How Does Priestley Present The Inspector In An Inspector Calls

The Inspector is presented in slightly different ways depending on which character he is focusing on. When Mrs Birling continues to lie and deny what she does, the Inspector is a lot harsher and has no empathy towards her whereas for Sheila and Eric he was a lot more calm and patient knowing that they won’t lie and will give in. This suggests the inspector treats you the way you treat him, This shows that the Inspector is fair and just.For example, he knows Eric “needs”a drink despite Birling attempting to stop

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’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself.

By constructing the Inspector as just and omniscient, Priestley encourages the audience to view left-wing values as morally virtuous. Through the Inspector's authority, commanding presence and stature Priestley makes a direct jab at the audience with the Inspector's last

What is Priestley's main aim in `An inspector calls`? How successfully does he achieve it.

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

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.

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

command at the end of Act I and the start of Act 2, and the end of Act

Goole’s first arrival in act one is where JB Preistley expertly devises the key scene and hence creates a feeling of uneasiness. This is because this is the moment where the dynamic of the play is completely changed and the concept of social responsibility is brought forward. During Birling’s insipid speech wherein he explains ‘That a man has to look after himself and his own and’ he is cut short by ‘The sharp ring of the doorbell’ this initiates the scene of uneasiness by suggesting a cutting motion, this also suggests pain with relates to Eva Smiths tragic death. The word ‘sharp also suggests suddenness, much like how the play takes a rapid change after ‘the sharp ring of the doorbell’ Mr Birling also states that ‘a man has to mind his own business and look after his own’ this is a truly iconic statement as it represents the polar opposite of the Inspectors memorable speech at the end of the play. Its significance is heightened by the fact that Goole’s final speech are really the words of Priestly which foreshadows the events of what will happen later in the play. The stage directions also play quite a relevant role in creating the sense of uneasiness. The stage directions indicate that the lighting should be ‘Pink and intimate’ until Goole arrives, and when he arrives, it should be ‘Brighter and harder’. ‘Pink and intimate’ suggests jovial fun and almost suggest comfort and celebration. There fore Goole’s arrival makes the lighting ‘Brighter and harder’ because he brings the news of Eva Smith’s demise, hence creating unease.

The family in the dining room surrounding the dining table; one of the objects of their ‘good solid furniture’ from their period. The atmosphere is significant and deeply secure, but not cosy and homelike. The family are clothed in evening dress, the men in white ties and tails; not dinner jackets. The lighting at the beginning of Act 1 is pink and intimate, which creates a warm, welcoming and friendly feeling, until the inspector arrives and the lighting changes and becomes brighter and harder. This makes the setting superior but the mood more disputed when the Birlings and Gerald find out the reason behind the inspectors arrival.

‘An Inspector Calls is a moralistic play set in 1912 and written in 1945 in which both: the audience and the characters learn something. One of the way Priestley presents strong attitudes is through the characters in the play. The majority of them are given strong opinions. Although, the author himself may disagree with them he has used dichotomy to differentiate between the different classes: lower and upper and the different people: capitalist and socialist J.B Priestley has some of his own strong beliefs; he wanted the current day society to learn from history and avoid repeating all the mistakes from WWI in WWII. From the play we can infer that he used the character

In the play ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley included 2 main themes: the general contrast and responsibility. The first theme: general contrast was perhaps the most applied throughout the play, such as in: the young age vs. the old age, the upper class vs. the lower class, the reality vs. the predictions of the characters, in addition to socialism vs. capitalism. The young characters: Sheila and Eric sympathized passionately with Eva unlike the elders: Gerald, Mr. and Ms. Birling. At an unpredictable move, the young ones turned out to be matured enough to realize their guilt, to the extent of them arguing and shouting at their own narrow-minded parents.

Priestly presents the Inspector as a strong believer in socialism, meaning that he greatly cares for his fellow citizens and believes that everyone should be treated equally and fairly. You can see this towards the end of the play when the Inspector makes a speech, which outlines his political views. He says that we should look after each other and stop thinking about ourselves so much, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”

When the inspector arrives, the lights should get much more "brighter and stronger" to show that the inspector is here to expose the Birling's soon or later. Another quote used in the play for the inspector is" A police inspector. He says his name is inspector Goole" Priestley is showing that the word "inspector" is used twice in the quote, which clearly shows, when the inspector comes in Priestley wants to show the audience that, the Birling family has been involved in something that they really shouldn't be involved in. This creates a tension for the audience that is more serious than a normal inspector, who won't just come there just like that, but with purposefulness and reasons. J.B Priestley has chosen the inspector's name "Goole" as Priestly also made the inspector seem as a ghost or a ghoul, as the name Goole mostly refers to a ghost. A ghoul, which also is a fishing lake, meaning that he is fishing for answers or maybe he already knows everything and he just wants the Birling family to admit what they did was really wrong. Priestly is using these characters as an example to the audience that the Birling's who are up class need to stay in their limits and recognize the importance of