An Inspector Calls

Question 1

Analyse: ‘I’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. But I accept no blame for it at all.’ (Mrs Birling, Act 2)

Answer 1

Mrs Birling is very unsympathetic when describing Eva Smith’s position and doesn’t accept responsibility. This emphasises between the young and old generation as the old refuse to accept blame.

Question 2

Describe the character - Inspector Goole

Answer 2

Inspector Goole (mouthpiece of Priestley) sheds a light on all the concerns that Priestley had at the time of writing An Inspector Calls around age, gender, class and social responsibility. Priestley uses the Inspector to make the audience question their own behaviour and morality and hopes that they will learn some lessons as the Birlings do. The issues the Inspector highlights are just as relevant to a modern day audience.

Question 3

Analyse: “If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.”

Answer 3

Mr Birling feels that it is his responsibility to come down ‘sharply’ on ‘these people’. Priestley wanted the audience to realise that this is the wrong attitude to have, we should be looking after ‘these people’ not punishing them.

Question 4

2 quotations about Eva

Answer 4

> Strong-willed - ‘suddenly decided to ask for more money’ - organises a strike
Sensitive - ‘She kept a rough sort of diary. And she said there that she had to go away and be quiet and remember just to make it last longer’

Question 5

4 key quotations for Mr Birling

Answer 5

> Boastful - ‘You ought to like this…same port your father gets’
Complacent - ‘Germans don’t want war’
Avaricious - ‘lower costs, higher prices’
A social superior to working class - ‘as if we were all mixed up together likes bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense’

Question 6

Analyse: Gerald: ‘… we’re respectable citizens and not criminals.’ Inspector: ‘Sometimes there isn’t as much difference as you think.’ (Act 1)

Answer 6

The Inspector wants the family to realise that being ‘respectable’ in society’s eyes does not mean you are not responsible for your actions.

Question 7

Analyse: Mrs Birling: ‘You seem to have made a great impression on this child, Inspector.’ Inspector: ‘(coolly) We often do on the young ones. They’re more impressionable.’ (Act 2)

Answer 7

Younger vs Older generation. Young generation are more open to change.

Question 8

Analyse: ‘Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.’ (Inspector, Act 2)

Answer 8

At the start of the play, Eric shows that he can be assertive. Here he questions his father’s decision to sack Eva Smith. He backs up his point with a well-reasoned argument. His father quickly shouts him down though.

Question 9

How is the theme of social responsibility shown?

Answer 9

> How each character does or doesn’t take responsibility for their behaviour
The Inspector’s lessons

Question 10

What is significant about the difference in time when the play was set and written?

Answer 10

> WWI start in 2yrs. Birling thought there would be no war. (1912) - WWII finished. People recovering from 6yrs of war (1945)
Rigid social hierarchy + strong division between classes. (1912)
- Less rigid structure. Military service brought people of all classes together. (1945)
Women not equal to men. Poor women = cheap labour(1912)
- Women earned a more valued place in society due to wars. Many started to work (1945)
Ruling classes thought that there was no need for a change in structure. (1912)
- Great desire for a change in social structure. (1945)

Question 11

3 key quotations for Gerald

Answer 11

> Confident - “Sure to be, unless Eric’s been up to something.” - acts like one of the family
Evasive - “All right. I knew her. Let’s leave it at that.”
Honest - “The girl saw me looking at her and then gave me a glance that was nothing less than a cry for help.”

Question 12

Describe the character - Gerald

Answer 12

Priestley uses Gerald to attack the upper-classes of post-war Britain. He shows that despite outward appearances, Gerald is described as an ‘attractive chap’ and ‘well-bred’. This class of people were still capable of questionable behaviour. Gerald has an affair and initially tries to avoid telling the truth. Priestley also suggests that they saw themselves above the problems of the working-classes - Gerald tries to get himself and the Birlings out of trouble.

Question 13

Analyse: ‘So I was perfectly justified in advising y committee not to allow her claim for assistance’

Answer 13

Sheila and Eric’s response to Eva’s death
Mr and Mrs Birling’s response to Eva’s death
how the older characters perceive the younger ones

Question 14

Analyse: ‘And to that I say - fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t want war’, the Titanic is ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’ and ‘There’ll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere’. person in her life’ (Mr Birling, Act 1)

Answer 14

His arrogance and complacency are made very clear. The audience, knowing that just two years after this speech, World War One will begin, see that Mr Birling is wrong on this point, and on many others, including his prediction that the Titanic is ‘unsinkable’. The audience lose trust in him as a character.

Question 15

Describe the character - Mr Birling

Answer 15

Mr Birling represents greedy businessmen who only care for themselves. Priestley uses him to show the audience that the Eva Smiths of the world will continue to suffer if people like Birling remain in positions of power.

