In “An Inspector Calls”, at the centre of the play there is the character of “The Inspector” who is greatly presented as a mysterious, purposeful character who has a very strong sense of justice. Priestley uses the character of the Inspector to depict the other characters true personalities and show them that their actions have consequences which at the time the play was set, people of a higher class didn’t get consequences for their actions.
One of the ways Priestley presents the Inspector is through the name “Inspector Goole”. At the time the play was set, which was 1912, the audience would question that name as his name foreshadows the fact that something supernatural will take place, his name is a homonym of ghoul. Throughout the play, it is brought to attention that the Inspector isn’t a real Inspector. At first Mrs. Birling has her suspicions when the Inspector talks to the Birling family in a quite improper way and at the time a family of such high class would never be spoken to like that by a normal inspector. In the final act, Mrs. Birling says “I couldn’t imagine a real police inspector talking like that to us?” which suggests that the Inspector isn’t a real inspector. The word real also links back to the Inspectors name “Goole” in the sense that ghosts and the supernatural were very interesting at the time because people often questioned the reality of the supernatural.
An Inspector Calls is written in three acts. Priestley structures the acts so that they end on cliffhangers. There is also a final climax and then a twist at the very end. This use of structure helps to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Priestley also uses a lot of realistic dialogue which includes dramatic pauses, repetition and gasps and interruptions. An example of a significant dramatic pause used in the play was when the Inspector says “Well?”. Priestley has done this to create a dramatic cliffhanger at the end of Act 1. After the act ends there would be an intermission giving the audience time to question what the Inspector said and wanting them to know the other characters reply.
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The writer uses dramatic irony to make fun of Mr. Birling and his personality. This is evident when Mr. Birling mentions the “Titanic” and says “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” This shows that the use of dramatic irony makes Mr. Birling look like a buffoon and not the “hard-headed businessman” he says he is. The use of allusion to the “Titanic” suggests Mr. Birling has no idea about what actually happens to the Titanic. This would make the audience of that time think of Mr. Birling (who represents capitalism) as a fool and thus think of capitalism as idiotic.
Priestley’s goal was to present the Inspector as a very big and purposeful character. In the play, he was described as having “an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness” which creates a very big and powerful entrance to the character showing how important his role will be. He is important as Priestley changes the whole perspective of the play through the Inspector by having a big impression on the Birling family especially Sheila and Eric, unlike Mr and Mrs.Birling who are stubborn and have big egos. Sheila and Eric are the younger generations therefore according to Priestley are “more impressionable” because they were the future. He gives the audience hope that their society can improve if people make changes and take responsibility.
Priestley uses interruptions to add drama for example when Mr.Birling interrupts Sheila “Just a minute, Sheila. Now, Inspector, perhaps you and I had better go and talk this over quietly in a corner”. This connotes that Mr.Birling is worried that Sheila is going to get the family into trouble by saying too much. This makes the audience dislike Mr. Birling as he is shown to be a man who tries to avoid taking responsibility for his actions.
Priestley presents the Inspector as a very powerful character who makes a big impact on the other characters by showing them that even though they are of a high class, there are still consequences for their actions.
