Inspector Goole explains to Mr. Birling that he shouldn't be selfish and greedy and he shouldn't exploit people when he has the occasion to. He explains to him that he has to assume responsibility for his actions and to be aware that his actions have consequences. The cause of Eva Smith's death all started when she got fired from Mr. Birling's factory. He refused her demand even though he could afford it. He knew he could exploit her so he did. As for Sheila, she learns from the Inspector that she should not abuse her power to hurt other people. Instead, she should use it to help others. The Inspector reminds Sheila of the incident when she went to a fancy clothes shop where she met Eva Smith who was employed there. Sheila who 'Might be said to have been jealous,' from Eva Smith used her family's power to force the shop to fire the unlucky girl. Gerald who had a 'Love affair with Eva Smith' abandoned her shortly after the summer holidays. Even though Gerald acted out of pity he learns from the Inspector that he shouldn't use people's vulnerability to do as he pleases. Eric, who abused his position as a man, did what he pleased to Eva Smith. The Inspector teaches him that he shouldn't use his sex to bully women. Mrs. Birling, a snob, abused her position as chairwomen to convince the other members in the charity community to refuse helping Eva Smith who was in a desperate situation. Mrs. Birling does not understand from the Inspector that she should not use her personal offense to influence the community.
Mrs. and Mr. Birling are the only two who do not learn anything from the Inspector. Mr. Birling, who thinks it's a waste of time talking with the Inspector, keeps on repeating 'I can't accept any responsibility.' Mrs. Birling does not accept blame; instead she blames Mr. Birling and the man who made Eva Smith pregnant.
Unlike their parents, Eric and Sheila blame themselves and regret what they have done. Sheila feels so terrible and ashamed of herself, she even blames herself for the death of Eva Smith. Eric, who reacts the same way as Sheila, regrets the way he used Eva Smith.
It becomes clear that Priestley uses the Inspector as a vehicle for conveying his own political messages. J.B Priestly had the benefit of hindsight because the play was written in 1944 (during World War II) and the play is set before World War I( in a period of peace and prosperity) Therefore he was able to use the Inspector to create dramatic irony and metaphors on World War I. Other characters also use dramatic irony without knowing it. Priestly employs dramatic irony to show the knowledge of a character. Mr. Birling, for example, says 'There isn't a chance of war. The world is developing so fast that it'll make war impossible.' This statement makes Mr. Birling look like an idiot because two years later World War I begins. Also Mr.Birling states 'That in a year or two we'll have airplanes that will be able to go anywhere.' Mr.Birling talks about the Titanic and says that it is 'Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.' The Titanic set sail later that year and sank on her way to America.
Even though World War II broke out, J.B Priestley makes the audience think about the horrors of war and how to prevent it. The author uses the Inspector to create a metaphor that warns the character of the war (World War I). The inspector uses the words 'Blood, fire and anguish,' to suggest a war that will teach people like the Birlings a lesson.
Throughout this play, J.B Priestley uses dramatic irony and metaphors to increase the power of his message that he wants to transmit to the audience. Priestley describes himself as a socialist intellectual. He, therefore, had sympathy for the poor, unprivileged and the unemployed. J.B Priestley uses the Inspector's last speech to get across his points.
'We don't live alone. We are 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 from that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish.' In this quote, Priestley wants the audience to understand that we all live in one community. Therefore, people have the responsibility to look after each other. For this to work, everybody has to see others as equals. If you are a member in the upper or middle class, you should not see yourself superior to working class people. J.B Priestley has an interest in Ouspensky's time theories and he put across a moral to the audience that is similar to Ouspensky's time theories which is that people should learn from their mistakes otherwise they will re-live their mistakes.
After the Inspector leaves, we discover from Gerald that he is not who he said he was. The play does not mention who the Inspector really is. When Gerald comes back to the Birlings' house he says he met a policeman who was certain that 'There is no Inspector Goole.'
Hearing this, Mrs. and Mr. Birling feel relieved; the only thing that matters to them is whether or not there might be a public scandal. Mrs. and Mr. Birling now take this whole incident as a joke whilst their son and daughter are still feeling regretful. Both Sheila and Eric are ashamed of the way their parents behave, and Sheila tells them 'I suppose we're all nice people now.' Mr. Birling does not take Sheila's statement seriously and he replies 'Come on Sheila, don't look like that now, everything is fine.' This shows that Mr. Birling doesn't care about Eva Smith and all that matters to him is if he would get into the next Honors List. Eric, who reacts like Sheila, is ashamed of himself, but he is even more ashamed of the behavior of his parents and he tells them 'So, you have nothing to sorry for, nothing to learn?' The way Eric and Sheila react shows that they perfectly understand the Inspector's message and that they are ready to learn from their mistakes and continue to live their lives.
Gerald feels emotional at the beginning, but when he finds out the Inspector is a fake, he thinks everybody can just forget about what happened and continue to live their lives normally. The Inspector tries to show that you can not ignore your mistakes and you can not continue to live normally unless you learn from them.
As mentioned earlier, J.B Priestley has an interest in Ouspensky's time theories and, for that reason he ends the play to show that we re-live our lives after death. We either make the same mistakes or learn from them and achieve a kind of immortality. The play ends when Mr.Birling, Mrs.Birling and Gerald are feeling pleased with themselves because the Inspector was a fake and they think that Eva Smith's death was not real. Later on they received a phone call saying that 'A girl has just died- on her way to the infirmary. And a police inspector is on his way here- to ask us some questions.' The ones who learnt a lesson will not get affected by the real inspector because what matters to them is Eva Smith's death. However, the people who didn't learn anything from the Inspector's visit will regret it because there will be a public scandal and Mr. Birling won't be going on the Honors List.
In conclusion, we see that the Inspector's role is to conduct a moral rather than a criminal investigation. The Inspector attempts to teach the Birling family about living together and taking responsibility for one another. He also wants to show them that they shouldn't see themselves as superior to working class people; all people should be equal. Although the Inspector does this very well, not all characters learn from him. The audience clearly understands the message that J.B Priestley wants to transmit to them, which is that 'People should learn from their mistakes otherwise they will continue to re-live their mistakes until they learn from them.' This shows that because people did not learn from World War I, eventually World War II broke out. What happened to the Birling family is a mirror of the society as a whole.
Throughout the play we don't discover the true identity hidden behind the Inspector. However, some clues are found to help us understand who the Inspector really is. The Inspector's name is 'Goole,' a pun on 'Ghoul,' a spirit or a ghost. The Inspector comes without warning and then left, leaving the family confused. The Inspector never really exists because he came before Eva Smith was in the infirmary and he isn't a real inspector. The Inspector leaves after his last speech, which contains many religious points. He talks about the Birlings having to treat Eva Smith as an equal. The Inspector also mentions 'Blood, tears and anguish' which are words used in the Bible. The statement 'Blood, tears and anguish,' is also a reference to the coming of World War I. The Inspector seems to know about this, which suggests he is coming from the future and he is trying to prevent it. J.B Priestley wrote this play to show how we could have prevented the war if everyone before World War two had thought the same way as the Inspector did.
