INSPECTOR GOOLE Flashcards
(5 cards)
name
although on a surface level his name may imply that the Inspector is a supernatural figure in the play, as Goole is a homophone to ghoul, it could also be a warning to the Birlings, and by extension the audience, that they will be haunted by their mistakes if they do not change their ways. Furthermore, it positions the Inspector in na powerful position, as he almost prophecises what is to come, even if he wasn’t a real inspector he knew that Eva’s death will come, even if it has not actually happened yet - this could be metaphorical for the World wars - Priestley is suggesting that he can see that in the future, the phone rings again, a girl commits suicide again, the narrative cycles and so will the fate of society - if they do not embrace change and build a socialist society, they will repeat wars again.
Conversely, through a structuralist lens,
the Inspector can be perceived as a binary opposition to Mr Birling, as he acts as a mouthpiece for Priestley, and the advocate for socialism in the play, to transport his moral message to the audience and readers.
This stark contrast and caricature-like portrayal of the characters allows for the audience to find it easy to recognise the mistakes that mr Birling makes, and directly look to the Inspector for guidance.
“what happened to her, a chain of events”
This metaphor underscores the central theme of social responsibility, as it conveys that society, although made up of many links, joined together, it is ultimately a single chain. Just like the phrase “members of one body”, this suggests that while a single link is useless, if society were to work together, it would be more functional and efficient, a key socialist idea. Moreover, the Inspector is attempting to expose to the Birlings the way in which their actions, their motives, always impacts the next chain, and therefore they cannot simply remove all reponsibility from themselves, since Eva’s death is inherently permanently linked to them. To add to this, this is possibly an allusion to the Marxist idea that the bourgeoisie focus on separating themselves from the proletariat, and expand the divide between classes, in order to deem themselves superior and have a stronger claim to large amounts of power. However, this metaphor demonstrates the way in which this is a meaningless pursuit since society will always be linked to one another, and one link cannot exist without the other in this “chain”.
“public men, Mr Birling have responsibilities as well as privileges”
Throughout the play, Priestley showcases the upper classes’ exclusion from this, through their “priveleges” bestowed upon them by their wealth and titles.
The word “public” is specifically employed in order to accentuate Mr Birling’s obsession with a refined reputation, which he pays in order to maintain, although he could simply adopt a socially responsible approach and avoid any damage to his reputation that way. Although Priestley is not exploring the kind of social responsibility that the Birlings may claim to, that is using one’s money: the only way in which Mr and Mrs Birling could have saved Eva was through money, with Mr Birling paying her more, and Mrs Birling donating her charity. Eric tried to pay back his wrongdoings by stealing money and paying Eva, and Sheila had her revenge on her through having her fired from her job, her source of income. This demonstrates that any good or bad deed that capitalists try to do, revolves around materialism and money.
“advice, sympathy, friendliness”
these are the things Eva needed more than money - whilst priestley isn’t necessarily arguing that money is not a source of hapiness, since for Eva Smith, a girl vulnerable due to her poverty, it would have been extremely useful.
