What is the role of Inspector Goole?

the main roles of the Inspector Goole is that he adds suspension to the play. Priestly has added suspense to the play because he makes the inspector arrive mysteriously and another coincidence is this is just after Mr. Birling’s speech on morality and social responsibility “That a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own-and-“then halfway through speaking this speech the inspector arrives. This could be because the inspector had a socialist view and wanted to challenge Mr. Birling’s capitalist’s views. Furthermore, another way his role as an inspector adds suspension to the play is how he does not show the actors the photo of Eva smith at the same time. When he shows Mr. Birling the photo of Eva Smith Eric and Gerald rise over to look but he then quickly removes it from their view. “Any reason why I shouldn’t see this photo inspector.” Said Gerald. This adds suspense to the play as it makes the audience wonder whether it is actually the same girl the inspector is interviewing the Birling family about. Another way the role of the inspector adds suspense to the play is how he seems to know an extraordinary amount about Eva Smith even though she only died a couple of hours ago. Shelia tells Gerald “of course he knows.” He knows these things are going to happen- He says “I'm waiting... To do my duty" just before Eric's return, as if he expected Eric to reappear at exactly that moment.Another role of the inspector is how he is the voice of the socialist views that J.B. Priestly holds and show one of the main themes of the book which I responsibility. The Inspector wanted each member of the family to share the responsibility of Eva's death: he tells them, "Each of you helped to kill her.” However, his final speech is aimed not only at the characters on stage, but at the audience too, One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do. The Inspector is talking about a collective responsibility, everyone is society is linked, in the same way that the characters are linked to Eva Smith. Everyone is a part of "one body", the Inspector sees society as more important than individual interests. The views he is propounding are like those of Priestley who was a socialist. He adds a clear warning about what could happen if, like some members of the family, we ignore our responsibility: “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, when they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.” Probably he is thinking partly about the world war they had just lived through - the result of government’s blindly pursuing 'national interest' at all costs. No doubt he was thinking too about the Russian revolution in which poor workers and peasants took over the state and exacted a bloody revenge against the aristocrats who had treated them so badly.