Inspector Goole

LO To be able to consider and evaluate

different interpretations of the role of
Inspector Goole within the play
 Success Criteria
All students will consider different
views on the purpose of Inspector
Goole

Most students will select and justify

one interpretation using textual
evidence

Some students will explore how to

convey their interpretation through
their own staging of the play
As the play comes to a close, it is usually
time for the characters to learn their
lessons. The inspector does his best to
make this happen, but not all of the
Birlings are prepared to take responsibility
for their actions. As explored last lesson,
everyone feels ashamed, but not
necessarily of themselves.
What is the plot
twist?
 What is the plot twist?

Apparently, Inspector Goole doesnt even

exist!

What is the spelling of

the homophone of
Goole?
What does it mean?
Goole = Ghoul

1) An evil spirit or phantom,

especially one supposed to
rob graves and feed on dead
bodies.

Hmmm...
2) A person Like Daisy Renton,
morbidly could the inspectors
interested in name be a clue?
death or disaster. Sheila asks what he
was, not who he
was.
Question: To what
The Inspector might not
have been a real
inspector
1. How do the family members react to the
idea that the inspector might be a fake
inspector?

2. How might this be significant to Priestleys

agenda?

Consider Sybil and Arthurs response the

older generation
Consider Sheila and Erics response the
younger generation
 The Inspector might not have
been a real inspector was it a
hoax?
How do the family members react to the idea that the inspector might be a
fake inspector?

Consider Sybil and Arthurs response

They agree that it makes all the difference; they are relieved because he is not a
police officer; they think he has no authority to admonish them ( = tell them off);
they selfishly take no responsibility.
How might this be significant to Priestleys agenda?
Will the audience be shocked and disappointed by this, more inclined to learn the
lesson that they dont?

Consider Sheila and Erics response

They think it doesnt matter if what he has shown them is true i.e. actually ended
tragically, as he was our police inspector all right; his moral judgment is as
important as any legal power he may have had; they still feel guilty and take
responsibility
How might this be significant to Priestleys agenda?
Is he suggesting that there is more hope for a fairer future in the younger
generation?
 Discussion - Almost a
Happy Ending
Gerald returns and calls the hospital who confirm that there has
been no suicide. Arthur Birling is relieved and considers himself
guilt-free. His stage directions on page 219 replicate his ease at the
start of the play as he speaks jovially and is laughing; he even
imitates the Inspectors final speech having regained his status in
the household. Gerald holds up the ring, a gesture that suggests
that he and Sheila go back to being betrothed, though Sheila
responds by saying she needs time to make a decision as she
must think. To what extent would you agree that we almost
have a happy ending? Discuss

Why doesnt Priestley end the play there? Why does the
phone ring sharply...with news of a suicide and an Inspector on
the way to ask some questions. This news in spookily similar to
the news in Act 1. Discuss
 Who or What is Inspector Goole?
1) Discuss in your table groups, gathering evidence to support each
suggestion
2) Based on the amount and level of textual evidence,Is the
rankplay
the
suggestions from strongest to weakest A murder
Philosopher, raising moral issues? mystery?
A morality
Post-war social commentator?
play?
A priest pushing for confession? A piece of
Socialist
A spooky ghost delivering a prophecy? propaganda?
A ghost story?
God, seemingly omniscient with detailed knowledge of things that the
characters hadnt told him? Failure to learn their lessons will induce fire and
blood and anguish which is quite a Biblical level of retribution

Human plot device, driving the play forward through pushy questioning
strategies, forcing out truths from the family members mouths, and
heightening drama by revealing new information this girl was going to
have a child?

Represent the spirit of a religious or moral figure like in a Medieval

morality play?

Mouthpiece for Priestley; the voice of his Socialist views? Public men, Mr.
Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges (Act 2); the Inspectors
What is a Morality Play?
Morality Play = a religious play written in the
late middle ages focusing on the seven deadly
sins (pride, greed , lust, envy, gluttony, anger,
sloth); they sought to teach people how to
behave and warn against the dangers of sin. The
Inspector repeatedly highlights all the
characters sins, and tries to get them to repent.
However, here the moral judge is not God, but a
police inspector, making the morality play
secular i.e. not religious. WHAT SIN(S) DOES THE
INSPECTOR SEEM TO THINK CHARACTERS ARE
GUILTY OF COMMITTING?
 Directors Challenge
Ifyou were directing the play, what notes would you give the actor playing the part of
the Inspector?
Which aspects would you instruct him to emphasize in his performance, and
how? Consider his facial expressions, clothing, bodily movements around the
stage, volume and speed at which he delivers he lines, use of props
His unsettling presence?
His confidence?
His ability to elicit information?
His power and control over family members, even supplanting Arthur?
His lack of respect for middle-class etiquette, as he broaches taboo topics for a
middle-class household such as sex, politics, pregnancy?
His status as an outsider to the middle-class, as he doesnt play golf or appear
impressed by Arthurs connections or public profile?
His mysterious quality? When he exits the stage for the final time, the audience like
the characters onstage are left staring, subdues and wondering
His moral code?
His single-mindedness, for example revealed through forceful questioning, and when
probing into peoples personal lives?
His calculating nature? - Strategic entrances and exits, for example leaving Sheila and
Gerald alone lets Sheila interrogate Gerald and allows time for suspicion to break
them apart. This makes it easier to get Gerald to confess when the Inspector returns.
An emotive manipulator of language, for example able to make the audience instantly
sympathize with Eva Smith based on his description of her as pretty and lively and
then his use of direct and blunt language to state the fact that she is now lying with a
burnt-out inside on a slab?
 Plenary
In my opinion, the role of the inspector is
to act as . (add purpose) within the
play which I consider to be a (add
genre). I think this because