Inspector Goole analysis

Context of character:
The inspector who tells the billings that Eva is dead
‘Goole’ is a homophone of ‘ghoul’ which means ghost. Represents a warning to the birlings
about the future of society if they continue in their ways.
Represents socialist views

Quotes:
“An impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”
Otherworldly qualities
Semantic field of size shows the inspectors sheer importance and power
Three ‘solid’ adjectives convey that impenetrable objects will metaphorically sink the family.

Lights ‘[pink and intimate] to [harder and brighter]”

Perhaps metaphorically symbolise that the inspector is going to bring the harsh truth
Juxtaposition
‘Harder’ connotes solidity and firmness which exemplifies how the inspector will not be
manipulated by the birlings social position

“Darkish suit”
Adjective ‘darkish’ suggest imagery of an ominous presence and a sinister event, foreshadows
how he will inaugurate gloom and misery into the family
Dress him in a plain and basic style so the audience focus on his mannerisms and dialect rather
than appearance

“In fire and blood and anguish”

Final words to leave a resounding impact
Two interpretations
​ ⁃​ Foreshadowing the two world wars in which many die
​ ⁃​ A religious metaphor that you will be condemned to a hell on earth if you cannot
live together.

“It’s better to ask for the earth than take it”

Symbolises capitalism, class and equality
Juxtaposing verbs of ‘ask’ and ‘take’ to show how the upper class take what they want (Eric
stealing money) yet the working class have to ask and hope (Eva asking for more money)
The Inspector & Feminism
●​ Deliberately focuses on ‘these young women’ who are suffering as to suggest they are
more vulnerable to capitalist exploitation than men
●​ Literally in the ‘back’ of the house because that's where the worst rooms were for rent:
symbolically, they are at the back of social hierarchy as they are inferior and
marginalised
●​ Priestley does this because half his audience would be female. Now that they have the
vote, hes communicating to them that they have the most to lose if the country rejects
socialism in the next election.

“[massively] public men, mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges” spoken by

the inspector
●​ Shows the inspector gaining control and authority.
●​ Further importance in how Priestley is telling Birling that he is even more to blame for his
failure to see that his public position entails a duty of responsibility.

INSPECTOR ‘It would do us all a bit of good if sometimes we try to put

ourselves in the place of these young women counting their pennies, in
their dingy little back bedrooms’
-​ 1) MORAL: This tells us that he believes in community, we should put
ourselves in others' shoes. He has deliberately mentioned women
because sheila continues on the inspectors views, the victim is eva smith,
the last straw for eva was the actions of Sybil Birling
-​ 2) SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: 2 types of responsibility at play in An
Inspector Calls. Firstly, collective good: the inspector wants us to feel
empathy and be responsible for each other - it's our duty. On the other
hand, Mr and Mrs Birling are only interested in finding out who is
responsible for the scandal the inspector had revealed - to them its
individual blame rather than collective good.
-​ 3) Priestley is saying that the biggest injustice in society is the way women
are treated but they also have the greatest power to change society too -
in 1912 they did not have the vote but by 1944 every woman could vote,
remembering what happened to previous generations of women e.g
during WW1 one million women were given jobs but when men returned
home they were immediately sacked
-​ Now that women have the vote, they have the power to prevent this from
happening again
-​ 4) Perhaps Mr Birling knows what it feels like to be in a back room, he
didn’t come from a wealthy family, he is instead self-made new money.
This contrasts the Croft family, who are much richer and more influential
than the Birlings. The Inspector could have said this as an attempt to
spark some sort of empathy for Eva within Mr Birling, to no avail. He’s so
 deeply rooted himself into capitalism that he turns a blind eye to the
struggling working class despite the fact that he used to be in their shoes.
Priestley’s message here is that anyone who turns to capitalism will end
up continuously selfish and forget themselves.

-​ INSPECTOR ‘There are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John
Smiths’
-​ 2) SOCIAL CLASS: Shows that Eva is a symbolic figure for the whole of
the working class. Audience = middle class & educated, the very people
who need to change their attitude toward the poor to make a real change
-​ 3) Interwar unemployment and poverty in the UK was a pivotal issue
between WW1 and WW2. After the post war boom of 1919-1920,
unemployment rose sharply to over 10% and stayed high until WW2.
-​ 4) This raises the idea that the inspector had merged the identities of
Daisy Renton and Eva Smith into one in a cunning plot to change the
ways of the Birling family. Mr & Mrs Birling agree that it ‘makes all the
difference’ if it wasn't a police visit but Eric & Sheila disagree, saying ‘He
was our police inspector all right’. Gerald is the one who points out the
picture could be of two different girls: Priestley gives Gerald the role of a
detective but instead of solving the crime he makes it seem as if there was
no crime at all.

