Inspector Goole
Essay Preview: Inspector Goole
Report this essay
Who is Inspector Goole? His identity is a mystery; he is not a real policeman though as Eric says, “He was our police inspector all right”(p.59) he did such a good job at making each person admit his/her guilt. Possible explanations of Gooles identity that the essay will tackle are:
* simply an imposter who played an elaborate hoax on a group of upper class people who deserved to be frightened in this way.
* some kind of spiritual being or emissary with a moral mission to punish selfish behaviour among the rich on Earth; the name Goole may imply a parallel with Ghoul (ghost, spirit). The fact that he seems omniscient (all-knowing), possessing knowledge which it seems he could not have known by normal means, supports the theory that there is something supernatural about him.
* a mouthpiece for J.B. Priestley; Priestley was a socialist, and firmly believed that “we are all members of one body” etc. An Inspector Calls is a didactic play with a clear moral and political message which Priestley wanted the audience to accept. Priestley uses Goole to voice views which he himself held. Mr Birling says the Inspector was “Probably a Socialist or some sort of crank he talked like one”(p.60).
* the embodiment of a collective conscience. Your conscience is the voice within which tells you when you are doing something you know to be wrong; Goole performs this role, but is a physical manifestation of conscience perhaps the Birlings and Geralds shared, subconscious idea of what conscience would look like and how it would act.
* a means of coordinating the drama and allowing Priestley to stick to the theatrical unities of time place and action by letting the Inspector pursue “one line of enquiry at a time.”