An Inspector Calls is a play with many social and political messages. J. B. Priestley believed a great deal in socialism and he used several of his plays to try and influence people to be Socialist as well. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen as the way forward. It was a popular way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was probably to teach the unconvinced.

The Inspector in J. B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the most thought-provoking and mysterious characters that modern day literature has yet produced. It is this mysterious element that contributes greatly to making him a very interesting character and one that may be perceived in many ways. The audience does not find a great deal out about the Inspector and nothing is explicitly told to us; we are given hints and clues from the way he acts and what he says and are forced to piece these together to form our own ideas about his identity and his intentions. In this way, Priestley has asked his audience to act as a judge and to r

The Inspector recognises early on that Sheila is more morally sound than her father as she points out that 'these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people.' When she says 'So I'm really responsible?' she shows that she can admit when she is wrong. The Inspector probably thinks more highly of her than Arthur because of this, but he still speaks 'sternly' to her as he does to the other characters. This proves that he does not forgive easily. Once the line of questioning turns to Gerald, the Inspector is more friendly to Sheila. He understands that she would want to hear about Gerald's affair with Eva Smith and ensures that she stays by arguing that if she left then and heard no more she would 'feel she's entirely to blame.'

Eric seems to see the Inspector as the strong father figure that is missing from his life. He said that Birling was 'not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble' so he is obviously not close to him. When his father talks about his 'public - school - and - Varsity life', Eric seems embarrassed and says to Birling 'Well, we don't need to tell the Inspector anything about that, do we?' Eric is just as quick as Sheila to give the Socialist alternatives to what Birling was saying about the workers, and tells him that he would 'have let her stay.' Eric is slow in telling his story and he only answers the questions that he is asked and he only gives away a little information at a time. This shows that he is reluctant for the others to know about his problems. The Inspector is fairly gentle when he questions Eric because he is clearly very upset and guilt-ridden. The Inspector notices this even though Birling does not and when he asks for a drink, he allows him one with the explanation that 'He needs a drink now just to see him through.'

The Inspector is described as speaking 'carefully, weightily'. On stage, this would give the Inspector an air of power and importance. He acts in a fairly dominant way and he often has times when he gives Arthur Birling no respect at all, such as when he says 'Don't stammer and yammer at me again, man.' Because the Inspector treats Arthur in this way even though he knows he is 'still on the Bench' it implies that he treats people the same no matter what their position is. Birling often seems intimidated by the Inspector and often accepts the disrespect he is given even though it would annoy him because he is very used to being given respect as he was 'an alderman for years - and a Lord Mayor two years ago.' Because Birling does not know what to do when he is treated in this way, it suggests that he is a weak person. It is ironic that a character who believes very strongly that one should only be responsible for oneself is also a character who does not seem to be able to fend for himself. The Inspector questions Birling about why he fired the girl for asking for more money. This shows further lack of respect from the Inspector and also shows that he cares about individuals. Birling was 'surprised' at being questioned, so it seems that what he says is usually accepted as correct. His surprise could also be because of exactly what the Inspector was questioning. Birling says that it is his 'duty to keep labour costs down' which indicates that he does not think of each worker as a person and cares a great deal about money. The fact that he did not recognise the name Eva Smith even though she was someone he dealt with directly and a worker who stood out, further shows that he does not think of his employees as people. To him they are nameless and have no individuality. This would make a lot of the audience angry as this is a very Capitalist view. Some of the audience might also feel an affinity with Eva in that they may have also been treated in a similar manner.

We expect all of the characters to admit to their faults and to learn from what the Inspector teaches them because we have been conditioned to look for the well-worn formula whereby bad characters con

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Approximate Word count = 4749
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page double spaced)