The Inspectors role in An Inspector Calls.
The word Inspector suggests someone who looks closely at things, and this is his role in the events of the play. This, and the fact that Priestly recognised the Birlings would almost certainly have refused to be questioned by a common policeman, is probably the reason why the person to bring the news of Eva/Daisy's death is portrayed as an inspector.
The Inspector is never given one specific identity, but there are some which would suit his character. The Inspectors name 'Goole' sounds the same as ghoul- someone with a morbid interest in death or a spirit which is said to take fresh life from corpses, and it is certainly arguable that the Inspectors existence is a result of Eva/Daisy's death. It is there fore possible to see him as a representative of Eva/Daisy, returned to the Birlings in spirit form to 'haunt' the consciences of those who have procured her death.
Inspector Goole is also a version of a traditional policeman: intrusive, commanding, polite but impatient when necessary. The twist in the situation is that nothing has occurred that would bring any of the family to a court of justice. His character has been devised in such a way to fit in with a scenario, a murder. It is because of this that he has to appear to be an Inspector and not an impersonator. He also has a moral dimension which distinguishes him from an ordinary police inspector: he is more concerned with what is right and wrong than with what is legal. For example, he sternly tells Birling that " it's better to ask for the earth [ as a worker might do ] than to take it [ which Birling does ] ".
The Inspector could also be the personification of the social conscience the other characters all lack or suppress. He often plays the voice of conscience, his familiarity with what each character has done goes beyond what any investigator might reasonably be expected to know. Things that they concealed from eachother- even from themselves- are brought to surface at the Inspectors insistence. Priestley intentionally leaves the provenance of the figure of the Inspector unexplained, his real identity a mystery. This is more effective than any clarification would have been because to reveal that the Inspector was, for example, a practical joker ( as the Birlings hope) or that he was a sort of 'avenging spirit' would ruin the effect the Inspector has on the audience.
The effect the Inspector has on the audience is as important as the effect he has on the characters in the play. This is because of what he represents; the conscience of not only the characters but of also the audience.
Through the Inspector Priestley presents us, the audience, with a sincerely felt and powerfully expressed social message. We are shown the comfortable home and rich way of life of the Birling family. By contrast, we have the accounts of the desperate attempts of Birlings factory workers to increase their poor wages, and the drab and sordid ...
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The effect the Inspector has on the audience is as important as the effect he has on the characters in the play. This is because of what he represents; the conscience of not only the characters but of also the audience.
Through the Inspector Priestley presents us, the audience, with a sincerely felt and powerfully expressed social message. We are shown the comfortable home and rich way of life of the Birling family. By contrast, we have the accounts of the desperate attempts of Birlings factory workers to increase their poor wages, and the drab and sordid life that Eva/ Dais is forced to lead as a result of the actions of people such as the Birlings. Priestleys compassion for the lower and middle classes is reflected in the play through the Inspector. He tries to get the other characters to accept that all people share a common humanity and so are all part of a community. One indication of this is the Inspectors arrival, just after Mr. Birling has been setting out his view of life: that " a man has to make his own way",that every man must only look out for himself. The Inspector arrives with the task of showing that this is not the case.
This is what Priestley hoped the Inspector would achieve; not simply to comfront each character with the truth, but to force them to admit the truth they already know. Throughout the play the Inspector demonstrates how people are responsible for how they effect the lives of others; his views are summed up in his visionary and dramatic final speech which states that " We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other". In this final speech Priestley was putting across his views as a socialist, and he was speaking as much to the audience as to the characters on stage. The Inspectors role is to make the other characters and the audience in 1945 aware of the broader view on responsibility, which Priestley felt was essential if people were ever going to learn from the " fire, blood and anguish" of two world wars and the years between them.
