The Dramatic Importance of the Inspector in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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The Dramatic Importance of the Inspector in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls In this play, Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley expresses his personal viewpoint on society in general throughout the play by using the character Inspector Goole. His viewpoint is evident in the main themes through out the play which are social responsibility, power and lies. These themes help to articulate his belief that all people share a common humanity and so all are part of a community whereby everyone should help each other, regardless class. Social responsibility is possibly the most prominent theme through the play and is explored a number of times. Priestley shows how lack of social responsibility can cause a ‘chain of events’ which will lead to something rather more severe. One example of this lack of responsibility is when Mr Birling tells Eva Smith to ‘clear out’. He doesn’t consider what would happen to her if she had no money. He just saw her as a potential business threat she was one of the ‘four or five ringer leaders’ who demanded higher wages. Mr Birling feels no social responsibility for the welfare of his workers; he just wants to make as much profit as possible. Power is another theme that plays an important role in the play. Priestley illustrates how the immoral use of power can once again have severe consequences. He shows how the middle and upper class had great authority over the working class who were often in desperate need of money. The perfect example of this is when Sheila used her social standing to have Eva Smith sacked from Milwards. Sheila blackmailed the manager by saying ‘If they didn’t get rid of that girl I’d never ... ... middle of paper ... ...call has the same dramatic effect as the doorbell which we see at the start of the play when the inspector entered, they are both sharp, sudden and unexpected. It also brings what exactly the inspector was back into the lime light. He almost predicted what would happen and we as an audience wonder how he could predicted the death of the girl. The play ends shrouded in mystery and once again the Inspector becomes of dramatic importance although he isn’t actually present. The audience sense something rather strange. Throughout the play the Inspector has been of dramatic importance or had a dramatic effect. From his abrupt entrance where there is a ‘sharp’ ring of the doorbell to his dramatic speech and compelling disappearance he has imposed drama, tension and excitement adding to an enjoyable play.

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