Question 16

Analyse: ‘All right Gerald, you needn’t look at me like that. At least I’m trying to tell the truth. I expect you’ve done things you’re ashamed of too.’

Answer 16

Sheila takes responsibility for her actions and tells the truth. Gerald is being judgemental of her even though he has not yet taken responsibility for his own actions.

Question 17

Analyse: ‘(laughs rather hysterically) Why - you fool - he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don’t know yet. You’ll see. You’ll see.’ (Sheila, Act 1) / ‘I tell you - whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same old way.’ (Sheila, Act 3)

Answer 17

Shows that although she is young, she understands the Inspector. She knows that if they try to keep anything from him, it will make things worse. The other characters don’t realise this as quickly as Sheila does.

Question 18

Analyse: ‘(to Eric) Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person.’ (Inspector, Act 3)

Answer 18

Inspector does this to guilt Eric into accepting his role in Eva’s death. This works.

Question 19

Analyse: ‘(to Mrs Birling) You’ve had children. You must have known what she was feeling. And you slammed the door in her face.’ (Inspector, Act 2)

Answer 19

The inspector is trying to get Mrs Birling to sympathise for Eva Smith’s situation. He does this to get her to take responsibility but this doesn’t work.

Question 20

Analyse: ‘I’m talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business’ and ‘a man has to make his own way’ and ‘as if we were all mixed up together likes bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense. (Mr Birling, Act 1)

Answer 20

> “a man has to make his own way” = His rather narrow world view meant that, after Eva lost her job, he expected her to fend for herself. This was clearly not a fair/correct view and did ultimately lead to her death. Priestley uses this to show that people cannot survive on their own and as such everyone has to accept their responsibility for each other (something that Mr Birling was not able to do, even at the end of the play).
‘a hard-headed, practical man of business’ = He thinks of himself as a man who does well in business. He doesn’t let sentiment get in the way of whatever needs to be done to succeed.
This simile compares the image of a hive of bees with people of all kinds mixed together as part of a community. Mr Birling sneers at this idea.

Question 21

Analyse: ‘Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices.’ (Eric, Act 1)

Answer 21

Emphasises how the younger generation are more open to change. Also, shows that he is assertive like Sheila as he questions his father with a well-reasoned argument but is quickly shut down by Mr Birling.

Question 22

Describe the character - Eva

Answer 22

Eva is always referred to in a positive light by the characters that met her but the Inspector never lets the audience or the Birlings and Gerald forget her gruesome death. The Inspector’s final speech reveals Priestley’s lesson that there are millions of Eva Smiths being exploited and this must not continue.

Question 23

Analyse: ‘It’s better to ask for the earth than to take it.’

Answer 23

Here the Inspector is suggesting that it is socially irresponsible to be greedy and ‘take’ things without permission. This is a practice the privileged Birlings would be used to.

Question 24

Analyse: ‘You lot may be letting yourselves out nicely, but I can’t… We did her in all right.’ (Eric, Act 3) / “You’re beginning to pretend now that nothing’s really happened at all. And I can’t see it like that. This girl’s still dead, isn’t she? Nobody’s brought her to life, have they?”

Answer 24

Eric suddenly shows how he has been affected emotionally by Eva’s death. He asks the stark question ‘This girl’s still dead, isn’t she?’ He is clearly distressed and understands the gravity of the situation, he can’t understand why the others don’t.

Question 25

Describe the character - Mrs Birling

Answer 25

Sybil Birling, like her husband Arthur, represents a type of middle-class snobbery that existed prior to the World Wars. Priestley hoped that these sorts of attitudes would die out, and uses Mrs Birling to show how they can lead to cold and thoughtless behaviour.

Question 26

Analyse: ‘I suppose it was inevitable. She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life’ (Gerald, Act 2)

Answer 26

He used his power from his class (particularly money) to exploit Eva for his own sexual pleasure. He even knew that Eva depended on him, and yet still he used this power.

Question 27

Analyse: “As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”

Answer 27

Mrs Birling refers to Eva Smith as a ‘girl of that sort’. She clearly has preconceptions about working-class girls suggesting that they lack morals and will always take money.

Question 28

Analyse: Mrs Birling: ‘Girls of that class’ – Sheila: ‘You mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the Inspector will just break it down.’ (Act 2)

Answer 28

> ‘Girls of that class’ - She refuses to believe Eva’s story largely because Eva is what Mrs Birling would call lower class.
Sheila is saying that there’s no point in trying to lie or avoid responsibility, because you will find out that you are in fact responsible.

