An Inspector calls - The Role Of the Inspector.
The character of Inspector Goole is the catalyst for the evening's
events and is quite a mystery and fascination to many people. He is
described and comes across as able to create 'an impression of
massiveness, solidity and purposefulness…' He speaks carefully,
weightily and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person
he addresses. I will be carefully looking at how he manages to be so
powerful and authoritative, mainly concentrating on the specific
language and use of rhetorical speaking that he uses throughout the
play. I will also mention the mystery of whether the inspector was an
impostor and look at the broad possibilities, of which he may be,
One of the most effective things that the Inspector manages to do is
to have large power and control over the other characters and is seen
by the reader as an immense man, despite the stage directions clearly
stating that 'he need not be big'. He appears to be 'massive' because
of the stares he gives people, and how he makes them feel so uneasy.
He often stares the truth out of a character by doing so until they
admit to have not been sincere with their story. He has a
disconcerting way of speaking, a certain tone and pace of his voice,
but also cleverly structures sentences as if he has planned it all out
and using rhetorical speaking.
He asks question after question, to the Birlings always receiving
information but never giving anything, the most striking thing being
that he is never once surprised at what he hears, as if he knows
everything even before he hears it. On the account for the inspectors
knowing and understanding the history of Eva Smith, Sheila says:
'Why - you fool - he knows...
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...ew
it all already, and then involved himself giving his view on their
actions, criticising and blaming them.
He seems very unprofessional and gets too worked up and emotional on
such small things:
'Don't stammer and yammer at me again, man. I'm losing all patience
with you people'
This is a very unprofessional thing to say and shows that he does not
treat the Birlings with the professional respect that should be
expected.
For dramatic effect he also goes into unnecessary detail of how Eva
suffered and at some points gets quite personal and delicate with what
he tells the Birlings about her. Again this is very unprofessional.
No one will ever know exactly who the Inspector is, whether he is a
time traveller from the future, Eva smiths ghost? And this leaves a
great sense of mystery about the play, which I believe is one of its
great qualities.
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 but set in 1912. The play shows the stark difference between 1912 and 1945. J. B. Priestley reveals the errors of society and the faults of capitalism as well as the bias of the upper class and social status. As a firm believer in the concepts of socialism, he uses this play to expose society’s poor attitudes to the working class of the period. The way they treat Eva Smith reflects on how many of the working class may have been treated by their social superiors. Eva was a victim in society as she was very low in the financial hierarchy as well as in reality where she was at the bottom of the classes. Women at that time were seen as being delicate, obedient to their husbands. The inspector is used to correct the
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
How Priestley Presents His Ideas To An Audience In Act One Of An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley In the introduction of Act One, we are given a few brief details about
'An Inspector Calls' is a morality play - a form of play developed in the late middle ages in which a Christian moral lesson was brought out through the struggle between the forces of good and evil - set in 1912, and revolves around the questioning of a family by Inspector Goole about the suicide of a young woman (Eva Smith) that the family knew.The author, J.B. Priestley is trying to show us what some people's arrogance and selfishness can cause without them even noticing. Priestley was a socialist, therefore by writing this play he was drawing attention to the bad things about capitalism. The Inspector was intending to teach the Birlings that ?...we have to share something. If there?s nothing else, we?ll have to share our guilt? Act One. By saying this, he is telling them they are all as guilty as each other of the suicide of Eva Smith, this also links to Priestley being a socialist because he is putting the Birlings to shame.
The play ‘An Inspector Calls’, was written by J.B Priestley in 1944. In the play, the author presents the character Mr. Birling as a successful business man. Through this essay, I’m going to be talking about how he presents Mr. Birling by being powerful and rich, optimistic and small-minded, guilty, arrogant, by blaming others and unintelligent.
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
JB Priestley’s intent in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to convey the attitudes of socialism to the minds of the society in the Edwardian Era as he was a passionate believer of the concept. Priestley has attempted this through the employment of ‘Inspector Goole’ in the play. In the play drama is displayed through a variety of methods for the interest of the audience and the communication of personal views from JB Priestley.
The play is the tale of a rich family, that are accosted by a man
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
When the play was set in 1912, women had lacked empowerment and rights, while men had a higher status in society, despite women had no important role in society. By using Priestley’s Inspector Calls we can identify how women were portrayed in the early 20th century. Priestley has explored this in a variety of ways, by customizing the different types of female character to show an insight on how they have viewed upon the world and importantly on how they were treated differently based on several factors like class, money, and age. For an instance, Priestley uses traditional women and transitional women to contrast their lifestyle when it was set in the Edwardian Era.
J.B. Priestley wrote the play "An Inspector Calls" in 1945 and set it in 1912. These dates are both relevant because he wrote his play in a world emerging from the Second World War, at a time when people were getting nostalgic about pre-world war one. Priestley used his play to try and show people that the idea of a community in 1912 was gradually being washed away by the upper classes and that the world needed to change rather than return to the egotistical society that existed in pre war England.
At this point everyone is in a happy mood, however their mood soon changes when the inspector arrives, the play shows Mr Birling as an inpatient powerful businessman, the play also shows that Mr Birling is a really proud man he is proud of himself and what he has accomplished. Almost the first thing Mr birling says to the inspector is “I was a alderman for years-and lord mayor two years ago-and I’m still on the bench-so I think I know Bromley police officers pretty well.” Mr Birling is trying to emphasise his status and how important he is to the inspector. His first intention is to make a good impression rather than finding out why the inspector has called; when Mr Birling does ask why the inspector has called Mr Birling soon becomes impatient when the inspector does not fully answer the question. This shows that Mr Birling is an impatient man and it also shows that Mr Birling thinks he is...
The Inspector is never wrong- in any of the situations that occur throughout the play- he is always right, and makes the other characters seem almost stupid if they do not agree with him. ?Don?t start on that. I want to get on?? That reflects off from the writer, Priestley, as being very determined to convey his message across to his audience.