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The Signalman

            Discuss the role of the Inspector in the play. How effectively does Priestley present him?.
             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 reach personal conclusions about him. .
             The role of the Inspector is one of many levels. In terms of how he is used in the basic structure of the play, he is there to move the play along in that he encourages the characters to tell their stories. If there was not the revelation that he was not a real Police Inspector, he would only be considered as a narrator and not play a big part in the play. Because it transpired that he was an impostor of sorts, further questions are asked by the audience and different insights have become likely and it is clear that the Inspector is in the play for many reasons. .
             The play is set in the house of the Birling family. As soon as the curtains open, it is clear that the family is wealthy because there is high quality furniture and decoration in the house in which the play is set.


Essays Related to The Signalman

1. The signal man

The Signalman by Charles Dickens (Through the eyes of the narrator) In "The Signalman," the narrator meets a signalman frightened about the apparitions he has been seen. After every apparition he sees, a disaster happens on the Line. The signalman wonders what the apparition means. A look into how the narrator perceives the signalman, the conflict of the story and the narrator's awareness of the meaning of the signalman's apparition will help understand "The Signalman." In their first meeting, the signalman made the narrator feel awkward. The signalman spooked the narrator out; "there was ... ...

  • Word Count: 516
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The signal man

The Signalman by Charles Dickens (Through the eyes of the narrator) In "The Signalman," the narrator meets a signalman frightened about the apparitions he has been seen. After every apparition he sees, a disaster happens on the Line. The signalman wonders what the apparition means. A look into how the narrator perceives the signalman, the conflict of the story and the narrator's awareness of the meaning of the signalman's apparition will help understand "The Signalman." In their first meeting, the signalman made the narrator feel awkward. The signalman spooked the narrator out; "there was ... ...

  • Word Count: 516
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

3. The signal man

The Signalman by Charles Dickens (Through the eyes of the narrator) In "The Signalman," the narrator meets a signalman frightened about the apparitions he has been seen. After every apparition he sees, a disaster happens on the Line. The signalman wonders what the apparition means. A look into how the narrator perceives the signalman, the conflict of the story and the narrator's awareness of the meaning of the signalman's apparition will help understand "The Signalman." In their first meeting, the signalman made the narrator feel awkward. The signalman spooked the narrator out; "there was ... ...

  • Word Count: 516
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Examine the setting in three victorian stories

... include references to contrasts between light and dark. The strip of sky that provided all the daylight to the signalman's platform emphasises the absence of light, whilst the old pensioners themselves were a symbol of the dark, ignorant and fearful past that the young man tried in vain to shed light on. The darkness and a gloomy atmosphere is emphasised in "The man with the twisted lip" where there was many "a flickering ... cart lanterns and "sombre and deserted streets". The "Bar of Gold" provides a safe, warm glow in the gloom of the deserted streets, a place where there are no "ruffi...

  • Word Count: 2158
  • Approx Pages: 9

5. Red room and signalman

... of entertainment. Ghost stories and thrillers were particularly popular with the Victorian readers, therefore it was essential for the authors to build tension and suspense to keep the readers interest. "The Signalman" is a short story about a man who works for the railway company. There is also another character in this story. The Gentleman is the other character in the story. We never get to know his name. This is ... wet clammy stone". This too adds to the suspense that the book illustrates. The signal box itself is where most of the story is set.The railway box is tidely furnished. ...

  • Word Count: 944
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Signalman + Darkness Is There

... pulsation' contribute greatly to the stories impact. Short sentences and repetition also make us feel tense. There is such a conflict in personalities between the author, calm and collected, and the agitated and stressed signalman. We end up having to choose sides between the author believing the signalman is crazy and the signalman behaving crazy. The irony leaves us shaken. The one time the signalman chooses to ignore the voice was the one time he should ... have. The calm scientific reasoning of the author was wrong whilst the hysterical ramblings of the signalman was surprisingly co...

  • Word Count: 912
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

7. The red room

... hung pale and pink from his decaying yellow teeth," and "I caught a momentary glimpse of his eyes, small and bright and inflamed. The signalman The characters in the signalman are also very mysterious as they are in the red room, with very little background. There are two main characters, The signalman and the narrator. The signalman is a " dark sallow man, with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows," this adds to ... the atmosphere of the story and also makes him fit in with the setting of the story. He is a very intelligent man, as the narrator realises. "he had taught himself a langu...

  • Word Count: 1026
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Comparison of two authors

... vivid as 'The Signalman', but the narrator is able to state what the characters are thinking and feeling. Dickens and Hardy use characters and their relationships very differently. Dickens uses two main characters, the narrator and the signalman, and two very minor characters that were only created to conclude the story. The story is based on the signalman, but the narrator is very nearly as important as the signalman. The relationship between the signalman and the narrator develops ... very quickly due to the length of the story. At the beginning of the story, the signalman is weary of...

  • Word Count: 2219
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Isaac's Storm

... at last brought fear to Galveston (159). Around noon on Saturday, a train crossed the bridge over Galveston Bay, going into Galveston, and the passengers noticed the rising water. Another few miles the train traveled, until a signalman flagged them down. Flooding had washed out a portion of the track (150). There was no way for the train to turn back, so a relief train was called. Passengers were transferred to ... this train once it arrived, and it eased into the water, which was still rising at ... a remarkable rate. It got so deep that it flooded the firebox of the locomotive ... ...

  • Word Count: 2532
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

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