At the start of the play Priestley’s Stage Descriptions describe the room as having a ‘pink, intimate glow’. These words tell us that the mood in the room and the relationships within the family are warm and happy. If we look at it as it seems, the Family are all happy and close to each other. They all know each other well and there are no grudges held. It all seems very warm and intimate. It’s a cosy atmosphere, they’re a nice family. It seems a little Rose-tinted; they are seeing things in too optimistic a light.
When the Inspector arrives, the Stage Directions say that the light ‘should be brighter and harder’ and Mr Birling says, “All right, Edna. Show him in. Give us some more light,” The change in lighting does two things to the play, firstly it signals a change in the mood of the play. With the arrival of the Inspector, a note of tensions and menace has been introduced. Secondly, the increased intensity of the light suggests that the Inspector is going to throw some light on events in the past which have been concealed – to show up some of the darker secrets of the characters. Harsh reality is more likely to be seen under hard, bright lighting. It’s a symbolic point. They’re all on the spotlight now and if they make mistakes, it will be seen. Before it was as if they had something to hide under the soft light, but now they can’t hide anything. Any imperfections will be seen.
The Inspector is associated with bright, hard lights because he’s a hard, harsh man and will say it like it is. He can’t be broken. He makes a strong impression on the family and the audience, this is quite obvious because the stage directions soon tell us that the lighting has changed and everything is more hard and bright. It is a very dramatic moment when the Inspector enters; the lighting is used to suggest this. Priestley says that he gives an “impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”. We are also told a bit about his appearance and age, as well as being told that he fixes people with his eye in a very disarming way before he speaks. He reveals to us that he has come because he is investigating the suicide of a young woman who has died two hours previously in the infirmary. Her original name was Eva Smith. He then goes one by one through the family interviewing them but it’s like he already knows what he’s about to hear. He never shows the family the photo at the same time, only one by one once interviewing them, this is a bit odd. Each of the family has something to do with the suicide and it’s hard to decide who was actually to blame the most but altogether they pushed her to end her life. It was a shared responsibility.
Inspector Goole works very systematically; he likes to deal with "one person and one line of enquiry at a time." His method is to confront a suspect with a piece of information and then make them talk. Sheila says, "He’s giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves." He seems to know and understand an extraordinary amount: He seems to know the history of Eva Smith and the Birlings involvement in it, even though she died only hours ago. Sheila says to Gerald, "Of course he knows." So it’s obvious that they’re also noticing this also. He knows things are going to happen before they do, 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. He is obviously in a great hurry towards the end of the play; he says "I haven't much time." Does he know that the real inspector is shortly going to arrive? He creates a lot of drama and we really want to know what is happening as all is a bit odd.
The Inspector adopts a very moralising tone throughout the course of the play; he is presented by Priestley as perhaps more than a simple policeman, a social commenter, philosopher, judge and jury. For example, he says, “(…) what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards and what happened afterwards .may have driven her to suicide (…)” A normal inspector wouldn’t act or speak like this, the family also notice this.
The Inspector himself adds drama, he comes down very sharply on people and is to the point and very harsh. We see this in the Stage Directions and in some of the things he says, “(harshly) Yes, she’s dead,” He doesn’t seem like a real policeman. In answer to Birling in Act One, he says, “If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.” “But after all it’s better to ask for the earth than to take it.” Again, this creates a lot of drama because a usual policeman would definitely not talk like this. He sounds more like a politician or philosopher. Priestley cleverly makes him more than a policeman. Just his tone, the way he looks at people, the way he reacts to intimidations from some of the Birlings and how he makes characters confess to him. He becomes more than just a character.
Priestley creates a lot of drama by making the Inspector what he is. Inspector Goole is very skilful at getting people to condemn themselves. He gets Gerald to suggest that young women should be “protected against unpleasant and disturbing things” and then says, “well, we know one young woman who wasn’t, don’t we?” He also does this to Mrs Birling. He frustrates her and gets her annoyed and she therefore lets her emotional guard down. He seems to know her personality and he knows she will not accept any blame and will blame anyone else she can. She is so flexible and so unwilling to read the signs about her son that the Inspector traps her into blaming her own son. Mrs Birling in many ways is stronger than the rest of her family. She stands up to the Inspector and is convinced of her justice. But the Inspector leads her into a trap, especially when she says, “I’ll tell you what I told her. Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility” This quotation is very important and very revealing. It gives the Inspector the chance to lead Mrs Birling in condemning her own son, Eric, because he is the father of Eva Smiths unborn child. This quote is showing again Priestley’s main theme in the play and the main concern. Mrs Birling is saying that’s its not our fault that the Eva Smith’s of this world lose their jobs, have difficulty coping with life, become pregnant, can’t support themselves. It’s someone else’s fault. Let them sort it out. She doesn’t know, however, that that person is Eric.
