The inspector represents four main things and they are: responsibility, society, class and family. The way the inspector represents responsibility, is very powerful. For example in the inspectors final speech, he says ‘ We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’ That’s the way the inspector had symbolised responsibility. The inspector felt very strong about responsibility too, he said ‘ And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.’ The function of the inspector was to illustrate that we are responsible for each other and our actions. This effects the characters in many ways. This makes Sheila and Eric realise what they have done to the poor girl. This also effects the audience, it makes them also realise about people around them and we all should be responsible for each other. Audiences that were watching the play in 1945, set in 1912 would have been shocked, to see a man strongly representing something that he had believed in.
Family is another theme that the inspector deals with. The inspector represents family in one particular way, through his questioning. The inspector questions the whole family including Gerald about Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton. Mr Birling: ‘ mind his own business and look after himself and his owns.’ This suggests that Mr Birling only ‘look afters himself and his owns.’ When Mr Birling says ‘and his owns’ he means two different reasons. Firstly to look after his family, his loved ones. Secondly Mr Birling, means to look after upper-class people, rich people their sort of people. The function of the inspector was to emphasis that you should listen to younger generations, for example Sheila. The effect on the characters were that, Mr and Mrs Birling didn’t really care and they weren’t taking anything seriously, but this is after the inspector had left. This shows that the inspector again is powerful. Whereas the other characters take the situation very seriously. The effect on the audience could show that Mr Birling is an ignorant man.
The inspector also represents society and class. The way the inspector represents society is through the play he always keeps on reminding the Birlings that they ‘all played a part’ in Eva’s death. This reveals that the inspector believes that we are all a society. The function of the inspector was to remind them for what they have done. The function of the inspector for class is that we are all the same it doesn’t matter about wealth.
The inspector creates many dramatic tensions with the characters throughout the three acts. The way the inspector does this is especially his language the way he speaks. The inspector lost patience with Mr Birling and bluntly tells him to shut up. Inspector: ‘ Don’t stammer and yammer at me again, man. I’m losing all patience with you people.’ The inspector’s tone of voice creates dramatic tension between the characters and they are all tense.
Another way the inspector creates dramatic tension through his language is harsh words. Inspector: ‘(harshly) Yes, she’s dead.’ The inspector uses harsh words and gets straight to the point. This effects the characters, when the inspector shouts or loses his patience the characters don’t argue they back down and stay away.
The inspector creates tension when he interrupts. Mrs Birling: ‘If you mean that the inspector will take offence’ - Inspector: (cutting in calmly) ‘No, no. I never take offence.’ These three types of languages effect the characters, when the inspector shouts or loses his patience the characters don’t argue they back down and stay away.
This demonstrates to the audience that the Birlings deserve to get this treatment by the inspector, for killing Eva Smith from chains of events. The function of the inspector is that he is trying to make himself heard and is in control.
The inspector also uses body language to create dramatic tension in the play. For example, Sheila says: ‘ Mother I begged you and begged you to stop’, Inspector: ‘holds up a hand.’ This proves to the characters and audience that the inspector is conspicuous. The function of the inspector is to show that, Sheila is being patronised by the inspector.
The inspector creates tension by getting straight to the point, especially about important things. For example the inspector says: ‘ I don’t want any of it from either of you. Settle it afterwards. Did you arrange to see each other after that?’ The function of the inspector is to get information as quickly as possible. This effects the characters because they don’t want him to find out certain things about each other, also it effects the audience by seeing the inspector doing things properly and doesn’t wait about.
The pace and length of each of the inspectors sentences were very good. For example Inspector: ‘(coolly, looking hard at him) There might be.’ The inspector’s sentences are sort of a short length, which makes tension between the characters, which effects the characters too. The function of the inspector is to create tension.
The inspector had a major effect on some of the characters. The inspector helps them to see the extent of each characters involvement in the downfall of Eva Smiths death. He encourages them to see their guilt, and to what they have done. Each character is made to face up to the fact that they must judge themselves, because then they will have learned something and be able to change themselves. This had mostly affected Sheila and Eric.
Firstly Sheila was very unhappy to find out that a woman had ‘swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant’. She said ‘It’s just that I can’t help thinking about the girl destroying herself horribly and I have been so happy tonight.’ This shows the audience and the characters that she doesn’t really care about the girl she had ‘ been so happy tonight.’
Then she found out that it could have been her fault that Eva Smith had died. Sheila explains that the girl, who was pretty, held up a dress against herself in the shop and it suited her. When Sheila tried the same dress on she caught sight of the girl ‘smiling at the other assistant,’ as if to say that Sheila looked awful in it. Sheila was rude to both of them and complained to the manager, saying that the pretty girl had been impertinent. Sheila has used her power as an upper class citizen and got her sacked.
Eventually Sheila realises she is partly to blame for Eva’s death. For example Sheila says, ‘Yes that’s it. I know I’m to blame I’m desperately sorry.’ The inspector made Sheila realise what happened and taught her something.
Eric was the other character that got effected but possibly not as much as Sheila. Throughout the play eventually, Eric realises what he has done he says,
‘And it doesn’t alter the fact that we all helped to kill her.’ This connotes that Eric has learnt something.
On the other hand Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald were totally the opposite. They did not take anything seriously, they were not sorry at all and they didn’t learn anything from the inspector. For example Mr Birling: ‘ Nonsense! You’ll have a good laugh over it yet.’ So Mr Birling thought it was just a joke, a scandal.
When the inspector was talking about Eva Smith and said ‘that the girl had changed her name to Daisy Renton.’ At this point, Gerald became agitated and gets himself another drink. As the inspector leaves the room to find Mr Birling, Gerald admits to Sheila that he knew Daisy Renton. He wanted to keep it from the inspector but Sheila says its ‘impossible,’ because he knows. After a while Sheila find s out everything about, where he was all previous summer, and this nearly breaks up his marriage.
However Gerald reacted in a similar way as Mr and Mrs Birling he says, ‘because I say there’s no more real evidence we did that there was that chap a police inspector.’ This effects the characters and shows that Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald are not good people, they take everything for granted. This also effects the audience, it displays to them that the older generation are not as wiser that they should be. Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald have a ‘celebration’ when the inspector had left. There could be some help for the future if the younger generation change. JB Priestly thinks that young generation people are much clever and there is hope for the future. Priestly uses him as a device to emphasis on what he thinks.
In conclusion, ‘An Inspector Calls’ by JB Priestly, has created many functions for the inspector. The function that has been most effective throughout the play is creating dramatic tension, by using a number of techniques, like interrupting. We get the feeling that the inspector’s visit was mostly vain. There is a possibility that Eric, and especially Sheila might have learnt something, hopefully people can learn something from this and change their ways.
