Compare And Contrast Mr Birling And Inspector Goole

J.B. Priestley sets traps for the Birlings by the questions the Inspector asks and the hints he gives, for example ?...I found a photograph of her in the lodgings. Perhaps you?d remember her from that? Act One. Here he is suggesting that he knows Birling has been involved with Eva Smith but doesn?t make it too obvious. The way the Inspector looks hard at Birling as he shows him the photo suggests that he is waiting for his reaction, so he will know if he is lying. Gerald?s reaction gave him away immediately because of his facial expression in the film and When the Inspector says ?are you sure you don?t know? Act One, he looks at Gerald, then at Eric, then at Sheila, this also implies that he knows more than he lets on.

In the book The Inspector Calls, the character of Mr Arthur Birling is portrayed as the owner of his company ‘Birling and Co’ which means that he is the breadwinner so also head of the household looking after his family; his children Sheila and Gerald, as well as his wife Mrs Birling. He is also well known for previously being the Mayor so this gives the reader an impression that he is a well respected, popular and highly knowledgeable man. Mr Birling has strong political views and his beliefs highly linked with Capitalism and the right wing side.

In Act 1 the Inspector enters and the stage directions command that lighting is to change from “pink and intimate” to “brighter and harder”. The use of the comparatives “brighter and harder” creates an image of an interrogation with a “brighter” light exposing the whole family’s misconducts. This is evident when Inspector Goole enters and forces the family to accept responsibility for Eva’s death. Eva drank disinfectant that “burnt her inside out”. The gruesome imagery that comes from the emotive verb “burnt” shocks the Birling family. This contrast from the nonchalant idiom “inside out”. The juxtaposition between these two ideas were purposefully used by Priestley to emphasise the grave nature of this incident, evoking a sense of pathos from the audience towards Eva because they are aware that these events happened as a result of the Birling’s actions. Cleverly, here Priestley draws the audience back to social responsibility and the lack of it within this household. Alternatively, Priestley might have been showing that the Birling family will never learn and it will only be “harder” to redeem from their myopic view. Priestley continues to convey this theme throughout the play through Goole’s impactful messages. As the Inspector was about to leave, he teaches the Birlings that “we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”. The anaphora of the repetition of the pronoun “we” emphasises the much-needed care for one another and also preaches the socialist ideal of the community over the individual. It also has connotations of a human body, because if one part of the body, such as the heart, were to stop working the whole of the body would shut down. This links to the Birling’s because if one of them stops caring about the lower class others will follow. The pronoun “we” suggests that the Inspector is

An Inspector Calls is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in 1912, and focuses on the Birling family, who live in a wealthy but not particulary homely house in Brumley. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family. The idea of the play, and particularly the role of the inspector, is to try to bring the Birling family to understand that they have a moral responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, if not a legal one. In Act Three, the Inspector tells the Birling family: “The girl killed herself and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.” But who was really the

Priestley presents The Inspector to the audience as a social activist. His main aim is to teach the Birlings about the insignificance of money and power when it comes being a part of a society. He believes they live in a ‘bubble of capitalism’; oblivious to reality. “We are members of one body” is a powerful phrase used by the Inspector to ‘knock some sense’ into The Birlings, teaching them the importance of community.

In the play “The inspector calls” written by Presley, the story is set in 1912, and describes a family in the middle class. Eric, the son of Mr. Birling is one of the key characters in the play

I consider ? is a trifle impertinent Inspector?, indicating she does not like it when she is not superior to others or is undermined in some way. Throughout being questioned, Mrs Birling is reticent and has to be asked small details so the Inspector can extract the right information out of her, ?And if I was, what business is it of yours?? indicating that she may have something to hide. Like her husband, Mrs Birling refuses to accept any responsibility for her actions and is constantly in denial when questioned, ?I?ve done nothing wrong and you know it?. Perhaps this could be because she actually believes she has done nothing wrong, or because she is hiding what she has done wrong. However, not a completely cold-hearted or self-absorbed woman, she does not knowingly place the blame on the rest of her family, but on the father of Eva?s child, who she later learns is Eric. She asks the Inspector to force the father of the child make a ?public confession of responsibility? and so Mrs Birling is really condemning the family to bad publicity, exactly what Mr Birling has not wanted all throughout the play.