His final speech is like a politician's or somewhat of a Philosopher. He leaves the family with the message "We are responsible for each other" and warns them saying, “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not l earn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish” Priestley is saying we haven’t learnt anything yet basically. It is possible he is referring to the War in this quote that is going to happen, that will teach many men responsibility and will make the world a better place, in the fact that all his concerns will have changed for the better. This is a very powerful and ironic speech to leave at, as this is set in 1912 when War has not happened yet, so does he know the War is going to happen? This is not the language of a policeman. All this mystery suggests that the Inspector is not a 'real' person. So who is he?
The name Goole reminds us of 'ghoul' so he could possibly not be a real person. We get the impressions that a lot of the Inspectors concerns are actually Priestley’s so could it be the voice of Priestley himself? Or could he be the voice of God? But he could also be the voice of all our consciences and in this case be the Birlings conscience speaking. He could be any of these things.
The drama builds up throughout the play, a lot of dramatic tension is created as the audience finally realise that the whole family must share the responsibility and are all to blame. You have to wait throughout the course of the whole play to find out what each character has done to play a part in the suicide. This raises the drama and creates suspense.
The stage directions are important in helping us to imagine exactly what is going on; they can help us picture each character's actions and reactions. This creates a lot of drama in itself. There are subtle hints that all is not as it seems. For example, early on we wonder whether the happy atmosphere is slightly forced. Sheila wonders where Gerald was last summer, Eric is nervous about something, Lord and Lady Croft did not attend the engagement dinner. This creates interest in the audience because we are waiting to find out what is going on. There is a lot of tension as each member of the family is found to have played a part in Eva's death. New pieces of information keep appearing and a lot of suspense is created along with a lot of drama. The audience is interested in how each character reacts to the accusations against them. Timing of entrances and exits is crucial in this and Priestley has done it very skilfully. For example, the Inspector arrives immediately after Birling has told Gerald about his impending knighthood and about how "a man has to look after himself and his own." This makes it quite ironic as this all changes later on. The ending of ‘An Inspector Calls’ leaves the audience on a cliff-hanger. The Birlings believed themselves to be off the hook when it was discovered that the Inspector wasn't real and that no girl had died in the infirmary from suicide. This releases some of the tension. But then they get a final telephone call, announcing that a real inspector is on his way to ask questions about the suicide of a young girl. This suddenly restores the tension very dramatically. It is an unexpected final twist and adds a great deal to the drama.
There are Three Unities in the play, Time, Place and Action. The play is set in 1912, although it was actually written in 1945, this creates a lot of Dramatic Irony in the fact that lots of things have happened after The Birlings and we know. The play takes place in one set, the Dining room of the Birlings' house, in real time. This is a dramatic device that keeps our attention on the dialogue as well as the timing of the entrances and exits. It’s like the Birlings are cut off from the real world, and are in their own little circle in their own house and haven’t stepped outside. A lot of drama is created by the actions of the character and it keeps us in suspense all through the play. Entrances and exits are vital for the drama and keep it built until the climax at the end.
There is a lot of Dramatic Irony in the play. For instance, the audience knows how wrong Mr Birling is when he makes all his confident predictions as we know things he does not. The Play was written in 1946 in London, England but it was actually set in 1912, before even the First Word War had started. We know all about the First World War (1914-1918), the sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic (1912), Labour unrest and unemployment of the 1920s and finally the Second World War (1939-1945). None of this had happened when Birling was around. There is a lot of irony in Birlings speech because of this.
Birling firstly says, “You can ignore all this silly pessimistic talk,” which shows how overly optimistic he actually is. He thinks labour trouble is nonsense and he says, “there’s a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the future” he then goes on to declare, “The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants War, except some half-civilized folk in the Balkans”, “And I say there isn’t a chance of War,” there have been two World Wars so there is a lot of dramatic irony here as both the audience and perhaps the Inspector know there are Wars to come. Birling then goes on to talk about the “unsinkable” mighty Titanic which “sails next week… and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”, “forty-six thousand and eight hundred tons – New York in five days – and every luxury – and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” He goes on about it being absolutely unsinkable, his predictions are overly confident and not right in the slightest of what is actually to happen. He believes what he wants to believe and that’s always right.
This affects the way the Audience view Birling as we think he is arrogant and it just makes us dislike him more because he’s pompous and self-obsessed. Obviously his political beliefs are the complete opposite of Priestley’s, which he makes very clear and apparent. Politics changed very much from 1912 to 1945 which Birling was sure wouldn’t happen, he said, “In twenty or thirty years’ time – let’s say, in 1940… you’ll be living in a world that’ll have forgotten all these Capital versus Labour agitations and all these silly little War scares,” Because of all the Dramatic Irony, this puts the audience at an advantage over the characters and makes us more involved.
