The Role of the Inspector in J.B Priestley's An Inspector Calls

The Role of the Inspector in J.B Priestley's An Inspector Calls

The character of the inspector in J.B Priestley's An Inspector Calls

interrupts the engagement party of Gerald Croft and Sheila Birling

whose father, Mr. Birling is a successful businessman and was Lord

Mayor two years ago. Mr. Birling is giving a pompous speech about

technology and how a man should live. He says 'A man has to make his

own way, look after himself and his family too of course.' He adds

that you should ignore the 'cranks,' who claim that everybody has a

responsibility for everybody else. The Inspector, who calls himself

'Goole,' is about to challenge the opinions of Mr. Birling. He

announces that he needs to speak to them because a girl has committed

suicide by swallowing a large amount of a strong disinfectant. He

wants to gather information from the Birlings about this girl who is

called Eva Smith.

According to the appearance of the inspector, we see that he looks

entirely normal. 'A man in his fifties, dressed in a plain in darkish

suit of the period.' However, he 'Creates at once an impression of

massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.' 'Purposefulness' indicates

he has strong determination. The Inspector is totally different from

the other characters; he keeps control over the other characters by

speaking 'Carefully, weightily and has a disconcerting habit of

looking hard at the person he addresses before speaking.'

The Inspector does not get intimidated when Mr. Birling tells him: 'I

was an alderman for years and Lord Mayor two years ago.' He won't

deviate from his methods and refuses to drink wine. This shows that

the Inspector is a profess...

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... '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.