An Inspector Calls (MK) Flashcards
Inspector presentation
Priestley uses the inspector as a mouthpiece to deliver his socialist message. As such, he can be compared to a medieval ‘vice’ character. As appears to be the case with the Inspector (Goole = Ghoul), vice characters were typically supernatural presences.
Vice Character - someone who recognises others bad habits.
Inspector (massiveness)
“he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”
The fact that his presence combines ‘massiveness’ with ‘purposefulness’ suggests that the Inspector would be a very imposing figure.
Insepctor (happened)
“What happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards.”
The Inspector outlines the nature of the moral crime the family have committed against Eva and shows that each of them are partly responsible for her death.
Inspector (one)
‘One person and one line of inquiry at a time.’
This means we learn about all characters individually which reinforces the idea of individual responsibility.
Inspector (duty)
“It’s my duty to ask questions” (Act 1)
The inspector repeats the noun ‘duty’ throughout the play to emphasise how he has a moral and professional obligation to find out the truth.
Inspector (earth)
“It’s better to ask for the earth than to take it.”
Here the Inspector is suggesting that it is socially irresponsible to be greedy and ‘take’ things without permission. This could also symbolise revolution if things do not change showing if we don’t give the people what they want then they will overthrow the ‘earth’.
Inspector about Daisy (job)
“It was the last real steady job she had.”
Work was very important to her and once she lost this job she went off the rails. ‘When she lost it- for no reason that she could discover- she decided she might as well try another type of life.
Inspector (agony)
“She died in misery and agony – hating life.”
The graphic adjectives “misery and agony” encourage the audience to empathise with Eva, visualising the pain and suffering she endured at the hands of the Birlings.
Inspector (share)
The Inspector states that if we share nothing else, “we have to share our guilt”.
Here Priestley uses the personal pronoun “we” to give society a sense of unity, implying everyone must do the same and follow the inspector’s teachings.
Inspector (taught)
“they will be taught in fire, blood, and anguish”
‘Fire’ and ‘blood’ and ‘anguish’ are all words with connotations of war and death - semantic field. Priestley is reminding the audience that if we carry on living selfishly there will be consequences of war (world war 1 broke out just after Priestley set this play) and the death of millions.
Name Eva and Daisy symbols
Eva ironically means ‘life’ and tied to the biblical Eve, on whom blame for sin was laid, Smith being a common surname to denote how she represents the working class.
Daisy could symbolise her common charm, beauty or frail vulnerability, Renton could symbolise how she was seemingly forced to ‘rent’ her body to survive.
Eva (recall)
He sexualises Eva Smith when he recalls, “She was a lively good-looking girl.”
Suggesting her appearance was more important to her identity than how good a worker she was.
Eva (say)
“She’d had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go.”
Far too much’ suggests he wants to silence the working classes, particularly the women. He feels they should be voiceless and is disapproving when they stand up for themselves. ‘Had to go’ shows his certainty that his actions were correct.
Eva Smith (pretty)
“She was very pretty - soft brown hair and big dark eyes.”
Priestley has Gerald use adjectives that describe Eva as innocent and vulnerable, therefore making actions that led to her demise more atrocious as the audience feel protective of her.
Eva (millions)
To convey to the Birlings how widespread their actions are, the Inspector uses the extended metaphor of ‘millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths’ to represent the number of working- class men and women who were exploited on a daily basis by the greed of capitalism.
Birling (costs)
“perhaps we may look forward to a time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together – for lower costs and higher prices.”
It is clear here that Mr Birling is driven by money, he is a capitalist. The fact that he sees his daughter’s engagement as a chance to push for ‘lower costs and higher prices’ shows just how greedy he is. He does not consider the impact ‘higher prices’ might have on anyone else, he just wants more money.
Birling (knighthood)
“There’s a fair chance that I may find myself into the next honours list.”
Mr Birling’s insecurity is revealed by his feeling of inadequacy due to his lower social status, compared to the Crofts. Therefore, he feels the need to compensate with boasts of a potential knighthood.
