An Inspector Calls Flashcards
Three points about Mr Birling
- Priestley uses his incorrect predictions to encourage the audience to judge his later views
- uses Mr Birling to portray the strong capitalist views of the upper class
- represents upper class’ selfishness and disregard for others
Quote for Birling’s incorrect predictions
‘Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’
- repetition
- dramatic irony, play written after titanic, injudicious
- foreshadowing Birling’s fate
- adverb, certainty
- arrogance, titanic aimed towards people like Birling
‘Facts like that’
Quotes for Birling’s strong capitalist views
‘You’d think everybody had to look after everybody else as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive’
- ironic, exactly what Priestley says, people consider socialist views because Birling is stupid
- as if, mocking
- bees In a hive (chaotic vs. real organisation of bees, doesn’t understand socialism)
- ironic, upper and lower class did mix eg. Eva
Quotes for Birling representing upper class selfishness
‘If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the Earth’
- violence, lower class are like animals
- these, demonstrative pronoun, not even individuals, grouped
- suggesting he has earth to give
- all greedy, hypocritical
What does Mrs Birling represent
- prejudice towards lower class
- need for change
Points about Mrs Birling
- upper class found it difficult to accept responsibility, placed it elsewhere. Shown when she refuses to admit responsibility for eva.
- links class to morality
- feels her class allows her to judge whether a person is being truthful or not
Quotes for Mrs Birling refusal to accept responsibility
‘I’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end, but I accept no blame for it at all’
- saying sorry to be human, doesn’t feel it
- conjunction, will not end on sympathetic tone
- at all - true inability to accept responsibility, committee for appearance
Quotes for Mrs Birling linking class to morality
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”
- that, demonstrative
- exclamation mark, shock
- feels lower class are all manipulative and hunting for money, they live with their situations unlike her who uses status
Quote for Mrs Birling using her authority to tell if someone is being truthful
‘She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl of her position’
- elaborate, lc unable of feeling such complex emotions, not humans
- girl, doesn’t acknowledge her as a woman, views her as immature, Mrs Birling is the immature one
- her position, feels all lc are lying and scheming, ironic
What does Sheila represent
- gains social conscience
- takes responsibility from errors, tries to learn
- perceptive, despite being younger and less mature
Points about Sheila
- Sheila’s character at the beginning shows upper class disregarding lower class, inferior
- younger generation were more accepting of responsibility, gains social conscience
- only person to notice power of inspector
Quotes for Sheila showing typical upper class
‘She was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn’t be sorry for her’
- pretty, assumed she could take care of herself, just by looking, she could come to a conclusion as to whether she would be ok
- COULDNT, looks benefit enough
Link to Mrs Birling refusing money because her scruples were absurd for a girl of her class
Quote for Sheila accepting responsibility
‘Between us we drove that girl to suicide’
- between us, all have responsibility, some more than others, but all added up
- drove, Birling’s controlled Eva’s life, mis conduction led to suicide ‘chain of events’ the inspector speaks of
Quotes for Sheila realising power of inspector
‘You mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, the inspector will just break it down”
- mustn’t, forceful
- wall, physical barrier
- us vs that girl, demonstrating wall
- break it down, power of inspector and socialism, omnipotent
What does Eric represent
- natural concern for lower class, still uses them though
- ability to gain social conscience
Points about Eric
- natural concern for lower class from beginning when he questions fathers politics
- not afraid to stand up for what he believes in. Rejects stereotype that you have to go along with parents
- younger generation better at accepting responsibility.
Quotes for Eric having natural concern for lc
Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the best possible prices.
- they vs we, trying to link uc and lc, however still separate, inevitable
- ? - makes audience question
- sense of equality, everyone wants more, only uc can fulfil greed
Quotes for Eric standing up for what he believes in
‘You killed her - and the child she’d have too - my child - your own grandchild. (…) you dong understand anything. You never did. ‘ (PG 206)
- repetition of you, accusative, blaming them
- fragmented speech, represents hoe he feels broken, cathartic
- trying to get empathy, Birling’s not even concerned with family
- trying to hurt them and realise how their parenting was just hunting for money
Eric quotes for social conscience
(Bursting out) ‘you’re beginning to pretend as if nothing’s really happened at all. And I can’t see it like that. The girls still dead, isn’t she?’
- bursting, becoming more angry, inspector is force of change
- you vs I, separating from parents
- rhetorical q, blunt, putting things into perspective to get emotion
What does Mr Birling represent
- upper middle class capitalist views
- selfishness and disregard for others
- people who consider their reputation as more important than their morals
