inspector calls

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What is the role of the Inspector in an Inspector calls

“An Inspector calls” is a play by J.B. Priestley, written in 1945 and first performed in 1946. It is set in the spring of 1912; a significant period of history two weeks before the titanic made her maiden voyage (and last) and two years before World War one began. During this period, social divisions were much wider than in the post war era and women had little work rights. Priestley’s political and social beliefs were implicated into “An Inspector calls” as it is a morality play which tries to teach us of our responsibility for each other. One of the more major characters in this play is the Inspector as he affects every other character in the play in some way and in this essay, I will be examining all of the roles of the Inspector, how he carries them out and what he represents.

At face value, “An Inspector calls” seems to be a detective thriller and the Inspectors role; to interrogate the Birlings. He does more than this. He tries to make the other characters feel remorse and empathy for what they have all done to Eva Smith and eventually accept responsibility for the action and then later on, voice his opinions of socialism and responsibility. After the Inspector questions to Sheila, “And was it the girls fault?” Sheila answers, “No, not really. It was my own fault” and then snaps at Gerald “I expect you’ve done things you’re ashamed of too.” Sheila is one of the characters to accept the blame and is ashamed of it too, also feeling agitated as she snaps at Gerald showing guilt thus achieving the inspectors goal and putting the characters in a position to want to change. The Inspector tries to prompt emotion in the characters so that they can learn from what they have done. The Inspector uses blunt, harsh and unsympathetic language and goes straight to the point and is very direct in his speaking, not caring if he might upset the other characters, “ Two hours ago a young girl died in the infirmary.”  And “burnt inside out of course.” He uses this severity to shock the audience.

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Some characters are not affected as much as Sheila however and try to obstruct him or mislead him; Mrs Birling tries to build “a kind of wall between us and the girl” as Sheila puts it. When the Inspector is revealed to be a fake, Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald think that it is all a joke and even laugh about it and ridicule them, “The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke.” The way the Inspector affects the other characters therefore creates a divide between Mr and Mrs Birling and Sheila ...

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