Inspector

Question 1

Inspector Goole’s name

Answer 1

The name itself is a pun (Inspector - spectre and Goole - ghoul) which leaves us wondering if he is real in the 1st place

Question 2

Sometimes there isn’t much difference as you think. Often, if it was left to me, I wouldn’t know where to draw the line

Answer 2

He suggests that little separates people like the Birlings, who keep their wealth for themselves, and criminals. It makes the audience question how innocent the Birlings are as well as portraying capitalism itself as criminal. The subordinate phrase ‘if it was left to me’ suggests that people in authority prevent people like the Birlings from being caught and the Inspector would change that

Question 3

(slowly) Are you sure you don’t know? (He looks at Gerald, then at Eric, then at Sheila)

Answer 3

The Inspector’s doubting of each of them as to their innocence and supposed lack of knowledge makes the audience do the same thing. The stage direction of ‘slowly’ makes the audience think the Inspector knows something we don’t and looking at each of them in turn suggests he is checking to see if any of them break. A sort of intimidation tactic

Question 4

(harshly) Yes but you can’t. It’s too late. She’s dead

Answer 4

The Inspector is abrupt and straight forward with Sheila not treating her like a child like everyone else does showing his ignorance of age and gender stereotypes

Question 5

Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges

Answer 5

The core message of the play is that everyone has social responsibility which would be particularly poignant for the post-bellum audiences in 1945/6. The Birlings as well as others in the upper class generally seem to exercise their privileges but neglect their responsibilities. The juxtaposition of the abstract nouns emphasise the difference between the Birlings and the Inspector as he links the 2 concepts they regarded as separate

Question 6

Lightning should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives then it should be brighter and harder

Answer 6

The stage direction tells us he is there to a shine a light on their behaviour and it shows how much their life changes due to him.