an inspector calls- the inspector

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  • Created by: hollys27
  • Created on: 21-12-19 14:53
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  • the inspector
    • 'she'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. burnt her insides out, of course'
      • the inspector is determined to let the billings and the audience know just how horrific Eva Smith death was and the suffering she went through.
      • the inspector makes Eva's suffering explicit. the adverb 'a lot' highlights the desperate desire for Eva to die , the adjective 'strong reemphasises her determination to kill herself. The imagery of  'burnt her  inside out' emphasises  her physical pain also refers to how the Birlings similarly burnt her both inside and out.
    • 'a nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made of it'
      • yet again, the inspector deliberately understates the situation so that the audience  dwell on how horrifically the Birlings have behaved
      • The adjectives 'Nice little promising' all have positive associations but also a tone of vulnerability.  The use of the word a suggest Eva  is not the only young women destroyed by people like the birlings.
      • There is a clear juxtaposition  between the 'nice' and 'promising' elements Eva  brings to the world and the 'nasty mess' the Birling's cause. The inspector uses the pronoun 'somebody' to emphasise the upper-class hiding  behind their  status- no one will take responsibility for their actions.
    • 'and you think you women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?'
      • The inspector highlights the hypocrisy of Gerald when he tries to protect Sheila as she is a 'young woman' ,yet he didn't do the same for Eva
      • The correct way for men to behave is to protect all 'women'- the inspector highlights the irony that the desire to protect Sheila was not how they treated Eva, emphasising the hypocrisy and double standards. The adjective 'young' emphasises Eva's vulnerability. The inspector's question shows the upper-class being treated differently to the working class
      • The adjectives  'unpleasant and disturbing' are again deliberately underwhelming- the treatment of Eva was far worse than this.
    • 'A girl died tonight. a happy, lively sort of girl, who never did anybody harm. but she died in misery and agony- hating life'
      • The inspector explicitly shows the  unjust nature of Eva's death. The Birlings refer to 'that sort of gir'l throughout the play. The inspector uses adjectives 'pretty, lively' which have positive connotations, to contrast their prejudice, who use 'that sort of girl' as an insult.
      • by referring to Eva as 'she', the inspector emphasises her lack of identity and the words 'misery' and 'agony' confirm how little people cared for her.
      • The short sentence 'a girl died tonight' is emphatic and clear - there is no getting away from the brutal facts of the case. the innocence and youthfulnessof 'girl' is juxtaposed with the horror of 'died'
    • 'public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges
      • The core message of the play is that all people have responsibilities to one another. this is particularly important to the post war audience
      • This statement is directly addressed to Mr Birling but 'public men' emphasises the message of the play- all men have responsibilities.This statement is delivered as a fact birling cannot argue with it. His weak reply of 'possibly' shows that Birling knows the inspector is correct.
      • the juxtaposition of 'responsibilities' and 'privileges' emphasises the difference between birling and the inspector. The inspector sees the two as being entirely linked Birling sees them as completely separate ideas.
    • 'she was here alone, friendless, almost penniless, desperate. she needed not only money but advice, sympathy, friendliness'
      • The inspector creates a very human image of either she was not a worker or a charitable case but a human being who required support from others.
      • the image of a girl 'alone' suggests vulnerability and isolation. the tri colon refers to her struggling socially 'friendless', economically 'penniless' and psychologically 'desperate'
      • Her difficulties are juxtaposed with the solutions- 'advice sympathy friendliness' are abstract nouns that cost nothing, yet Mrs Birling refused. 'needed' is a highly emotive word  Eva did not want hope or support, she had an essential need for it to survive.
    • 'just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person. No you won't forget.'
      • the inspector is coming to the end of his interrogation and reminds the birlings and the audience just how degrading their treatment of Eva Smith was
      • The inspectors vocabulary is full of words that express just how senseless Birling's treatment of Eva was -'just used' 'end' 'stupid drunken' and 'evening' all highlight how fleeting and  insignificant Eric saw the evening, contrasting greatly to the long-term consequences of his actions.
      • the trick colon starts with two nouns that totally dehumanised Eva. 'animal' and 'thing' suggest Eric doesn't even see her as a person but rather something he can simply use and control.
    • 'there are millions and millions and millions of Eva   Smiths and John smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness'
      • The inspector's final speech conveys Priestley's  message to the audience. the inspector claims Eva's  story is simply not a one-off event. The polysyndeton emphasises their sheer scale of the issue facing society- the use of 'and' makes the number of people just like Eva go on and on.
      • The male 'John Smiths' remind us that this isn't isn't about gender many of Eva's troubles were because she was female but we have a duty to all people.  Events in life contain negative 'suffering' but only a 'chance of happiness'. suffering is guaranteed happiness is not.
    • 'what we think and say and do. we don't live alone. we are members of one body. we are responsible for each other'
      • Priestley's message is clear- we are all part of one world. The birlings frequently refer to I my or them. the inspector uses the pronoun we and our-we are a collective society not individuals .
      • the first try colon alludes to three ways we must change our behaviour if we are to survive as a society- actions 'do' speech 'say' but also our values and beliefs 'think'.
      • the inspector's sentence structure makes each of his statements sound like facts and the repetition of 'we are' leaves no room for the birlings to argue against  him.
    • 'I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish'
      • the inspector  mimics Birling from act one and using the same phrase Birling did- 'I tell you'. Whilst Birling looks foolish and arrogant as he is clearly wrong, the inspector is wise and correctly foresees the future- the world wars.
      • The polysyndeton in 'fire and is blood and anguish' lengthens the scale of the suffering we will endure linking to the suffering of the world wars. The tri colons suggest suffering will destroy our landscapes 'fire' kill our community 'blood' and cause immerse emotional pain 'anguish'
      • Dramatic irony is evident to the audience. Birling's predictions are incorrect but the inspector's chilling prediction is painfully accurate.

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