Inspector Flashcards
Inspector
What is he used for in the play?
Used to present the Birling family and Gerald with the message of social responsibility.
Inspector
What does Priestley do to present the message of responsibility.
“each of you helped to kill her”
-Inverts the generic expectation of detective fiction.
“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”.
Inspector
How does he bring about ideas of equality and community?
Sentence structure - anadiplosis: second clause of a sentence begins with the last words of the previous clause.
“Because what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened afterwards may have driven her to suicide.”
Inspector
How is anadiplosis sentence structure key in showing collective responsibility?
-Audience realises investigation focuses on links between different people and events.’what happened after’ repeated at the start of one clause and the end of another.
The structure of the sentence in itself shows how the content of these sentences are inextricably connected and lead on from one another.
Inspector
What is the significance of the name Goole?
- Similar to word “ghoul” meaning ghost or spirit.
- Inspector haunts Gerald and the Birlings about their role on Eva’s death.
Inspector
Why is his vague and ambiguous character important?
- Helps focus less on the character himself and more on the message he brings.
- Contrasts to lack of subtlety used when delivering message.
Inspector
How does the use of hyperbole show that Eva is actually a symbol and a representation of all the other poor people in society?
Hyperbole ‘millions and millions and millions’ to describe the number of people who suffer at the hands of society.
-Shows that the story doesn’t end with her death; there are many more poor people who suffer.
Inspector
How does Priestley use the Inspector’s final speech to sum up his message on responsibility?
With the lines:
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body - we are all responsible for each other.”
-Inspector reflects Priestley’s voice to deliver message of responsibility to Birlings and an audience.
Inspector
Christianity = Socialism
“we are members of one body” - Christian language from holy communion service - 80% of viewers Christian.
This links the socialist message “we are all responsible for each other” to the Christian one. Even the most anti-socialist Capitalist will already accept this Christian teaching - more persuasive.
Inspector
Final speech - war
Prediction of “fire and blood and anguish” is clearly a description of WWs.
-Directly links Capitalism to war - consequence of power of Capitalist men.
Inspector
Final speech - war = economic consequence of Capitalism.
- To defeat Germany as an economic rival Britain went to war.
- Upper classes lost lots of sons as they were the leading officers; led from the front so more likely to be shot.
- Capitalism is willing to sacrifice their own sons for profit; this allows him to appeal to the middle class men in audience.