The Inspectors behavior is one of the things that aroused suspicions about him being a real police inspector. One of the most obvious differences between the Inspector and a real inspector is his method of working " one person and one line of inquiry at a time". A real inspector would not insist on this - he would interview people alone. The reason why the Inspector works methodically through the characters one at a time is partly because he recognizes that " otherwise, there's a muddle", but partly because the characters are all quick to defend each other, or look for outside help i.e. Colonel Roberts, in order to avoid accepting the truth of what the Inspector suggests they are capable of.
Despite the importance in the community of the Birlings and Gerald, the Inspector controls the development of events: who will speak and when; who may or may not leave; who will or will not see the photograph. The Inspector even seems to control what the characters say and confess to, Sheila notices this and tells Gerald " somehow he makes you". However, the Inspector does not control their reactions - he only uses his information about Eva/Daisy's life and character, her diary and a letter, a photograph and constant reminders of the horrific death she suffered, to create the possibility for others to face up to what they have done. They must decide whether to change or not-Sheila and Eric do; the Birlings and perhaps Gerald do not.
The Inspector is successful up to a point. Once each character has begun to talk about his or her connection with Eva Smith it requires only a prompt or command from the Inspector for them to continue. There is, in the Inspector, a moral weight and an impression of knowledge which makes each of the family understand, at least for a time, that concealment of the facts useless and wrong. He is also successful at uncovering the secrets in the Birling household, stopping the Birlings from evading responsibility, and making Sheila and Eric think and- more importantly- feel differently.
The Inspector effects each of the characters differently. Mr. Birling does not change his views or attitudes throughout the play. Though he reveals more of his contempt for weakness and his anger at the foolish behaviour of others, he cannot see that his actions towards Eva/Daisy were wrong, and we get the feeling that if the events were repeated he would still feel justified in sacking her. After the Inspector has left, he simply wants to return to the way things were. He cannot understand that there is something to be learnt, and is relieved and happy when he feels that the family scandal has been avoided and everything is all right. Despite his selfish and unrepentant attitude it is still possible to feel sorry for him at the end of the play when his relief is shattered by the telephone call. Perhaps the reason for this is that Priestley presents him as someone who is so blindly wrong i.e. his predictions for the future, and as someone who is never as really in control of events as he would like himself, and others, to think.
Mrs. Birling remains untouched by the Inspectors questioning, and refuses to see how her actions could have been responsible for Eva/Daisy's death. The speed with which she recovers after the Inspector leaves, and the fact that she feels no sense of relief that her actions have not caused Eva/Daisy's death, emphasize how cold and unsympathetic she is. The thanks and praise she lavishes on Gerald for the "clever" way he appears to have settled things reflect her desire to remain untouched by outside events and to maintain the appearance of respectability.
Sheila understood what the Inspector was doing so she began to see the world and her responsibility to the people in it, according to his values instead of her families. Sheila is " more impressionable" and she feels that everyone needs to have learnt something from the Inspector and to have changed, we get the impression that her future attitude to others will be more caring, self-controlled, and responsible.
Even though Eric is a drunk he is the only character other than Sheila to have been affected by the Inspector. He wants his parents to admit to their mistakes like he did, and we feel that he is sincerely ashamed of his behaviour and is capable of changing for the better.
Gerald had good intentions towards Eva/Daisy from the start, but he allowed his feelings for her to get in the way of them. His regret for the way he treated her is genuine, but he does not have the same deep response as Sheila and Eric.
The Inspector is described in terms of "massiveness, solidity and purposefulness". To exaggerate this, I would dress the Inspector in a long, dark green coloured trenchcoat, with a tilby on his head. Following the stage directions, the lighting will become " brighter and harder" with the Inspectors arrival. I would like the atmosphere to reflect the thoughts of the Inspector, therefore it would be tense and moody, but not eerie because I want the audience to believe the Inspector is an Inspector up until the point where the characters start to question his identity. I would not play any music as I do not think it would add to the desired affect- just distract attention away from the Inspector.
The Inspectors role in the play, his effect on the other characters, and his stage presence all effect how the audience perceives his character.