GRADE 9 GCSE An Inspector Calls - Inspector Goole Essay.
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
This is an exemplar essay, including Grade 9 terminology and techniques. This essay fits the AQA GCSE English Literature curriculum. It includes ambitious vocabulary, judiciously picked quotes and so much more. This is an amazing resource to revise from and will provide amazing structure for future...
In 'An Inspector Calls', Inspector Goole is used as a dramatic device, arguably acting as a mouthpiece
for J. B. Priestley in order to convey the message of the play - for the audience to be more accepting
of socialist ideologies to ensure society never reverts to being dominated by capitalism like it was
before the two world wars. This would have a profound impact on the post war audience of 1945 as
through their suffering, they would have realised the importance of unity.
Inspector Goole is presented as an omnipotent, powerful figure throughout the play; his
presence immediately has the power to change the light and cheerful atmosphere of the
Birlings' dinner party. The lighting changes from "pink and intimate" to "brighter and harder" once
the inspector arrives. Here, Priestley's use of the adjectives "pink and intimate" have connotations of
warmth and happiness whereas the comparative adjective "harder" opposes this. Priestley uses the
inspector as a dramatic device. Not only could it be argued that the inspector is an immensely
powerful figure but also that Priestley uses the specific stage directions that accompany Inspector
Goole's arrival to act as a symbol for how he wants society to improve. The lighting before the
inspector arrives suggests that the Birling family – who encapsulate a stereotypical portrayal of a
middle class family – were happy whilst they were ignorant to the plight of the working class. The
lighting change mirrors how Priestley wants society to change; he wants society to stop being ignorant
to the plight of the working class. Additionally, the lighting change foreshadows the rest of the play;
through Inspector Goole, Priestley will throw into relief the issues within Edwardian society symbolised
by the bright light in which nothing can hide.
Furthermore, J. B. Priestley uses the inspector to convey that he wants society to change and
become more empathetic towards the plight of the working class instead of perceiving them
as being disposable. When the inspector arrives, he tells the Birling family about Eva Smith’s suicide
in which she drank a lot of strong disinfectant that “burnt her inside out”. Here, Priestley’s use of
graphic language and violent verb “burnt” evokes an emotional response with the post war audience
of 1945 and the twenty first century audience alike. Priestley’s language persuades the audience to
feel immense sympathy not only for Eva Smith but also for all of the working class; it could be argued
that Eva Smith’s suffering and suicide is used as a metaphor to highlight the continuous struggled
faced by the working class, throwing into relief the issues within society and how these problems are
ignored by the wealthier classes. Priestley’s gory imagery alternately makes the audience feel
profoundly guilty for they may realise how ignorant they have been to ignore the struggles of the
working class and persuade them to change by being more empathetic.
Priestley suggests that a pressing issue with the twentieth century society is that people are
reluctant to take responsibility for their actions. This view is encapsulated through the use of
the elder members of the Birling family, Arthur and Sybil – who do not take responsibility for
their actions towards Eva Smith. However, Priestley uses the inspector to thwart this. The
Inspector states that if we share nothing else, “we have to share our guilt”. Here Priestley uses the
personal pronoun “we” to give society a sense of unity, implying everyone must do the same and
follow the inspector’s teachings. ‘An Inspector Calls’ was set in 1912, a time in which society was
divided by not only gender but by social class. Here, Priestley’s use of the inclusive pronoun is
paradoxical, subverting the audience’s expectation about a divided society. Augmented by Priestley’s
use of the imperative verb “have to”, he persuades the audience to take responsibility for their actions
towards other members of society in order for society to progress. Alternately, Priestley’s use of the
verb “share” could further reflect Priestley’s socialist ideologies that wealth should be more even
distributed within society, instead of the richer upper and middle classes being greedy. Priestley wants
the middle and upper classes to transform from abusing their power to dominate and exploit the
working class to instead being more responsible for their actions and treating people more
sympathetically.
Priestley uses the inspector to convey the consequences of what will happen if members of
society do not change. He states that we will be “taught” in “fire and blood and anguish”. Priestley’s
use of a triplet of nouns act as metaphors for the two world wars. The entire play is used as a motif for
the wars; if society proceed to not improve the way in which members of society treat each other, the
world wars will repeat in an endless cycle until we learn. Here, the inspector is conveyed as an
omnipotent being. ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written and first performed at the end of the Second World
War therefore the contemporary audience will have experienced the perpetual suffering that come
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