Inspector Flashcards
Firstly, Inspector Goole is presented as an omnipotent, powerful force of truth throughout the
play.
His presence immediately has the power to change the light and cheerful atmosphere of the Birlings dinner party.
In the opening stage directions, it describes how the lighting
changes from “pink and intimate” to “brighter and harder” once the inspector arrives.
adjectives pink and intimate have connotations of warmth, cosiness and happiness, reflects the ease, and stability of the Birling family and the upper classes in the Edwardian era in general.
the comparative adjectives juxtapose this sense of privilege and contentment. The use of “harder” implies discomfort and suggests that the inspector will confront the cosy ignorance of the Birling family.
“brighter” symbolises the scrutiny that they will be placed under and the inspector will expose the truth behind the civilised façade the family project. In the Edwardian era, the upper classes often held positions of power so were able to act freely without consequence. But through the Inspector, Priestley suggests that they should face scrutiny and justice in order to build a fairer society.
The playwright also uses the inspector to expose the truth about the suffering of the lower
classes and promote empathy for them.
“burnt her insides out” and “died in agony”.
the blunt and confrontational tone here highlights how the inspector is not concerned about manners or etiquette but simply wants the truth to be known. The violent lexis “burnt” and “agony” connotations of extreme pain provoke shock and a sense of sympathy from the audience or perhaps even guilt that such a tragedy could occur.
the graphic image of “insides out” encourages the audience to question what made Eva Smith choose such an awful death and thereby makes them question the living conditions that were forced upon working class women.
symbolise a sense of disorder in society. Eva’s death is grotesque and completely unnatural; perhaps even reminiscent of something that would happen in a horror story.
things in the Edwardian era were not right but were distorted or unnatural. As a socialist, Priestley was critical of the inequality that existed in the early 20th century and felt it was vastly unfair to have people who were struggling to survive living
alongside those with luxurious lifestyles.
no controls on the wages that employers like Birling could pay and little support for the unemployed. Therefore, Priestley is perhaps using the inspector as a way of exposing the horror of this society and the pain it caused.
One of the pivotal ideas Priestley uses the inspector to represent is that of collective
responsibility.
members of the bourgeoisie, the Birling family take pride in believing they are superior and “hard headed”.
In the opening stage directions we are
introduced to a “curtained window” in the household which acts as a symbol for their wilful ignorance and unwillingness to engage with the outside world.
“chain of events” led to the death of Eva Smith. symbolises the idea that people are interconnected and can affect one another in profound ways.
chooses to structure the play around this metaphor as the inspector systematically demonstrates each family member impacted Eva Smith.
It also emphasises the powerlessness of Eva Smith and lower classes as she seems caught in this chain with no chance to escape despite her genuine attempts to survive.
direct attack on the capitalist ideal that those at the bottom of society are there because they are lazy or immoral people as it shows how powerfully we can impact one another.
Ultimately, Priestley uses the inspector to convey the idea that it is impossible to escape our
responsibility.
“men” will be “taught” in “fire and blood and anguish” that we are all part of “one body”.
religious imagery here to suggest , may have had freedom and few consequences on earth, there is a higher power who will judge the upper classes for their behaviour.
plural “men” makes the speech sound like a sermon and inspector symbolises this higher power. It also creates the impression that he is no longer simply speaking to the Birlings but humanity as a whole.
, the references to “fire and blood and anguish” have connotations of torture and suffering which are reminiscent of hell.
warning the audience that selfishness will be punished. these nouns are a reference to the two world wars that were shortly to follow. forced the different social classes to cooperate and the upper classes to treat the lower classes with a greater degree of respect because they relied on
their labour to survive.
The fact that the inspector seems aware of the future again reinforces the idea that he is a spiritual being and there is a higher power than money, wealth and status that is watching us.
Serves as a moral agent of god
He’s pathetic and omniscient. Nature is utilised by Priestley to emphasise how capitalism has caused a discretion from foundations of religion, so he tries to provide salvation.
“ we are members of one body”
He directly release of Bible teaching used in baptism. This is parallel to the Lexus. He uses. I like to Jesus, he promotes the union of society and togetherness. Reinforcing him, spreading Christianity and foundations of teaching responsibility.
Girl is a homonym for girl suggesting he is a supernatural force . By liking to supernatural force, his present and intent is tremendously more powerful.