-​ INSPECTOR ‘We are not alone.. we are members of one body’

-​ 1) OMNISCIENCE: Biblical language/connotations present the Inspector
as an omniscient ‘God-like’ figure - the bringer of undisputed truth &
Priestley’s proxy. He leaves Birlings with the lesson just as God leaves
Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden
-​ 2) SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Persuasive argument as a play may not
solely change the mindset of conservative audience, but reminds them to
look to their religion because they’re not fully complying to its core beliefs.
Creates a sense of self guilt within the audience as they realise their
capitalist lifestyles contradict their christian beliefs.
-​ 3) 80% or more of the audience are christian, ‘one body’ is language
deriving from the Holy Communion/Eucharist. Uses language they are
used to, so that they associate christianity with socialism (share same
values). Saying capitalism is anti christian. What would Jesus do? What
would a christian do? They would have to believe in community and
compassion toward their neighbour, therefore having to vote for a socialist
society: cannot vote for capitalism with a good conscience.
-​ 4) The message of an angel but the wrath/enmity of a ghoul (ghoul =
Goole, homophone) to further reinforce the importance of transitioning to a
socialist society.

-​ INSPECTOR ‘If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in
fire and blood and anguish’
-​ 1) POWERFUL: Declares that men ‘WILL’ be taught in fire. This makes it
sound almost like a threat or that he knows for certain that will be the
case. Priestley has moulded the Inspector to be this authoritative and
powerful figure so that he can shed light on the upper class’ wrongdoings
in society. He must be presented in this way because in a capitalist
society, the rich ARE the powerful. As Priestley’s mouthpiece, he must
catalyse the socialist movement and wipe out capitalist ideology by
sharing this intimidating message
-​ 2) GENDER: doesn’t say man (including all of humanity) but instead only
men. In 1912, women had no power - the suffragettes fought for this but
they only got the vote in 1928. He’s saying it's men’s fault because they
are the ones with financial power and social influence.
-​ 2) SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Priestley is saying that these are the
stakes here - another war would mean huge calamity. He’s offering this
challenge to the audience: will you create a new edenic socialist state and
uphold it or enter WW3? The writer is telling the audience that their
children will have to face the consequences of their actions, just as they
had to face the repercussions caused by the older generation
-​ 3) Final warning; if we don’t fix our society now, a third and final war that
will ultimately annihilate the civilisation we know today will come in half the
time it took for WW2 to arise - Preistley founded a nuclear disarmament
campaign. Direct link between capitalism, exploitation of workers, self
interest and war
-​ 4) Inspector leaves the stage after this to test whether they learned their
lesson. This is similar to how Priestley is leaving the audience with this
socialist message, all he can do is sit back and watch whether they take it
to heart, and how God left Adam and Eve in the garden of eden to stand
the test of the forbidden fruit. They get eternally expelled from Eden,
causing their ancestors (rest of humanity) to be able to suffer. ‘One body’
is directly taken from the bible and the ritual of the Eucharist.
-​ INSPECTOR ‘In fact, in a kind of way, you might be said to have been
jealous of her’
-​ Sheila = Inspector’s proxy. Inspector = Priestley’s proxy.
-​ 1) OPPRESSED: Priestley is pointing out how odd it is that someone as
privileged as Sheila somehow became jealous of a shopkeeper. This is
because although Eva had low life prospects, 1912 society heavily valued
a woman’s appearance.
-​ 2) GENDER: Priestley is saying society has damaged women as it
teaches them to value the wrong things: not only do they have to marry to
gain ‘independence’ but they have to make themselves marketable for this
marriage, therefore huge emphasis is made on vanity, which caused
Sheila’s jealousy
-​ 3) Women are oppressed in terms of opportunity and their way of thinking
has also been tainted to conform. Priestley is saying that since they are
the victims of society, they are the very ones who should stand up and
make a change.