inspector 1

• keywords:

  • Omniscient (all-knowing), composed, unperturbed (unfazed), virtuous (high moral standards), objective, austere (plain in appearance), enigmatic, mysterious, ambiguous, mystifying (bewildering)
• The Inspector is presented as omniscient (all-knowing) as he investigates each Birling's unscrupulous (no moral principles) actions without hesitation.
• Despite Mr. Birling condescendingly questioning the Inspector, asking him "What did you say your name was, Inspector?"

  • He remains composed as he obtains knowledge and power - an idea Mr. Birling is not used to as he associates power with money, not knowledge.
• The Inspector carries an air of mystery as he is dressed in an austere way of a [plain darkish suit], not suggestive of him belonging to a particular class.

  • Thus, this makes him enigmatic (mysterious) as the characters in the play are all defined by their class physically with their clothing.
• 'Goole' is a homonym (words that sound the same but are spelled differently) for 'Ghoul'.

  • This is suggestive of the supernatural force of a ghost.

  By likening the Inspector to a supernatural force, it makes his presence and intent seem more tremendous and powerful as he is presented ambiguously.
• The inspector, the embodiment of socialism, is presented as the antithesis and a foil to Mr. Birling the embodiment of capitalism.
• Mr. Birling towards the Inspector - He finds the Inspector's composure and unknown social status insufferable.

  • Mr. Birling measures an individual's worth by their social ranking, as this is unknown about the Inspector paired with the Inspector being disinterested in his pompous (self-important) boast that he was "an alderman for years".

  Mr Birling is both dumbfounded and aggravated as he is unaware of how to interact with somebody unphased by classism.
• The Inspector towards Mr. Birling -intolerant to Mr. Birling's pretentious and supercilious (stuck up) ways.

  • He breaks Mr. Birling's egotistical dramatic monologue where he expresses his self-proclaimed omniscience (all-knowing) that the "Titanic is unsinkable".

  When the Inspector arrives, Mr. Birling's monologues are shorted through the Inspector's interruption when he is [cutting through, massively].
• The Inspector towards Mr. Birling - The Inspector's speech is short and concise such as "Quite so", yet his few words cause Mr. Birling's speech to shorten.

  • This suggests the Inspector has shifted the power balance, despite not being from an established social class, this elucidates (makes something clear) that social status (symbolised through Mr. Birling) is weak in the face of morality (symbolised by the Inspector).