Birlings, he controls the development of events: who will speak and when; who may or may not leave; who will or will not see the photograph. He even Priestley describes the Inspector, when he first appears on stage, in terms of 'massiveness, solidity and purposefulness' (p.11), symbolizing the fact that he is an unstoppable force within the play. His 'disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before speaking' gives the impression that …showed first 75 words of 445 total…

…showed last 75 words of 445 total…n. But notice how in each case the punishment is a consequence of their own behavior; the Inspector himself does not bring punishment from outside. Perhaps this is why they are given a second chance at the end of the play - that their experience should have been a warning to them, and that next time, it is the future predicted by the Inspector's final speech that lies in store for them and for us.