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The Inspector :mag_right: - Coggle Diagram
The Inspector :mag_right:
Physical appearance :female-detective:
Priestley is vague when it comes to the inspectors physical appearance- due to his moral purpose and social responsibility being more important
"need not be a big man, but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidarity and purposefulness"- stage directions
The description of the Inspectors appearance may have been left vague so it does not distract from the weight of the message he represents
Perhaps the lack of detail in the inspectors appearance is to show he does not want to distract from his moral and social importance
Morality :scales:
Priestley uses the inspector as a
catalyst
to change the perceptions of responsibility
Priestley immediately presents the inspector as a moral force for good as when Mr Birling offers him a drink of port he replies with
"No thank you, i'm on duty"
- alcohol has immoral connotations so by him refusing the immorality of the act it shows the audience his values are ever present
This idea of bribery creates a
cyclical structure
as at the end of the play Mr Birling, again, attempts to bribe the inspector with a large sum of money which again he rejects-
"“you’re offering the money at the wrong time”
- shows he consistency of the inspectors good morals and the showing Mr Birlings immorality throughout
Socialist views :moneybag:
Priestley uses the inspector to encourage the younger generation to break away from their parents outdated views and to become more modern and liberal
The contrast between Mr Birling and the inspector reinforces the idea of Capitalism= immorality and Socialism= morality
Priestley's
social values and ideologies
are channelled through the inspector
the Inspectors views are noticeably too progressive for the mindset of people in 1912 and his views are more aligned with those watching in 1945
The Inspector has a moral level of respect for Eva and persists with calling her by her name instead of "girl" (as she is referred to as by the Birlings)
"public men have responsibility as well as privilege"
- Inspector Goole
Supernatural/ Omniscience :silhouette:
Goole sounds like 'Ghoul' (like a ghost)- this is a homophone
The inspector does not accuse any of the Birlings of a crime but instead he forces them to acknowledge the immorality of each of their actions
Omniscience- someone who knows everything with an air of unknown as to how
Priestley creates the inspector to be an example of how the audience should act themselves
Omniscient but not omnipotent- all- knowing but not all- powerful
Religion :latin_cross:
Both God and The Inspector are omniscient
the nature of the enquiry being moral suggests that the Inspector could be an agent of God
The Inspector goes round , forcing people to admit to their sins which is similar to the role of a priest in a catholic church
The quote
"we are all members of one body"
echos the words of God as this quote is said in the Book of Genesis and used in Holy Communion
Perhaps the
semantic field
of religious terminology is used to increase the likelihood of the audience accepting Priestley's message due to the UK being largely Christian in 1945
The Inspectors final speech ends with
"go forth in peace"
which is also how Christian mass ends- showing that by following the inspectors message you are not only pleasing God by inflicting future peace upon the world