AIC Key Quotes Flashcards
stage directions describing Sheila
a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited
Mr Birling making Sheila’s engagement all about himself
your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me
stage directions describing Gerald
man about town
Sheila’s reaction when faced with responsibility
It was my own fault
Sheila’s regret
I’ll never, never do it again to anybody
Sheila beginning to become the inspector’s mouthpiece
Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet
Inspector’s reaction to Gerald trying to protect Sheila
And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?
Mr B and inspector when addressing Eric’s drinking problem
- He’s only a boy
- No, he’s a young man
Sheila’s reaction to G’s affair
- she hands him the ring
- I rather respect you more than I’ve ever done before
Mrs B abt. Eva Smith’s feelings
She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position
Eric confronting his father about their bad relationship.
Because you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble - that’s why
Mr B bribing the Inspector to keep his mouth shut
I’d give thousands - yes, thousands
Birling after he finds out that the whole story of Eva Smith could be a fake
- (triumphantly) There you are!
- The whole story’s just a lot of moonshine
Sheila’s reaction to Mr B, Mrs B and Gerald’s relief at the Inspector not being real
It frightens me the way you talk
Stage directions describing Arthur Birling
- heavy looking, rather portentous man
- rather provincial in his speech
stage directions describing Mrs B
- a cold woman
- her husband’s social superior
stage directions describing Eric
half shy, half assertive
Mr B’s capitalist ideologies
- for lower costs and higher prices
- hard-headed man of business
- my duty to keep labour costs down
- probably a socialist or some sort of crank
Mr Birling’s dramatic irony
- You’ll hear some people say that war is inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!
- unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable
Stage directions for the lighting before and after the inspector’s arrival
pink and intimate until the inspector arrives [then it is] brighter and harder
what Sheila says to Eric when she realises he’s drunk
you’re squiffy
Sheila being materialistic
Now I really feel engaged
Mr B attempting to impress Gerald
- same port your father gets from him
- just a knighthood of course
Mr B’s disproval of socialist ideas
- as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive -
community and all that nonsense - a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own-
inspector’s arrival stage directions
We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell
stage directions describing the inspector
- need not be a big man
- impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness
Mr B trying to flex onto the inspector
I was an alderman for years - and Lord Mayor two years ago
Inspector’s interrogation method
One person and one line of inquiry at a time
Birling’s description of poor Eva
wretched girl’s suicide
Sheila asking about Eva Smith
Pretty?
Sheila when she hears about Birling firing Eva off
But these girls aren’t cheap labour, they’re people
Mr Birling rejecting responsibility when faced with it to the Inspector and justifying it
- I can’t accept any responsibility
- If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody… it would be very awkward wouldn’t it?
Sheila’s reaction to Gerald telling the Inspector to stop interrogating her
He means that I’m getting hysterical now
Inspector talking about collective responsibility
- If there’s nothing else, we’ll have to share our guilt
- But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it
Inspector claiming that the younger gen are more susceptible to change
We often do on the young ones. They’re more impressionable
Sheila addressing class divide
You mustn’t try and build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. And if you do the Inspector will just break it down. And it will be all the worse when he does
Sheila being inspector’s mouthpiece
No, he’s giving us the rope - so that we’ll hang ourselves
Mrs B only being interested in the gossip
[abt Alderman Meggarty] we are learning something tonight
Sheila being sarcastic to Gerald
You were the wonderful fairy prince
interaction between Mr B and inspector abt public men
- I’m a public man -
- [massively] Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges
Mrs B’s involvement in Eva’s case
- [abt Eva Smith using the name Mrs Birling] naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case
- so I used my influence to have it refused
Mrs B rejecting responsibility
- she only had herself to blame
- simply because I’ve done nothing wrong - and you know it
- But I accept no blame for it at all
Mrs B linking the case to Eric
Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility
Mrs B’s prejudice against Eva Smith
As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money
Eric admitting to his involvement
- I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty and I threatened to make a row
- I didn’t even remember - that’s the hellish thing
Mr B being concerned about rep
- I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can [abt Eric stealing money]
- There’ll be a public scandal
Inspector’s final speech
- There are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us
- We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other
- if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish
Sheila’s distaste that the Birlings have reverted back to their old ways
- you’re beginning all over again to pretended that nothing much has happened
- I suppose we’re all nice people now
older Birling’s reactions to finding out that Inspector was fake
- [Mr B] By Jingo! A fake!
- [Mrs B] (triumphantly) Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I say I couldn’t imagine a real police inspector talking like that to us?
Younger Birling’s reaction to finding out the Inspector is a fake
- [S] (bitterly) I suppose we’re all nice people now
- [E] This girl’s still dead, isn’t she? Nobody’s brought her to life, have they?
- [E] (shouting) And I say the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her
Gerald asking about the engagement
What about this ring?
Cyclical ending + Birling’s last dialouge
- the telephone rings sharply
- A girl has just died - on her way to the Infirmary
Key Quotes Gerald
- I was awfully busy at the works at the time
- And I drink to you - I hope I can make you as happy as you deserve to be
- You seem to be a nice well-behaved family
- it’s a favourite haunt of the women of the town
- I became at once the most important person in her life
- she was very gallant about it
- i’m rather more - upset - by this business than I probably appear to be
- everything’s alright now sheila. what about this ring?
Eric Key Quotes
- yes, you’ve piled it on a bit tonight father
- why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?
- could I have a drink first?
- She was pretty and a good sport
- then - you killed her. she came to you to protect me
- the money’s not the important thing. it’s what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters
- you lot may be letting yourselves out nicely, but I can’t