Question 29

Analyse: ‘So I’m really responsible?’, ‘It was my own fault.’ (Sheila, Act 1)

Answer 29

Shows that she becomes sympathetic to Eva’s situation and is remorseful.

Question 30

Analyse: “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”

Answer 30

Three short sentences have enormous impact and sum up his point very simply and clearly.

Question 31

Analyse: “their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives”

Answer 31

Use of emotive words helps us empathise with the victims like Eva Smith.

Question 32

Analyse: “fire and blood and anguish”

Answer 32

Almost biblical, a terrifying image. Unlike Mr Birling, Inspector Goole’s predictions are correct - Britain experiences two world wars. This makes him a more trustworthy character and also emphasises Priestley’s views.

Question 33

Analyse: ‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people.’ (Sheila, Act 1)

Answer 33

First sign that Sheila has socialist views and isn’t afraid to disagree with Mr Birling. This could be an indication that the new generation are likely to change.

Question 34

3 key quotations for Mrs Birling

Answer 34

> Snob - ‘I’m talking to the Inspector now if you don’t mind’
Her husband’s social superior - ‘Arthur you’re not meant to say such things
Unsympathetic - ‘(to Mrs Birling) You’ve had children. You must have known what she was feeling. And you slammed the door in her face.’ - ‘But I accept no blame for it at all’

Question 35

How is the theme of class shown?

Answer 35

> When she is a factory worker
When she works in a shop
When she is effectively homeless
When she is potentially a single mother

Question 36

3 key quotations for Inspector Goole

Answer 36

> Prophetic - ‘fire and blood and anguish’
Emotive - ‘Her position now is that she lies with a burnt out inside on a slab’
Imposing - ‘creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’

Question 37

Analyse: Birling: ‘Still I can’t accept responsibility.’ / ‘If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?’ (Act 1)

Answer 37

Mr Birling refuses to take any responsibility for Eva Smith’s death. Mr Birling dismisses the idea that we should be responsible for each other, suggesting that such a situation would be ‘awkward’.

Question 38

Describe the character - Eric

Answer 38

J.B.Priestley uses Eric as he does Sheila - to suggest that the young people of a post-war Britain would be the answer to a hopeful future. With Eric he also addresses some concerns he had about the dangers of immoral behaviour. Through Eric, Priestley shows that excessive drinking and casual relationships can have consequences.

Question 39

Describe the character - Sheila

Answer 39

Sheila, like Eric, allows Priestley to show his opinions on youth. He felt that there was hope in the young people of post-war Britain. He saw them as the ones who would help solve the problems the country had with class, gender and social responsibility. This is seen in how Sheila is deeply affected by Eva’s death, she accepts responsibility straightaway and promises to never behave in such a way again. This is not the case with the older characters, Mr and Mrs Birling and even Gerald do not accept responsibility and we do not get the impression that they will change.

Question 40

How is the theme of age shown?

Answer 40

> Sheila and Eric’s response to Eva’s death
Mr and Mrs Birling’s response to Eva’s death
how the older characters perceive the younger ones

Question 41

Analyse: The lighting is ‘pink and intimate’ till the Inspector arrives, then it becomes ‘brighter and harder’.(Stage Directions, Act 1)

Answer 41

> ‘pink and intimate’ - highlights that the Birlings are delusional as they think that they are above the law + other people.
‘brighter and harder’ - light symbolises the truth. As the intensity of the light increases, the more truth is revealed.

Question 42

Analyse: “She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.”

Answer 42

Priestley shows that even women like Mrs Birling can be just as cruel and old fashioned as the men are. She does not try to empathise with a member of her own gender. This also highlights her negative attitude towards the working class

Question 43

How is the theme of gender shown in the play?

Answer 43

> How Mr Birling and Gerald Croft view women
How Mrs Birling treats Eva Smith
How Eva Smith is portrayed as independent and outspoken before her death

Question 44

Analyse: “I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women.”

Answer 44

Gerald shows that he can be very superficial in his view of women. If they don’t meet his standard of how they ‘should’ look, he dislikes them.

Question 45

Analyse: ‘there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths’ (Inspector - Act 3, final words)

Answer 45

Repetition of millions emphasises his point that Eva is representative of many others.

Question 46

3 key quotations for Sheila

Answer 46

> Remorseful - ‘(miserably) So I’m really responsible?’
Wiser - ‘Why you fool of course he knows!’ / ‘whoever that Inspector as, he was anything but a joke
Impressionable - ‘Don’t please - I know, I know and I can’t stop thinking about it’

Question 47

3 key quotations for Eric

Answer 47

> Immature - ‘suddenly guffaws’ / ‘not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive’
Repentant - ‘You lot may be letting yourselves out nicely, but I can’t
Assertive - ‘Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices.’