Birling (horrid)
“Yes, yes. Horrid business. But I don’t understand why you should come here, Inspector.”
This shows how selfish Mr. Birling actually is. He obviously doesn’t care about Eva, which is apparent from his impatience – he just wants to know why the Inspector has bothered him
Birling (wretched)
the Birlings’ detachment as a result of their selfishness and wealth has led to a degree of inhumanity, with Eva Smith being described as a “wretched girl”.
The word “wretched” implies pity, not sympathy, and the word “girl” is demeaning to an adult woman who had recently died.
Birling (responsibility)
‘I can’t accept any responsibility’
Throughout the play, Mr Birling refuses to accept that he played any part in Eva Smith’s death. He argues that his involvement with Eva was so small and unimportant that it could not have led to her death. He implies that Eva’s misfortune was her own fault.
Birling (duty)
“Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down.”
The fact that he considers it ‘my duty’ means that he sees keeping labour costs down as some sort of noble quest he has undertaken. Of course, keeping labour costs down increases his own profits.
Birling (cover)
I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can’
Mr Birling, stays the same with his character throughout the play, only cares about covering up this story so it doesn’t affect their reputations, social status, or his chance at receiving a knighthood.
Birling about Inspector (prejudice)
“Prejudiced from the start. Probably a socialist or some sort of crank.”
The colloquial term ‘crank’ means for a person to hold a belief that the majority of people believe is false, so here, Birling links the idea of a crank with ‘a socialist’, both having a negative attitude; this leads to the audience disregarding and detesting Mr Birling’s character.
Birling (fake)
Mr Birling: ‘this [fake inspector] makes a difference…’
If the Inspector has no connection to the police, he has no power to cause problems for Birling, and so Mr Birling is prepared to forget the whole story and continue with life as before.
Mrs Birling (realize)
“When you’re married you’ll realize that men have important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had”
There is created a clear hierarchical distinction between men and women where men ‘have important work to do’ and women must make themselves busy with something of far less importance. This is a key example of patriarchy.
Mrs Birling (deserving)
“We’ve done a great deal of useful work helping deserving cases.”
This emphasis on the adjective “deserving” reveals Mrs Birling’s joy in playing God in these young women’s lives, deciding whether they receive aid and benefit or are refused and suffer, a reflection of the power of the upper classes.
Mrs Birling (naturally)
She continues, “Naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case,”
Which shows how she is shameless in her bias. She feels she is entitled to think the way she does and describes her reaction as “natural”.
Mrs Birling (ashamed)
Shows her true lack of empathy and understanding. ‘I did nothing I’m ashamed of. ‘
using unambiguous language, Mrs Birling makes it clear that she feels no remorse for what she did and shows that, despite the Inspector’s efforts, she does not accept her responsibility.
Mrs Birling (father)
‘Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility’
Prolyptic irony and the audience realises that this man is actually Eric, Mrs Birling’s son.
Mrs Birling (only)
“I was the only one who didn’t give in to him. “
she sees it as a victory that she did not accept any of the blame the inspector tried to place on her-she is smug at the statement because she mocks the others for answering the Inspectors questions truthfully- in some cases she mocks people for feeling sympathy towards the dead girl.
Sheila about Gerald (summer)
“Yes – except for all last summer, when you never came near me, and I wondered what had happened to you.”
Sheila’s comments here show that she does have doubt about her relationship with Gerald and the extent of his feelings towards her- this also foreshadows his confession later in the play.
Sheila (-)
“Oh - how horrible, was it an accident.”
Sheila is the only character who expresses genuine motion towards the suicide of Eva Smith. Priestley demonstrates this through the use of a dash, indicating Sheila’s authentic displeasure.
Sheila (rotten)
“But I felt rotten about it at the time and now, I feel a lot worse. “
Her recognition of her own guilt forces her to feel even worse about Eva Smith’s fate. -
‘Rotten’ manifests how she feels quite disgusted by her actions.
