The Inspector Flashcards
Inspector Goole is…
Moral: “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body”
Authoritative: “All in good time”
Mysterious: “Was it a hoax”
An outsider: “The rude way he spoke to Mr Birling and me - it was quite extraordinary”
The Inspector as a driving force of the play:
Starts it all off with the line “Suicide of course”
He asks pushy questions to keep things rolling
He forces more information out of people by bluntly saying what the other characters are trying to keep hidden “You decided to keep her as your mistress”
He also reveals new informations which heightens the drama i.e. “This girl was going to have a child”
The Inspector’s use of language:
Uses very emotive and personal language to stir things up
Describes Eva as a ‘pretty’, ‘lively’ girl. These attractive words make the audience sympathetic towards her
Sympathy increased when uses contrasting images of her ‘with a burnt-out inside on a slab’
This is effective as Sheila is ‘rather distressed’ by the Inspector’s language and says that she ‘Can’t stop thinking about this girl - destroying herself’
The Inspector’s use of shock tactics:
He answers his own questions when he’s not happy with someone’s answer
He follows up questions with more questions until he pieces together a convincing confession i.e. “Was it or was it not your influence?”
He is blunt and is prepared to ask very personal questions such as “Were you in love with her?” to Gerald
The Inspectors entrance:
Priestley has the Inspector ring the bell just as Arthur says “A man has to mind his own business”
It is as if Mr Birling’s comment has summoned the Inspector to prove the exact opposite
Inspectors use of exits as a clever tactic:
He leaves Sheila and Gerald alone and lets Sheila interrogate Gerald and this makes it easier to draw a confession
After his final exit theres a sudden silence because no one else has been talking, characters are left, ‘Staring, subdued and wondering’
Priestley’s use of the Inspector as a mouthpiece:
The Inspector stands outside the class system of the Birling’s social world
He’s an observer who takes Eva’s side and tells the Birlings what he thinks of them
Priestley is a 20th century socialist and Labour supporter The Inspector reflects his views and can be see as a mouth piece “We are members of one body”
Inspector Goole or Ghoul?
At the end of the play the audience aren’t sure what he is
Seems omniscient, knowing the answers to the questions he is about to ask
Knows about the death of Eva before the morgue, weird?
Is the Inspector more than just a police officer?
Officer, judge and jury
However lets the Birlings’ play the role of the executioner as Sheila remarks “He giving us the rope to hang ourselves from”
The authority of the Inspector:
He knows how to create an air of uncertainty and reel everyone in
He makes sure everyone knows he is in charge
Leaves people confused as events become apparent but he never is
He interputs, doesn’t obey traditional etiquette
