Describe and discuss the role of the Inspector in “An Inspector Calls”

they dressed and how their house was decorated. Their house had 'good

solid furniture of the period'. `The general effect is substantial and heavily

comfortable but not cosy and homelike'. The lighting is pink and intimate

before the Inspector arrives, they are hiding behind a wall of silly

pretences. It become brighter and harder when the Inspector enters, this is

them being opened up to the world.

Priestly wanted the Inspector to appear to be intimidating.

"He wasn't a big man but he creates at once an impression of

massiveness, solidity and purposefulness". Omniscient and omnipotent

the mysterious Inspector Goole persuades the Birling's to confess to their

crimes. Even his name has ghostly connotations; he seems to know

everything he is in control.

Inspector Goole's dress sets him apart from the Birling's. They are

dressed to impress. `All five are in evening dress of the period, the men in

tails and white ties, not dinner jackets'. The women wear long formal

dresses. The Inspector by contrast is dressed in a `plain darkish suit of

the period'. He is dressed smartly but he is not concerned with status and

appearance.

Mr. Birling believes its every man for himself, to look after number one,

and not to care for poor people to forget about community. He is very

sexist as he tries to hide the truth form his family particularly from Sheila.

He does this because he believes young girls like Sheila should be shielded

from horrible things like death, because women are too weak to cope with

harsh reality but he believes men can.

Birling attempts to use status and power to influence the Inspector. He

was forever reminding him that he was an ex mayor and a magistrate. He

becomes extremely angry when he is accused of being involved with

Eva's death.

When the truth comes out about Eric getting Eva pregnant and stealing

money, Birling is more worried what people will say when it gets out,

`you've confessed to theft, and now he knows all about it, and he can

bring it out at the inquest'. The Birling's are a respectable family, it should

be kept that way. He doesn't think that Eric's problems could be partly

his fault and that his drinking problem is a cry for help.

When it turns out that everything could be a hoax. Birling pretends nothing

has happened. He hasn't learnt a lesson at all, he thinks if he pretends life

is the same and that everything is normal no one will notice anything is

wrong. His beliefs have not changed even after that has happened.

The Inspectors final speech was that `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, then they will be taught in fire,

blood and anguish'. The Inspector represents the voice of Priestly. He

believes in community and if we don't work together then 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, he wanted his audiences to learn something

from his plays.

The moral of `An Inspector Calls' is that no matter what class we are we

are all equal and that we must work together. Priestly wanted to get this

moral across, I think he did, but unfortunately there will always be people

like the Birling's.