Sheila (plain)
“If she’d been some miserable plain little creature, I don’t suppose I’d have done it”
Shiela is desperate to rid herself of guilt and blames Eva for being too pretty, as if that justifies her immature reaction “Creature” Shiela saw the people below her socially as nothing but animals
Sheila (respect)
We expect her to react very badly, but in fact she is very mature ‘in some odd way,
“I rather respect you more than I’ve ever done before”,
the audience admires her for being this forgiving, it shows that she understands that conflict is not the solution to problems.
Sheila (nice)
Sheila also uses irony when she is appalled by her parents’ attitudes to carry on as before:
“I suppose we’re all nice people now”.
Sheila uses irony to show that she completely disagrees with her parents and that she understands the moral consequences of her actions.
Gerald to Birling
“You [Birling] couldn’t have done anything else.”
Gerald agrees with Birling regarding the way Eva was fired. It is clear he comes from a capitalist family like the Birlings and as such has adopted their ways. Priestley also does this to make the divisions between Gerald and Sheila more apparent.
Gerald (criminals)
After all, we’re respectable citizens and not criminals.
Juxtaposition of ‘respectable citizens’ (representing wealthy and upper/upper-middle class people) and ‘criminals’ (possibly referring to people of lower class/social status). Priestley uses Gerald to present an upper class sense of entitlement.
Gerald (do you mind)
Do you mind if I give myself a drink Sheila?”
-His hesitation shows clearly that he knew Daisy Renton and that’s why he needed a drink to calm himself when she was mentioned.
Gerald (haunt)
It’s a favourite haunt of women of the town.
Here Gerald has used the euphemism in ‘haunt of women’ to mask his true intentions. ‘Women of the town’ are prostitutes, maybe Gerald’s intentions for being at ‘the bar for a drink’ wasn’t as it seems and his motives were sexually driven, again displaying his role as ‘lust’ as a seven deadly sin.
Gerald (insisted)
“I insisted on Daisy moving into those rooms.”
Saying “I insisted” gives the impression that Gerald really cares about what will happen to Daisy and may be worried. However for some it may appear that he gives her money and an appartment enetering a sexual exploitive relationship all under the pretext of helping her.
Gerald (important)
“I became at once the most important person in her life.”
This could imply that Eva felt she owed Gerald for rescuing her, rather than his aid being an act of selfless goodwill.
Gerald (isn’t)
There isn’t any such inspector. We’ve been had.”
Gerald returns to the stage triumphant having saved their reputations by revealing the inspector is a fake demonstrating that his priority all along has been to protect his reputation.
Geral (ring)
What about this ring? ‘
– The ring symbolises capitalist union. Gerald makes one last attempt to win Sheila back although she refuses. Gerald clearly has not learnt his lesson and although he has shown remorse over Eva/Daisy’s death, he, like the Birlings, wants to forget his responsibility.
Birling to Edna
“Giving us the port Edna, that’s right.”
calls her by her christian name but not out of friendliness - it is a way of reinforcing that he is the boss and that she is disposable.
Eric (wages)
“why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? “
The rhetorical question reflects the idea that Eric is gradually rejecting the capitalist ideology as he begins to mirror and favour Priestley’s more ideal socialist society.
Eric (drinking)
“He’s been steadily drinking too much for the last two years.”
This prepares the audience for the later revelations about his drunken behaviour towards the girl.
Eric (easier)
“You haven’t made it any easier for me have you mother?”
explains that point as it was already hard for Eric to gather the courage to tell everyone, but when his own family says that the person that had done the terrible things to Eva should go to jail, it would take a lot more bravery to confess all of his wrongdoings.
Eric (Chap)
“I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty.”
Priestley demostrates Eric’s subconscious attempts to distance himself from his actioms bys switching from first person to third person by calling himself ‘chap’ instead of ‘I’.
Through the use of colloquial term ‘chap’ Eric is trying to soften the harshness of his actions.
Eric (satisfy)
“I wasn’t in love with her or anything,”
shows how he used her to satisfy his own sexual desires.
Eric (trouble)
“You’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.”
Eric’s segregation from his parents is complete and the younger generation have broken apart from the older generation.
