In An Inspector Calls, why is the ending important in the play?

The ending is important because it creates an unexpected
climax which poses more problems than it solves. Throughout the play, the characters had
been confronted by their moral frailty. They were forced to acknowledge their roles in
Eva Smith's unfortunate and horrifying demise. Mr and Mrs Birling stubbornly refuse to
accept their guilt, whilst Sheila, Eric and Gerald Croft acknowledge their role in the
unfortunate girl's suicide.

When inspector Goole leaves,
the characters and the audience are taken on a roller coaster of discovery and surprise.
The audience is especially drawn into the final events since a number of intriguing
events occur. First there is Gerald's statement that he had discovered that the wily
inspector was not a detective at all. One of the local policemen had told him that they
had no inspector Goole at their office. This fact is confirmed by a phone call Mr
Birling makes to the the station.

The older Birlings and
Gerald express relief and are convinced that the whole thing was a hoax. Sheila and
Eric, however, have a different perspective and insist that the fact that it was a hoax
does not undo the bad that they had done and that they should accept responsibility for
their actions. She recalls that the inpector mentioned that they had all killed
Eva.

At this point, Gerald makes another astounding
assertion: What if the girl mentioned was not the same in all cases? There is a great
deal of discussion around the fact that none of the participants had seen the photograph
of the girl together and at the same time. Geralsd suggests that they could all have
been different girls. Sheila, however, is adamant that that still does not change
anything. They were all responsible in determining the girl's fate, whether she was the
same one or many different girls. Their guilt is the same and they have to show some
remorse and be accountable.

Once this little discourse is
out of the way, another conundrum pops up. Eric states that the girl he knew is dead and
Gerald counters by asking what if no one had died that day? What if it was all made up
as part of inspector Goole's elaborate hoax? The issue is quickly resolved when Gerald
phones the infirmary to establish whether any victim featuring Eva's circumstances and
description had been brought in that day. When the reply is negative, Mr Birling
expresses relief and says the whole incident had been just a lot of moonshine. It was
bunkum.

Sheila and Eric, however, seem to be the only
rational ones in the room. They both agree that even that does not mean anything.
Nothing has changed since all of them still did the wrongs that they had done. Nothing
can change that. She, especially, is quite disgusted by her parents' and Gerald's
reactions. They seem to believe that since there is no body, they are in the clear - not
guilty.

In an amazing and climactic twist in the tale the
group discover, through a phone call from the local police station, that a girl has just
died on the way to the infirmary after swallowing disinfectant. A police inspector is on
his way to to ask them a few questions. Both the audience and the characters in the play
are left dumbfounded as the curtain falls.

The ending
dramatically illustrates our folly once we are in denial. The fact is that nothing can
change the wrongs that we did. Circumstances and conditions may change, but the deed/s
remain. The best that we can do is to seek redemption and, for that to happen, we
certainly have to accept blame. Our pasts may catch up with us and we will then be
forced to reconsider our attitudes.

As the curtain falls,
the audience is left to ponder about how our characters will respond to the devastating
truth. Will they have learnt from the mistakes they made during inspector Goole's
scrutiny or will they humbly accept and apologise for the wrongs they did? That, truly,
is the question.