Inspector Calls The Inspector Flashcards
How is the inspector presented as mysterious
His dialogue “I don’t play golf “ and “I never take offence” this vagueness of character is deliberate on the part of Priestley as it creates a sense of ambiguity and mystery added by his name
How does the quote referring to his name suggest mystery
“Goole” is a homophone for the word ghoul which means ghost or spirit
This links to how the inspector haunts the birlings and Gerald about their role in evas death
How does Priestley show the inspector as supernatural
Inspector at times seems to know too much about a girl who only died 2 hours ago - suggests he’s a supernatural being
Why does inspector say vague descriptions
Deliberately does this to help the reader focus less on the character himself and more on the message he brings and the message is loudly declared with no subtlety whatsoever
How does Priestley use the inspector to portray a message
The inspectors words of dialogue seem to come directly from the mouth of Priestley hammering home the message of social responsibility that he wants the audience to learn. He used the character to speak to the audience directly about social responsibility and it’s not subtle
What further evidence is there to show Priestley was using the inspector
I’m 1947 Sewell stokes theatre article Panache and Port Wine states “ then the bell rings and in comes inspector goole (inspector Priestley, to be more exact)”
What is the inspector
A mouthpiece for Priestley
How does Priestley enhance his message
Through the use of supernatural imagery in the inspectors final words “fire and blood and anguish” - allusion to the biblical description of hell as being a “blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” - overall message of this is people need to do good deeds to get into heaven - thus is a moralistic concept
How does the inspector show that all are responsible for the death of Eva smith
Priestley wanted a social and political shift in society to show equality and community after the Second World War “Each of you helped to kill her”
What quote and writer method further proposes everyone was responsible for evas death
“What happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened afterwards may have driven her to suicide” this is anadiplosis
