An Inspector Calls

Question : why did jb priestly use the name inspector goole? It was, perhaps, because of the word GHOUL which one associates with the dead and, perhaps, 'digging up the dead' (getting beneath the surface).

Question : How does J.B. priestley use the final scene to bring out the real purpose of the play? J.B priestly uses the final scene to bring out the purpose of the play Mainly by the inspectors final speech. The speech is structured very closely to famous other speeches with all the persuasive techniques used in other texts. The speech is not only directed to the characters but is also meant to be directed towards the audience, this is because Priestly wrote this play after the second world war and it was to expose the conservative Edwardian Goverment. He was worried that people would turn back to the Edwardian style of Goverment. The final speech's purpose was to influence peoples outlook on the conservative Goverment. The play was set in 1912 and Birling's speeches contain many wrong assumptions such as the Unsinkable titanic being the best ship in the world and there being no chance of war. This is to hook the reader in by correcting him and to make the audience resent him, the characters are a typical conservative family.

Question : What is the function of Inspector Goole in Inspector Calls? Inspector Goole is the sort of person who stirs up the Birling family celebratory dinner with the tragic news of a young woman who has commited suicide. He literally shakes the truth out of the Birling Family including Gerald , who had an affaur with her( eva) while he was assumed to be in an engagement with Sheila Birling. The inspector is a very straight forward, no - nonsense kind of person who doesnt get flattered easily nor is his focus easily shifted. I would say that J.B. Priestley was trying to make it clear in this story that the truth will always prevail.. and that one bad thing can lead to another.

Question : What killed Eva Smith in "An Inspector Calls"? Eva Smith is killed by the selfishness of others. She was dismissed from her first job at Birlings for protestsing for worker's rights, then sacked from her job at Milwards at the whim of Sheila Birling. She loses her virtue to the predatory but weak Gerald Croft and becomes pregnant by the spineless Eric Birling. Then she is refused help and support by Mrs Birling's charity committee. Eva's death would be recorded as suicide as she drank disinfectant, but she was driven to suicide by the actions of all of the guests at the engagement dinner which the inspector interrupts. The inspector sums up the effect that each person had to lead to Eva's death, and gives the characters and the audience a clear moral to the story: 'We are responsible for each other...If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish.'

Question : What is the importance of Eric's character in 'An Inspector calls'? How has his character changed by the end of the play? Eric is potentially one of the founders of the next generation; if Eva had lived he could well be a father. Despite his wild and reckless past, his childish actions and the fierce protectionism of his family, Eric emerges as penitent and ready to acknowledge the lesson that Inspector Goole delivers. It is important that he represents youth and the hope that the dramatic message can be learnt. In the early part of the play he is drunk and insensible, mocking of the proceedings. He laughs aloud when the conversation turns to Gerald and his work. This indicates that he is aware of Geralds philandering, and probably views it this point as inconsequential as his own. Eric is quite disturbed to discover that the visitor is an inspector. This foreshadows his revelation of his criminal activity in the theft he has perpetrated from his family in a feeble attempt to support Eva. By the end of the play, Eric is clear on the message that the inspector has delivered, that we are all responsible for each other, Eric can also see that its reality or source is unimportant. Its still the same rotten story whether its been told to a police inspector or somebody elseIts what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters.

Question : the story of a family interested in nothing but appearance. Do you agree or disagree? The Birling family, plus Sheila's fiance Gerald Croft, are indeed primarily concerned with appearance. Each of them when questioned by the inspector reveals that their cruel actions towards Eva Smith were driven by a need to protect their own reputations and to allow them to appear noble and upstanding citizens. Mr Birling sacked Eva for participating in a strike, which would have raised public awareness of Birling's low pay for workers. Sheila Birling was affronted by Eva's beauty which exceeded her own, so had her sacked from Milward's store. Gerald had an illicit affair with Eva despite being engaged to Sheila Birling - the more commendable social match. Eric was the father of Eva's unborn child and became a thief - stealing from his own family - to support her. Mrs Birling through her charity committee refused to help Eva as she felt the girl's situation was of her own making. The inspector reveals that each of the characters are responsible for Eva's death and that if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. The characters need the jolt at the end of the play to reinforce the message of the inspector. As an audience we do not know if the lesson is truly learnt.

Question : An Inspector Calls is full of mystery and suspense. Show by detailed reference to the text how this atmosphere is created and mantained in the play. The play uses several devices to keep the audience in suspense. Firstly, we are aware that the Birlings incorrectly assess key events that are raised in the play; such as the Titanic sailing and the rumours of war . The reader is therefore aware early on in the play that we may not be dealing with characters of sound judgement.

The arrival of Inspector Goole is unusual and his presence (even the pun of ghoul/goole on his name) is mysterious. The way each character is interrogated and reveals an individual weakness linked to the demise of Eva Smith becomes eerily familiar by the time Mrs Birling is questioned.

Lastly, the ending of the play helps to maintain an air of suspense regarding the characters and the real impact of the inspectors visit. The younger characters had been initially cowed by the inspectors final speech, but the older Birlings were ready to question the reality of what had been presented to them and the validity of the inspector not of the effect of their deeds. It is at the very end of the play,

when the characters are ready to see the earlier events as a joke, that the final point is made. Mr Birling takes a telephone call announcing that an inspector is on the way to talk to the family about the suicide of a young lady. The audience is left in suspense, as the characters are, as to what has really just transpired. Question : Theme:status - In Act1/drama "An Inspector Calls." How is it highlighted int he drama?

