Inspector Calls: Inspector

Question 1

Inspector takes charge

Answer 1

• inspector arrives unexpectedly and just says he is there to ask questions
• he is an outsider and doesn’t have much in common with the Birlings
• leaves after delivering a speech about social responsibility . When they find out he is probably a fake, the older characters forget his speech and avoid all blame
• he is described as authoritative and imposing , he is not a big man but his presence fills the room

Moral: “we don’t live alone . We are members of one body”
Authoritative: “all in good time”
Outsider:” the rude way he spoke to mr birling and me”

Question 2

He is the driving force of the play

Answer 2

1) starts with summary of the afternoons events - “suicide of course”
2) forces more information out of people bluntly saying what the other characters try to skirt around e.g when Gerald’s describing how he met daisy the inspector asks “and then you decided to keep her- as your mistress?” . But it is not really a question it just forces Gerald to admit the truth
3) he reveals new info which heightens the drama e.g when he drops it into the convo that “this girl was going to have a child”

Question 3

The inspectors “calling” is pretty ominous

Answer 3

1) the word ‘calls’ sounds casual as if he is just dropping in
2) ‘calls’ is a deceptive word to use as he may appear casual and spontaneous but in fact he’s single minded and calculating as if he ‘calls’ the shots
3) another inspector ‘calls’ the birling household on the phone at the end
4) the title of the play echoed Edna’s words as she announces the arrival of the inspector at the start and in the telephone call at the end

Question 4

His language is emotive and personal

Answer 4

• inspector comes to the house to stir things and does this with emotive language
• he describes Eva as “pretty” and “lively” girl. These attractive words make the audience more sympathetic towards her
• this sympathy is strengthened by the harsh tone used to describe her death -
  “with a burnt out inside on a slab”
• Sheila is “rather distressed” by the inspectors language and says she “can’t help thinking about this girl destroying herself”

Question 5

Inspector uses shock tactics

Answer 5

• answers his own questions if he is unhappy with someone’s answer e.g when Sybil refuses to admit there was a committee meeting he says “you know very well there was , Mrs birling”
• he follows up questions with more questions until he has pieced together a confession
• he’s blunt “you’re not even sorry now,when you know what happened” and is prepared to ask personal questions “were you in love with her?”

Question 6

Entrance and exit

Answer 6

Inspectors timing was crucial . The inspector rings the bell as Arthur says “a man has to mind his own business” as if the birlings announcement summons the inspector to prove the opposite

Inspector uses exits as a clever tactic . Leaving Sheila and Gerald alone let’s Sheila interrogate and allows time for suspicion to break them apart. Making it easier to get him to confess when the inspector returns

Inspectors language gets more dramatic which builds tension and emotion in the final scene . If the birlings don’t learn their lesson they will be taught it in “blood, fire and anguish”

After his last exit there is silence because no one else has been speaking. The audience like the characters on stage are left “staring, subdued and wondering”

Question 7

Priestley uses the inspector as a mouthpiece

Answer 7

Inspector stands outside the class system and is an outsider but he doesn’t take a neutral position - he is on Eva’s side and tells the birlings his opinions

Priestleys own views are reflected in the opinions of the inspector.

This is most clear during the final speech