It looks like the inspector in lecturing the family rather then interrogating them. For example when (act 1) Mr Birling says that him firing Eva smith has got nothing to do with her suicide the inspector says “what happened to her then may of determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events”. Whereas a normal inspector would just take notes and not say anything like that. He also delivers a strange almost biblical speech (and it has nothing to do with his job as a policeman) before he leaves. He speaks with great moral authority, cutting short, interrupting and challenging people. He controls the situation throughout. He does this a lot in Sheila and Erik’s cases. For example (act 2 pg 23) Sheila is telling her part of the story and Gerald says something the inspector quickly cuts in and says “ never mind about you”. He doesn’t give anyone a chance to say anything about him. At the ending of the play –When a dead girl has after all, been bought into the infirmary, gives the inspector a supernatural air as he seems to have predicted her death. It looks like the inspector was here to re-enact what was about to come in the future and to show how easily each one of the Birlings could be accused of the suicide of Eva smith.
The inspector is a strange character. Unlike the other characters he has no history with Eva. As we know, his characterisation is reminiscent of the medieval morality play: rather then representing a real person, his character represents the abstract idea of human guilt, conscience, which ensures consideration and responsibility for others. All in all, the inspector doesn’t seem to be of this world, let alone of the Brumley police department. This is a strong possibility because the inspector, not even once touched anything solid. When asked for a drink (pg 11) he refused. You can tell that the inspector is not a member of the police force because Mr Birling says he knows most of the officers in Brumley and when asked ‘ do you get on with the chief constable’ the inspector replies ‘ I don’t see much of him.’ The inspector is omniscience- he knows everything about the family’s involvement with the girl, before they reveal their secrets. He claims to have read things in her diary, but this could not account for the extent of his knowledge.
When the inspector first enters the play Priestly describes the inspector in terms of ‘massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’ symbolising the fact that he is an unstoppable force within the play. The inspector’s name Goole, also has tremendous significance, it is homonym. Ghoul, another form of the word, has exactly the same sound but it’s meaning has a great bearing on the play. A Ghoul is “an evil spirit” to Birling and his upper class peers.
The inspector affects Sheila and Erik more then any other characters because that’s what priestly wanted, he wanted to show us that the young generation should/are learning from their own and the mistakes their parents made. The inspector picks on Erik and Sheila so that they can feel guilty. For example (pg 45) the inspector says to Sheila “then the next time you imagine it just remember that this girl was going to have a child.” And when Erik wanted to know what happened to Eva smith after he left her (pg 55) the inspector calmly said “ she went to your mothers committee for help” but “ your mother refused her help.” Then Erik says, “ then you killed her (to Mrs Birling).” I think the inspector was very successful in touching on the weak sides of Sheila and Erik.
Finally we could say the inspector serves as a dramatic voice for Priestly. Priestly criticised the ignorance of the rich and those capitalist (like Birling) who believed in “lower costs and higher prices”. When the inspector gives his final speech about social responsibility “ we are all members of one body; we are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught in fire, blood and anguish. He is representing the voice of Priestly's socialist views. In this final speech, he is speaking as much to the audience as to the characters on stage. His words here are a warning to an audience in 1945, not to repeat the selfish mistakes that led to the ‘ fire, blood and anguish’ of the two world wars and the years between them. Priestly believed in community and if we don’t work together the disaster is inevitable. Priestly’s main aim in the play was to show what would happen if we didn’t work together as a community. The play is there to highlight the problems of class divide.
The moral of “An inspector calls” is that no matter what class we are, we are all equal and that me must work together. Priestly wanted to get this moral across, I think he did but unfortunately there will always be people like the Birlings.
As soon as the inspector enters it must be clear to the audience that he represents the first description of him, massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.’ The inspector by contrast is dressed in a “Plain darkish suit of the period.” He would stand within a distance from Mr Birling so that he could stare hard at him and have eye contact and he will also have freedom of movement. The inspector’s function may also be highlighted by the use of lightening in a theatre. Priestly stage directions say that,” the lightening should be pink and intimate until the inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder.” This suggests that the respectability of the family is going to be stripped away and their secrets will be exposed. It could also show an inquisition effect on the family. The moral message of the play, which the inspector delivers, can also be shown in the set on stage. In his stage directions Priestly says, “ Producers… would be well advised to dispense with an ordinary realistic set”
If I was to direct that scene I would have the inspector standing at the opposite side of the room as Mr birling, he will be dressed in casual but smart clothes, standing up straight looking hard at Mr Birling. When he speaks he will speak in a slow and polite way but I will have him emphasize some word by making him speak in a deeper voice.
Since the Birlings were worried about appearances, the way they dressed and how their house was decorated I would of set the Birling house with good solid furniture of the period.” The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy and homelike. All the Birlings and Gerald are in evening dresses of the period, the men in tails and white ties and not dinner jackets. The women wear long formed dresses. The inspector will wear a suit but he will not be concerned with appearance and status. The inspector would sit on the chair facing the opposite direction of the door, and look hard at Mr Birling. When he stands he will stand facing the doorway about 2 inches away from whom he is speaking to. When he is speaking to Erik or Sheila he will stand near them and then speak.