The theme in this play is responsibility towards others, especially established in this Act through the depiction of the Birling family, whose celebration dinner is interrupted by Inspector Goole who has come to question them regarding the death of Eva Smith, a working class woman they all knew. "Act 1 opens during a formal dinner party. Around the table sit the Birling family.": The author establishes that this family, who is celebrating the engagement of their daughter Sheila to the very eligible Mr. Croft, is carefree and wealthy. They can sit around and drink champagne and think about their wonderful lives, without thinking about the state of events in the world, which is the eve of World War I. "As the conversation continues, Birling complacently dismisses the silly little war scares of the time, predicting that there will be peace and prosperity for decades to come." Their attitude is an example of the collective mindset of society in this period, early twentieth century, that there would be no more wars. How science was developing new inventions to make life easier every day. This attitude is captured perfectly in the arrogance of the Titanic, the unsinkable ship that sailed without enough lifeboats for its passengers safety. Eva, the Inspector tells the family, has committed suicide. A contrast is drawn between the wonderful lives of the Birlings and the misery of Eva Smith, who had nothing to live for, and killed herself. Question : Sheila represents the younger generation that Priestley hops is still open-minded enough to learn to accept responsibilities for others. Describe Sheila. Sheila, being a member of the younger generation in an upper-middle class hierarchy, is initially nave and spoilt. We see her spite and malice when she had Eva Smith fired for humiliating her by looking pretty. The Inspector observes that she was jealous of her. However, she is open-minded and not truly conservative. I n one instance, she tells Eric, Youre squiffy which was considered unladylike in 1912, for squiffy is a slang for slightly drunk. Furthermore, she affectionately kisses Gerald in a state of excited elation upon receiving a ring from him. In those days, girls were expected to be modest, virtuous and constrained. Oh, darling! she exclaims in delight.

Furthermore, when the revelations of her spite acted on Eva and the dilapidated conditions of laborers are brought to her, she is genuinely shocked. Certainly she has a sensitive nature hidden within that is brought out when she is undeceived. When the Inspector informs her that there are girls who live in poverty-stricken states due to parsimonious employers, she protests, But these girls arent cheap labour theyre people. In the end, she is shown to be impressionable, being affected by Gooles harangue and accepting responsibility for Evas death; she clearly sees her luckless wrongs, and is honest enough to face up to her gross misdeed. It doesnt much matter that Goole turns out not to be an Inspector, she feels. Hence, through Sheila, Priestley wishes to show that the younger generation is open-minded enough to learn to accept responsibilities for others. As they are young, mutable and inexperienced, such radical responsibility can be inculcated in them, being receptive to new ideas

Question : One of the main themes of An Inspector Calls is that of lies. Show how Priestley exposes deceit, both in his characters and in society as a whole. Discuss with close reference to the novel. Lies is one of the main themes of An Inspector Calls. We discover that in this play, much deception is practiced in a tangled woven web of lies. Sybil Birling, a social snob, is revealed as a liar when she states that she has never met Eva Smith. In fact, she has met Eva, when the latter appealed to the Brumley Womens Committee for help. As she is a liar, Goole is accordingly harshest with her, when he exposes her. Eva, the deluded victim, lied to Sybil for survival, calling herself Mrs. Birling. In fact, she is unmarried and is the mother of Erics unborn child. Why should she presume to call herself Mrs. Birling? Perhaps it is because Birling is Erics surname and she represented herself initially as an abused married woman. Perhaps she hoped that Sybil would pity her, or she wished to blackmail Sybil for concealing the shameful secret. However, her unfortunate indiscretion led Sybil to spurn an subsequently lie to Goole. Arthur, as a parsimonious Capitalist, insists that he is not responsible for Evas death. He lives in a world of self-delusion, in which he figures as the hero. When this is viewed in the perspective of society as a whole, Arthur is living a lie. As an employer, he ought to provide Eva with benefits yet denies his responsibility when she commits suicide. He is clearly responsible for her death as he had fired her. His mask of shallow hypocrisy is exposed in the revelation of Evas impregnation by Eric. He is furious with Eric for seducing Eva not because he pities the latter. Instead, he says, Therell be a public scandal. He wishes to keep the scandal under wraps in order to protect his reputation and this is living a life of deceit. Sybil as the member of the Brumley Womens Committee, is supposed to offer assistance to battered women. However, she rejects Evas appeal for aid, dismissing her. The Committee, in fact, is but a mere lie it is a veneer for status and respectability rather than a helper of unfortunate females. Priestley portrays his contempt for the upper classes that use facades for prestige but do little. Goole, too, is ultimately revealed as a liar as he is not an Inspector. He serves to trip the masks of the others and expose deceit. In this way, deceit

reveals deceit. Hence, deceit in a society as a whole is extremely prevalent. Eva used it to survive; the Birlings practiced it for a secure reputation. However, deceit is a destructive force that eventually pulls us down when it is revealed as in the cases of Eva and the Birlings; and this way, Priestley conveys his opinions on the shallowness of deceit, particularly when exposed.