The inspector

The inspector is a secondary character and the antagonist of the story “The Test” by Angelica Gibb, as he is presented in opposition to Marian, bullying her throughout the story.

The inspector’s outer characterization is brief and realized through the narrator’s description: he is a “middle-aged man who grinned broadly” (l. 66). He and the inspector who flunked Marian the first time are “very brisk and military in their neat uniforms.” (ll. 56-57). In this way, as a white, middle-aged man in a position of authority, the inspector represents the dominant establishment.

Inner characterization

His inner characterization is realized, at first, through an indirect comparison with the inspector who flunked Marian the first time. While that inspector is a “stocky, self-important man who had begun to shout directions at the driver at the head of the line” (ll. 58-60), the one who accompanies Marian for her second driving test is depicted as a friendly person. He is “genial” (l. 66), smiles broadly (l. 66), invites Mrs. Ericson to come with him and Marian (l. 69), and then winks at Mrs. Eric...