Before the Inspector arrives, it’s really ironic because he says, “there’s a very good chance of a knighthood – so long as we behave ourselves, don’t get into the police court or start a scandal – eh?” this is exactly what happens but then Birling makes a comment which gets right into the heart of the play, “A man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his family too, of course, when he has one – and so long as he does that he won’t come to much harm“, “ – that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – “, “But the way some of these Cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense.” Birling is talking about Socialist Ideas, much like Priestley’s and writers like Bernard Shaw and H.G.Wells, which he regards as nonsense. He is also basically saying that to succeed and look after himself, he has to go about it on his own. The Inspector is exactly one of these cranks and just after he said this great preaching speech the Inspector arrived which was both odd and very Ironic.
In ‘An Inspector Calls’ the central theme is Responsibility. Priestley is interested in our personal responsibility for our own actions and our collective responsibility to society. He believes in equality and believes everybody should look out for each other. The play explores the effect of class, age and sex on people's attitudes to responsibility, and shows how prejudice can prevent people from acting responsibly.
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." It’s like he’s also talking to us as an audience and telling us to act more responsibly. He says “but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us,” If you think about Eva Smiths name, Eva is similar to Eve, the first woman created by God with Adam in the Bible. Smith is the most common English surname there is. So, Eva Smith could represent every woman of her class so the message to us as an audience is that there are millions of homeless and poorer women and men and we should take responsibility to help.
The Inspector is talking about a shared responsibility; everyone in society is linked, in the same way that the characters are linked to Eva Smith. The views he is presenting are like those of Priestley who was a socialist. So maybe the Inspector is the voice of Preistley himself.
He adds a clear warning about what could happen if we ignore our responsibility, like the Birlings have done, which is partly about the World War they had just lived through. He was probably also thinking about the Russian revolution in which poor workers and peasants took over the state and had revenge against the aristocrats and upper class that treated them so badly.
When the Birling family suggest that they all could have seen different photos, Mr Birling and others are excited because they believe they could now escape a public scandal. From a moral point of view, this does not diminish any responsibility whatsoever. Sheila and Eric seemed to fully understand this, though the others do not. Mr and Mrs Birling as well as Gerald sometimes, are just looking for excuses.
Only certain members take responsibility for what they’ve done, and that’s only Sheila and Eric. Mrs Birling doesn’t accept any responsibility. She is just entrenched in her own viewpoint and blames everyone else but her. When they all believe they may have been hoaxed by a phoney Inspector only Sheila and Eric stick by their remorse as they get that they still have responsibility, they still did those bad things to the girl whoever she may be, it was still the wrong thing to do. Mr and Mrs Birling are glad to be let off the hook and even think it’s amusing. They think they can put it behind them and pretend like it never happened, they feel no remorse. Gerald says to Sheila, “Everything’s all right now, Sheila” and expects her to take back his engagement ring. They have not learnt what the Inspector was trying to teach them, Responsibility.
There is a lot of Socialist Philosophy coming through, for example the Inspector tells Birling that those of us who manage to rise to positions of strength in society, have to accept not only the privileges which good fortune brings, but also a sense of Responsibility for those less fortunate. Priestley’s deeply held socialist ideas are being shown through the play.
There is a lot of talk about Class and Priestley conveys his concerns in this area. Mr Birling refers to Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts, in order to try and intimidate the Inspector. This little exchange reveals class difference. Mr Birling is anxious to let the Inspector know that he is friendly with Colonel Roberts and that they play golf together. When the Inspector responds, somewhat sarcastically, that he doesn’t play golf, Mr Birling replies, “I didn’t suppose you did.” Golf in England those days was a rich mans game.
Mrs Birling has a firm belief in class difference, maybe the firmest. She believes lower classes are money-grabbing and dishonourable. For example, when she finds out that Eva Smith would not take the money she couldn’t believe that, "A girl of that sort would ever refuse money.”
Upper Classes she believes are very honourable. She is very conscious of her reputation and her status. She is socially superior to her husband and that is obvious. Sheila talks about a wall that Mrs Birling puts up and it doesn’t only mean a wall she puts up so she doesn’t have to speak to the Inspector but it’s also referring to the classes. She puts up a wall between her class and lower class, the wall symbolises two things. They cannot come together; they are separate in the community.
Eva Smith may symbolise all of the lower class and poorer people. Priestley may have created her just to be the whole of the lower class just so we realise there are many more like her in the world and we have a social responsibility to not just ourselves but to people who are less off than us.
