an inspector calls Flashcards
what are the 5 main themes?
socialism.
capitalism.
older vs younger generation.
role of women.
social classes.
when was it written?
1945.
when was it set?
1912.
what is significant about when it was written compared to when it was set?
by 1945 there had been world wars (1&2), economic crisis and the was a shifting attitude to how society works.
dramatic irony.
audience knows something the characters don’t.
why does priestly use dramatic irony?
to show that capitalism is bad.
example of dramatic irony for Mr Birling.
saying the titanic won’t sink, economic prosperity, there won’t be war.
example of dramatic irony for Mrs Birling.
her name has connotations of seeing into the future but couldn’t see that it was eric who raped the girl and got her pregnant.
example of dramatic irony for Eric.
he knows he is the farther of Eva’s baby but doesn’t know everyone else does.
example of dramatic irony for Shelia.
her name is supposed to signify love and new starts but also blindness.
she approaches Gerald about him not going near her but he dismisses her concerns.
she could see through him.
example of dramatic irony for Gerald Croft.
he kept daisy Renton as a mistress rather than giving her a job so she wouldn’t have to rely on him.
connotations of Brumley.
engines
fictional
sounds like Birmingham
sound of a car(city noise?)
onomatopoeic
industry/machines
act 1 summary.
celebrating Shelia & Gerald’s engagement
Mr B gets told of by Mrs B for saying the dinner was nice
inspector comes during Mr b big speech abt capitalism
Mr birling fired Eva for wanting a pay rise
Shelia got jealous of her when Eva was working in Milwards so got her fired.
act 2 summary.
Eva changes her name from Eva Smith to Daisy Renton
Gerald finds her in the Palace bar
keeps her as his mistress
put her in his friends apartments broke up with her in September
she went to the beach to be alone and remember him
Eric finds her in the Palace bar and threatens to make a row if she doesn’t let him into her apartment
his family finds out he is a drunk
act 3 summary.
he rapes her
sees her again finds out she is pregnant tries to marry her and give her money she declines bc she doesn’t want him to marry her if he doesn’t love her and finds out money is stolen
Mr Birling finds out Eric stole £50 from his office
goes to Mrs Birlings Women’s institute but bc she used the name Mrs Birling she turns her away
everyone is upset
finds out inspector isn’t real
Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton’s jobs.
Mr Birlings factory
Milwards
Sex worker
Mr Birling’s involvement with Eva.
fired her as she was the ring leader of strikes for more money.
Mrs Birling’s involvement with Eva.
refused to help Daisy Renton and she was prejudiced towards her.
Gerald Croft’s involvement with Eva.
keeps Daisy Renton as a mistress and gives her a place to stay giving her food and a little bit of money.
Shelia’s involvement with Eva.
gets her fired from Milwards bc she was jealous that she looked good in the dress she didn’t.
Eric’s involvement with Eva.
rapes her and got her pregnant.
how does each of them abuse there power?
if they didn’t get what they wanted naturally they would force it to happen.
Shelia.
-abuse of power.
gets her fired bc she was jealous and threatens the owner that her and her family will stop shopping there if he doesn’t and bc they are wealthy the owner had no choice.
Mrs Birling.
-abuse of power.
refuses her charity bc she doesn’t like how a poor less than her sort of person is using her name.
Mr Birling.
-abuse of power.
fires Eva for wanting more money so he can continue to have a large amount of profit.
Eric.
-abuse of power.
rapes her as he is a powerful man in terms of political and she would be defenceless to stop him ruining her reputation and cause a danger towards her.
Gerald.
-abuse of power.
bumps her up in life and keeps her as a mistress because she was in no position to say no as she would of gone back onto the streets with no money, food or housing. also she might of not felt able to say no to sex with him because of this.
connotations of the name: Arthur Birling.
factory owner- Birling sounds like Brumley which sounds like Birmingham which is industrial.
cares abt money- rhymes with Stirling which rhymes with the official name for UK currency’ pound Stirling.’
desperate to climb social hierarchy- king Arthur. old fashioned English name.
connotations of the name : Mrs Sybil Birling.
oracle.
Greek-see the future.
ironic because she can’t see she is talking about eric.
connotations of the name: Miss Shelia Birling.
love.
new starts.
blind.
connotations of the name: Gerald Croft.
small piece of land.
land owner.
upper classes were land owners.
lord and lady croft.
connotations of the name: Mr Eric Birling.
ever powerful.
one ruler.
can relate to what he did to eva.
time line of events:
works @ the factory, gets fired for ringleading the strike for better pay
works @ Milwards, Shelia gets jealous and threatens to stop shopping there if they don’t fire her
Gerald protects her from Alderman Megarty, buys her food, lets her stay in his friends apartment, gives her money, keeps her as a mistress hen end its
eric rapes her after threatening to make a row if she doesn’t let him in
Mrs Birling refuses to help her as she uses the name Mrs Birling
kills her self by drinking bleach.
what dramatic devices does priestly use and examples of when it is used?
dramatic irony :Arthur Birling suggests that the Titanic is
unsinkable, and yet the audience knows that it
sank on its maiden voyage.
cliff hangers: At the end of Act One, the Inspector appears and
says ‘Well?’ to Gerald, leaving the audience to
wonder how Gerald is implicated.
stage directions: he precise directions detailing Gerald ‘gravely’ stating his involvement with Daisy Renton adds more detail to aid the actor’s delivery.
dramatic tension: he audience feels an increase in tension as they await information regarding how each character is implicated in Eva Smith’s death.
what is the original description for: Mr Birling?
‘heavy looking, portentous man, middle fifties.’
what is the original description for: Mrs Birling?
‘about fifty, cold woman, her husbands social superior.’
what is the original description for: Shelia?
‘pretty girl, early twenties, pleased and excited with her life.’
what is the original description for: Gerald?
‘attractive, thirty, too manly to be dandy, easy, well bred young man about the town.’
what is the original description for: Eric?
‘early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive.’
why does the lighting change when he inspector came in?
to start with it was ‘pink and intimate’ then when the inspector comes in it goes’ brighter and harder.’
signify his character and show the seriousness of him and the situation about to unfold.
what are the connotations of Eva Smith/ why did Priestly decide to call her that?
smith used for unknown. relates to everyone.
Eva common name.
what are the connotation of Daisy Renton/ why did priestly decide to call her that?
this was during the time where she got fired from millwards and she worked in the bar.
having sex with someone was also known as de-flowering someone so daisy is a flower so could represent that. also she had an affair with Gerald also worked in the bar and was like a sex worker for Gerald and sex workers rent their bodies out perhaps relating to Renton and renting.
why does the inspector emphasis how young she is?
get the audience to feel empathy for her and change their minds about people who go down the same pattern as her. shows how she was innocent until she wasn’t.
why did Eva decide to take her own life by swallowing disinfectant?
perhaps to cleanse away how dirty she felt inside due to a capitalist society making her feel like she was worthless and so inferior to them and made her think there was something wrong with her.