This is evident in “We are responsible for each other.” The inspector implies that everyone is responsible for one another, utterly contradicting Mr. Birling’s speech before he came in. The inspector is the most conflicting character in the entire play as he stands cool and hard before the Birlings and the audience and unveils the consequences of their actions on those below them. The dramatic irony reinforces that the inspector is in fact voicing Priestley’s message out, therefore emphasizing the effect. Furthermore, the inspector is presented as the figure of authority in the play. This is reinforced in "massively taking charge as dispute erupts between them." He is the only character that calms down the household when an argument breaks. He also expresses no interest towards Mr. birling’s authoritative friends and disregards his threats. The stage directions reinforce that when capitalism destroys everything, socialism is the only answer. Both contemporary and modern audience is left in a conflicting situation as he creates conflict in the play between other

The Effect of the Inspector's Visit on Sheila Birling in J.B Priestly's An Inspector Calls

Although there are some clear aspects of the inspector that show presents the inspector in different lights, but there are also slightly more subtle points Priestley made to present the inspector differently. One of these ways is through the identity of Inspector Goole. The fact that the inspectors name is 'Goole', gets the audience questioning his existence. This is because, although some people will argue that ghosts and such exist and others will argue against that, there is always a slight hint of doubt due to the fact that it cannot be proven. By naming the inspector 'Inspector Goole', the audience start to question the reality of what is happening in the story, later to realize that his name foreshadows what is too come. The audience also,, respond to the inspector in a slightly negative way as, stereotypically, ghosts and gooles are not usually viewed as a good thing, but as something supernatural and out of place. This also makes the audience become slightly sceptical of the inspector's intentions of questioning the Birling family and Gerald. For a different way of looking at how Priestley presents the inspector, you can relate the inspectors' name to the two main theories of time. The theory that I believe most relates to the inspector is

You feel that the Inspector knows everything already, and that by telling him, you are not giving information, but confessing to what you have done- which he already knows. This makes Sheila and Eric in particular give a lot more information than is necessary to the questions that the Inspector asks. The Inspector sets up a scene, and then inserts snippets of information that two parties will both be able to individually interpret, and will reveal more than necessary. The Inspector makes the information he gives ambiguous in order to draw the largest reaction. In this way, he is able to play off their response and extract more information from them. In some aspects, Inspector's character seems to be ahead of his time. The manner in which he conducts his questioning seems to be more advanced than the way in which they are received. Also the way in which he conducts himself gives the impression of being ahead of the family that he is questioning. He also has the sensibility of someone who lived during the 1945/46, after the wars. The Inspector does not ‘fit' in with the way in which things where done during the time of this play. Priestley makes the Inspector seem ahead of his

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in the North Midlands, the industrial city of Brumley in 1912. The play revolves around the death of a young girl named Eva Smith and the wealthy, middle class Birling family. The Birling family consists of four main members. In addition, there is Gerald Croft who is engaged to the daughter of the family, Sheila Birling, and the maid Edna who plays a small role in the play.

‘What do you think is the importance of inspector Goole and how does Priestley present him?’

“But take my word for it, you youngsters - and I've learnt in the good hard school of experience - that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and - We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell.”This shows the power of Mr.Birlings and how he is a capitalist he always thinks that he is correct no matter what but when the moment when the inspector arrives it's now accidentally it arrives at that time to cut Mr.Birling's speech so he could stop with his capitalism, the inspector, the contrary of Mr.Birling decides to arrive at the perfect time to make tension in the family.

Revealing truths that the younger characters couldn’t imagine .Or as The Inspector puts it to the Birlings ‘putting ourselves in the place of these women in their dingy back rooms’ which possibly demonstrates that the inspector thinks that the Birling Family could n cope with the conditions that these young women live in.