Gerald says to the Inspector, “…we’re respectable citizens and not criminals.” This allows the Inspector to show one of Priestley’s main themes in the play. The Inspector replies, “Sometimes there isn’t as much difference as you think. Often, if it was left to me, I wouldn’t know where to draw the line.” Throughout the play Priestley seems to be making a point that there is no difference between the different classes in society, there shouldn’t be. There’s no dividing line between the different elements in society. We can’t, he says, just write off the poorer classes like they don’t exist and see another section as upright citizens. We are, Priestley says, all part of humanity and we need to share problems and difficulties, good fortune and comfort. We need to accept responsibility for other people because we are part of one humanity.
Priestley influences the audience to like certain members of the family. For example, we dislike Mr Birling because he is pompous and preaches, he always thinks he's right over everyone else. You get the impression that Priestley has created a character which, if Priestley himself would meet such a man, would instantly dislike him. Mr Birling is a man whom Priestley himself would probably really not like. Whereas, we like Sheila because although what she’s done is bad, she acts responsibly for her wilful actions and expresses sincere regret. She is open and honest about her involvement with Eva Smith, unlike some of the other characters. We feel that Sheila’s feelings of regret are fully genuine and when she says, “It’s the only time I’ve ever done anything like that, and I’ll never, never do it again to anybody.” We believe her.
There is a boundary between the older members and younger members of the family. The older members, like Mr and Mrs Birling don’t accept any responsibility and blame any others they can, apart from themselves. Mr Birling becomes excited as he realises he may escape a public scandal, which is all he cares about. Sheila and Eric realise that their behaviour towards Eva Smith remains the same, even if the Inspector turns out to be fake. They still did something wrong and they still have responsibilities. The others do not realise this however which is lesson they’re supposed to have learnt.
We dislike the older members of the family. Sheila and Eric however, the younger members, genuinely feel bad and take full responsibility for their actions. They understand if they lie about their involvement with Eva Smith then it will just make it harder and the Inspector already seems to know, so if they lie, he will just make them say stuff they regret and make them condemn themselves or others. The Inspectors comment to Mrs Birling about young people, “They’re more impressionable.” Meaning they can be influenced more easily. It makes us think that the older generation are fixed in their attitudes and that if society is to become more caring and responsible, then it will have to be through the efforts of the young. Mr and Mrs Birling only seem to be concerned about their reputation and a public scandal. When Mr Birling finds out about Eric stealing the money, he seems to be more concerned about this then the treatment of the girl. His first instinct is to put the money back to cover up the scandal. The enormous gulf between the parents and children becomes clear when Eric finds out about his mother rejecting Eva Smith, “You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried…” It is clear that both the parents and children have taken the Inspectors lesson differently.
When they all think they have been hoaxed only Eric and Sheila stick by their remorse. Arthur and Sybil are glad to be let off the hook and are amused by it. This really shows which of them have learnt their lesson as Eric and Sheila realise even if it was a hoax, they still did those things to one Eva Smith out there. Mr and Mrs Birling do not realise this and are just thinking about their social status. Gerald in all of this remains to be neutral but does seem to slide more to the older generations’ way of thinking and thinks everything can be alright now and they can go back to how it was before.
This shows that a lot of the characters have changed for the better, mostly Sheila. The girl’s death gets to her a lot and she feels really to blame. Later in the play she becomes more and more distressed. This is a radical change from the start of the play when everyone is happy and carefree. It is obvious she has changed at the end of the play. Sheila and Eric seem to be the only two who actually take responsibly and take in what the Inspector has told them, the inspector has had the most effect on them. Gerald also changes at one point. He seems quite different later on compared to act one, you get the impression that he’s very manly and strong willed at the start. He seems very cool, slick and laid-back. He speaks very confidently and doesn’t seem very shy in the slightest but once interrogated by the Inspector, he seems to break. We see this when he asks to go outside for some air.
Priestley is trying to get his concerns across that the wealthy are selfish and ignore and neglect the needs of the poor majority that need it, like Mr and Mrs Birling. There is a lot of meaning in Mrs Birling’s comment, “I must say, we are learning something tonight.” She is meaning it in the fact that they are learning lots of secrets about others like Gerald’s disloyalty and Alderman Meggarty’s drinking and womanising. There is a double meaning behind that quote because not only are they learning things about others but they are also learning a great deal about themselves as the Inspector strips away their surface of respectability. It makes us feel, from the audience perspective that it’s not only the Birlings on trial but the whole of our society. The Inspector is very moralising and its like he’s trying to teach everyone reading the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ a lesson in responsibility and caring for everyone around you.