Explore the Way Priestley Presents and Uses the Character of the Inspector in an Inspector Calls

Explore the way Priestley presents and uses the character of the Inspector in An Inspector Calls

JB Priestley presents the character of Inspector Goole as a mysterious, omniscient character in his play An Inspector Calls. Many of his Socialist beliefs are presented through the character of the Inspector^[a].

The Inspector’s arrival at the start of the play has immediate dramatic impact upon the audience. The stage directions state that the lighting should be “pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder.” From this change, we immediately understand that symbolically, the character of the Inspector will look at events clearly and search for the truth. But the intention here may also be that until the arrival of the Inspector, the Birling family and Gerald were not facing reality. As the lighting becomes bright like a spotlight, this almost suggests that the Inspector is interrogating the family as the bright light of truth is shone onto their previous actions.

In addition, Priestley presents the Inspector’s physical appearance as important and this is suggested by the stage directions that say the Inspector “ ..creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.” His appearance is important as he is used to contrast with the wealthy middle-class characters who are either described as immature or “portly” and “self-satisfied”. The audience understand in his role with the Police, the Inspector carries a sense of authority.  Priestley presents the character of the Inspector as being confident and purposeful as he takes control of the situation when he speaks in a very blunt, direct tone of voice to^[b][c] Mr Birling and says “I’d like some information, if you don’t mind Mr Birling”. This interruption of the happy family celebration creates tension at this point in the play as the plot begins to unfold with the Inspector’s arrival.

The character of the Inspector is also presented as a direct contrast to the character of Mr Birling. His arrival comes at the point when Mr Birling has just finished telling Eric and Gerald that they should only look after themselves in life. Birling says” a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and-” but he is interrupted by the arrival of the Inspector and we are told by the stage directions that “we hear the sharp ring of a front door bell. Birling stops to listen”. The timing of the Inspector’s arrival is very significant as the “sharp” doorbell cuts into Birling’s speech and ‘stops’ him from talking further about his Capitalist views. Priestley may hope to create dramatic tension in this way as he uses the Inspector to represent his own Socialist beliefs. We, the audience, come to understand that the Inspector is used as a device by Priestley as he slowly releases the truth about the Birling’s failings as a family and as individuals who support a Capitalist society.

Furthermore, the audience views an emerging power struggle between the characters of Birling and the Inspector through Priestley’s use of contrast in language and tone of voice. The Inspector’s language is very direct in tone, “Two hours ago a woman died in the infirmary… her name was Eva Smith” and he uses emotive language, “young woman died..swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. burnt her insides out”. This contrasts with Birling’s pompous and self-congratulatory tone of voice heard in his earlier speech about the Titanic and he confidently proclaimed it was “Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. Priestley creates dramatic irony for the audience in this scene as we feel little sympathy towards a man who appears to lack intelligence, good judgement and foresight. Here, Birling uses repetition of the word “unsinkable” to persuade and impress upon Gerald and Eric that his views should be listened to. But his false predictions only further contrast him to the Inspector who, in our eyes, is more controlled and concise in his dialogue and interactions with other characters.

Priestley also develops a contrast between the two characters when Birling tries to intimidate the Inspector and makes it clear that he views the Inspector as not belonging to his social class. The Inspector is quick to dismiss Birling and he says “no I don’t play golf”. The implication is that the Inspector is not of the middle-classes. He also gives curt responses such as “quite so” when asked by Mr Birling as to the nature of his call. Priestley develops the Inspector’s use of blunt, matter of fact, declarative explanations as contrasts to the self- interested Birling therefore creating tension to their exchanges.

From the start, Priestley presents the character of the Inspector as controlling and strategic in his questioning of the Birling family and Gerald. He adopts an interrogative talking style that is said to be “impertinent” by Mrs Birling as he is viewed as beneath her in social class and inferior in his opinions. She is unsuccessful in her attempts to intimidate the Inspector, in particular, at the start of Act two but he later forces her to condemn her own son who she has unknowingly criticized as the “irresponsible father” of Eva’s unborn baby. Mrs Birling is quick to judge the Inspector and fails to ever really understand her part in the death of Eva Smith. Yet the Inspector does not hesitate to continually interrupt her and his dialogue is often full of imperatives and interrogative language. ( EG)

The ambiguous nature of the Inspector’s character is presented when he interrogates Mr Birling and he uses the imperative phrase “don’t yammer and stammer at me, man”. This may highlight that although he is initially presented as a traditional policeman in a detective play, his attitude and behaviour are understood by the audience to equal that of the socially superior character of Mr Birling. The Inspector replies “You’re offering the money at the wrong time” as he refuses to be bribed by a man who wishes to “avoid a scandal” at any cost. The Inspector is presented as an honourable and moral character by Priestley, contrasting with Birling’s hypocritical and morally corrupt personality who offers money to a stranger in order to cover up his family’s appalling actions.