that Birling is immoral and unreliable he uses him put his message across, causing him to say the opposite of what he believes. Because the viewers already distrust him, they don’t believe what he says is true.
While being interviewed by the inspector Arthur tries to influence him with his social standing ‘an alderman for years- lord mayor two years ago…is still on the bench’, however the Inspector does not take any notice and continues to investigate.
He also refuses point blank to take any responsibility for Eva’s death, ‘ I can’t take any responsibility. If we were responsible for everything that happened to everyone we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward’. However he is proved wrong, and as each member of the family is revealed to be connected to her death, we see that we are actually responsible for over people.
Nearer the end of the play, he begins to show remorse, although this is directed more towards the fact that he may not get his knighthood because of the scandal, instead of feeling guilt at his actions in the situation, like his son and daughter. This is shown quite well when he says “But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List”. This shows his power hungry side as a ‘hard nosed businessman’, causing the audience to dislike him even more.
The character, Inspector Goole is a dominate character and is persistent in finding the truth and believes in the opposite of what Arthur does ‘We are members of one body-We are responsible for each other’. The Inspector gradually extracts the truth from each member of the family and tries to get each of them to see the seriousness of their actions, and how they can stop it happening again. While he is teaching the characters he is also teaching the audience without them knowing. He lets them see how people can be selfish and self-centred, and teaches them as well that we are responsible for the people we know. Both the characters and audience go from ignorance to knowledge, thanks to the Inspector.
He also holds super natural qualities just by his name “Goole” (ghoul). He acts like the conscience of the Birlings as he interrogates them into finding the truth and reveals the true character of each of the family. His name also gives a clue to what he really is, and to the final dramatic twist at the end.
On his departure he makes a simple statement summarising the overall message, ‘We are members of one body, we are responsible for each other’. Because the audience trust him they take in this statement, which imprints a dramatic ending as he leaves.
Though, it is revealed by Gerald that the Inspector wasn’t an Inspector at all, ‘There isn’t such Inspector. We’ve all been had’. This is part of the dramatic twist, and shows the audience the true impact that he had on the Birling family, and whether they have learnt their lesson.
Sheila is one of the people that has. At first, when confronted by the Inspector she is very over the top and acts like a frightened child who has been caught out when they have done something wrong, ‘Sheila gives a short hysterical laugh’. Though, she faces up to what she has done and realises the consequences of her actions, like a mature adult. It is as if she had grown up in the space of a few minutes.
She is very forgiving towards her future husband, Gerald, when it is revealed that he had an affair with Eva Smith, who is now known as Daisy Renton ‘In fact, in some odd way, I rather respect you more than I’ve ever done before.’ This shows how forgiving she is, and enforces the message that people need to look after each other, and learn to forgive others when they have made a mistake.
When her parents try to go back to the way they were, she reinforces the message, ‘You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same old way’. She says what Priestley actually believes and uses her to portray his central message.
Though, her mother Sybil reacts in the opposite way. She refuses like her husband to take responsibility and believes that Eva brought all her suffering onto herself. She comes across as very snobby, ‘I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class…’ She sees herself above everyone else and believes that she knows best, and tries to pass the blame onto the father of her unborn baby. Though, this back fires when it is relieved that Eric is actually the father.
This is the only part in the play where Sybil is affected, and that her actions lead to the death of her grandchild.
Eric acts in the same way as his sister and stands up to his parents when they say ‘they’ve been had’. Though, unlike the other members of the family, possibly with the exception of Gerald, he tried his best to help Eva by stealing money from his father. He knows that this was wrong, but it shows that even though he is an alcoholic he does have a good heart, though he was very irresponsible in the way he handled Eva’s pregnancy. This lets the audience know that we have responsibility for the consequences of our actions, and that if we are to put our mistakes right, we need to act maturely.
Even though Eric and Sheila are the youngest of the family, they act the most intelligently. Priestley wanted to let the audience know that the young generation are our future, and that they need to be taught about other people, to avoid suffering, and to a certain extent, another war.
One of the most important characters in the play is Eva Smith, even though she doesn’t appear on stage. She represents everyone who is in a bad situation and in need of help. Priestley cleverly uses the name “Smith” because it is a very common surname, giving the impression that she can be anyone, because anyone can be the victim of somebody’s mistake.
Priestley’s main aim in writing this play was to preach his audience on the importance of responsibility and how our actions affect other people, and used many devices to portray that message. Mainly he used his characters to achieve this, and included dramatic irony in the process. The final twist at the end draws the attention of the audience and the mystery of Inspector Goole interests them. I believe that Priestley succeeded in teaching his audience, though; maybe we have a long way to go before we all think of our actions and how they affect the people around us.
