Inspector Calls Inspector

897 Words4 Pages
The inspector is one of eight characters in J.B. Priestley’s play, The Inspector Calls. The play is set in 1912 in the Birling house hold. The Birling family consists of Arthur Birling (owns the family Eva worked at), Sybil Birling (Arthurs wife and head of the counsel Eva goes for help to), Eric Birling (gets Eva pregnant), Shelia Birling (engaged to Gerald and got Eva fired) and Gerald Croft (made Eva happy for a short time). The story is about how as a collective, the family manged to lead to Eva Smiths/Daisy Renton’s suicide. The role of the inspector is to get Priestly message across to the audience. One example of him doing this is when he interrupts Mr Birling’s speech after their dinner. He is mid-way through a speech about how the working class need to be controlled and that everyman for his self, when the doorbell rings sharply. This apposes Priestley’s socialist views that everyone has to look out for each other and treated fairly. The Inspector enters the play to investigate the suicide of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. He is…show more content…
Whilst Mr Birling is talking about how ever man is for his self. ‘That a man has to mind his own business and look after his self and his own-’. This is when the doorbell rings. The doorbell is a sharp (like the lighting) ringing interrupting his speech. This is ironic because the inspector (also Priestly) doesn’t believe in this view. Priestly is a socialist and believes that we all are responsible for everyone else. By the doorbell ringing at that point, it’s like priestly is saying the Mr Birling is wrong. When the inspector finally enters the play, it is very dramatic. On page eleven when he enters, there is a large amount of stage directions as to what he looks like. ‘He creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.’ All through the play this is reinforced showing how he has control over everyone. This can be seen later in the play when he gets everyone quiet and gives his
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