An Inspector Calls Flashcards
Arthur Birling is a …
“Arthur Birling is a heavy-looking, rather portentous man… fairly easy mannered but rather provincial in his speech”
Sybil Birling is a…
“Sybil Birling is a rather cold woman and her husbands social superior”
Sheila is a…
“Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited”
Gerald is…
“Gerald is rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town”
Eric is…
“Eric is not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive”
Mr Birling: “and I speak as a” …
“And I speak as a hard headed business man”
Mr Birling: “I say there isn’t”…
“I say there isn’t a chance of war”
Mr Birling: “unsinkable”…
“Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”
Mr Birling: “a man has to”…
“A man has to make his own way - had to look after himself - and his family too, of course”
Mr Birling: “but the way these”…
“But the way these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense”
Mr Birling: “and I’ve learnt in the”…
“And I’ve learnt in the good hard school of experience - that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself”
The Inspector: “creates at once an impression”…
“Creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”
The Inspector: dressed in a…
“Dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period”
Mr Birling: “yes, yes. Horrid…”
“Yes, yes. Horrid business. But I don’t understand why you should come here, Inspector”
Sheila: “oh - how horrible!”…
“Oh - how horrible! Was it an accident?”
Mrs Birling: “still, I can’t”…
“Still I can’t accept any responsibility”
Mrs Birling: “ if you don’t come down”…
“If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth”
Inspector: “they might. But after all”…
“They might. But after all, it’s better to ask for the earth than to take it”
Sheila: “sorry! It’s just that”…
“Sorry! It’s just that I can’t help thinking about this girl - destroying herself so horribly - and I’ve been so happy tonight.”
Sheila: “Oh I wish”…
“Oh is wish you hadn’t told me. What was she like? Quite young?”
Gerald: “after all, y’know”…
“after all, y’know, we’re respectable citizens and not criminals”
Sheila: “I know I’m to blame - and I’m”…
“I know I’m to blame - and I’m desperately sorry - but I can’t believe - I won’t believe - it’s simply my fault that in the end she - she - committed suicide.”
Mrs Birling: “and in any case I don’t suppose for a minute that”…
“And in any case I don’t suppose for a minute that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class-“
Sheila: “you mustn’t try to build”…
“You mustn’t try to build up a wall between us and that girl”
Gerald: “I didn’t propose to stay long down there. I hate those”…
“I didn’t propose to stay long down there. I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women”
Gerald: “but then I noticed a girl who”…
“But then I noticed a girl who looked quite different. She was pretty - soft brown hair and big dark eyes”
Gerald: “sorry - I - we’ll, Ive suddenly”…
“Sorry - I - well, I’ve suddenly realised - taken it in properly - that she’s dead”
Sheila: “you were the wonderful”…
“you were the wonderful fairy prince. You must have adored it, Gerald”
Gerald: “all right - I did”…
“All right I did for a time. Nearly any man would have done”
Sheila: “that’s probably the best”…
“That’s probably the best thing you’ve said tonight. At least it’s honest”
Mrs Birling: “I’m very sorry. But”…
“I’m very sorry but I think she had only herself to blame”
Mrs Birling: “I’ll tell you what I told her. Go and”…
“I’ll tell you what I told her. Go and look for the father of he child. It’s his responsibility”
Mrs Birling: “but I didn’t”…
“But I didn’t know it was you”
Mr Birling: “you damned fool- why didn’t you”…
“You damned fool - why didn’t you come to me when you found yourself in this mess?”
Eric: “because you’re not the kind of”…
“Because you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble - that’s why”
Inspector: “but each of you helped”…
“But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it”
Inspector: “but just remember this. One”…
“But just remember this. One Eva smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva smiths and John smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes, their fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do”
Inspector: “we don’t live alone”…
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”
Mr Birling: “most of this is”…
“Most of this is bound to come out. There’ll be a public scandal”
Eric: “he was our”…
“He was our police inspector all right”
Sheila: “you began to learn”…
“You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on the same way”