Eric (knighthood)
“What does it matter now whether they give you a knighthood or not?”
Use of rhetorical question and use of pronoun “you” are persuasive devices. He tries to make his father see the truth and accept his responsibility.
Eric (pretending)
“You’re beginning to pretend now that nothing’s really happened at all.”
Eric sees that his parents are trying to ‘pretend’ that nothing happened when it is suggested that the Inspector was not real. He and Sheila, the younger characters, still feel responsible.
Generational divide (pick up)
“the things you girls pick up these days.”
Here it is clear that Sybil is quite ashamed of the language that her daughter is using because it is not sophisticated and not how the higher class should talk.
Generational divide (impression)
‘You seem to have made a great impression on this child’
Mrs Birling is talking to Inspector Goole. She shows that she doesn’t respect Sheila as a young adult – she still thinks of her as a child, and talks about her as if she is not in the room. She also belittles (plays down) the effect the Inspector has had.
Generational divide (young ones)
‘We often do [make an impression] on the young ones.’
Whilst the older generation will not change the young generation will and it is change that is needed to rebuild society into a fairer and more egalitarian place.
Generational divide (imperative)
Furthermore, Sheila reminds her parents that she is “not a child, don’t forget”.
This condescending reminder, aided by the imperative order of “don’t forget”, emphasises the image of Sheila defending herself and trying to wrestle responsibility from her parents.
Generational divide (hysterical)
Mrs Birling silences Sheila as “your behaving like a hysterical child”,
right after she expresses how responsible she feels for Eva’s death. Mrs Birling refers to the disorder hysteria, which was essentially constructed by the patriarchy to oppress women and prevent them from gaining positions of power.
Social responsibility (own)
Arthur Birling explains the family’s philosophy when he says
’ a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own’
which suggests that he feels that he only has responsibility for his own family and himself. This is reinforced by the way the Birlings treat Eva Smith.
Social responsibility (public)
‘Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges’ – the Inspector highlights that if a person is in a position of authority then they have a duty of responsibility to those they are in charge of. The idea of power and responsibility going hand in hand.
Social responsibility (forget)
“Each of you helped to kill her, remember that. Never forget it.”
Despite none of the characters directly ending Eva’s life, they have all had a part to play in her death and are therefore responsiblefor driving her to suicide.
Social responsibility (drove)
“Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide.”
She wants her family to notice what they did was wrong rather than removing the aspect of the problem. Sheila is the first to recognize that they all drove Eva to her death, reminding her family that they were all part of the problem.
Reputation (Birling)
“I was an alderman for years – and lord mayor two years ago”
Mr Birling attempts to use his social status to intimidatethe Inspector and retain some authorityby referencing his irrelevant roles however, this leaves the Inspector unaffected.
Bussiness and Duty (Inspector)
Priestley immediately portrays the Inspector’s as a moral force as he refuses a drink of port: “no, thank you I’m on duty”.
Alcohol bears connotations of immoral behaviour and therefore the Inspector’s refusal is symbolicof his refusing to act immorally
Corruption decay and damnation (burnt)
“Her position now is that she lies with a burnt out inside on a slab.”
This is such a shocking image presented in plain language, it is not surprising that it impacts upon the emotions of the other characters and the audience. The Inspector uses this language intentionally to make the family more likely to confess
Misogyny (Eric)
Eric refers to Eva as “pretty and a good sport”, which implies that he saw her as a means to fulfilling his own desires as ”good sport” is a euphemism for willing to sleep with him.
Misogyny (Gerald)
“I hate these fat old tarts,”.
with the profanity “tarts” showing how he shames women for sex work and displaying sexuality
Class (refuse)
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”
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. Mr Birling’s opinion of the working class
Inspect (golf)
“I don’t play golf🥶”
‘Golf’ is often associated with upper class
By stating that he doesn’t play golf the inspector may be distancing himself from the upper class character, emphasising his role as an outsider.
General Strike
850,000 coalminers went out on strike as the government wanted to increase working hours and lower pay.
Year - 1926
The Suffragettes
Woman that first used violent protests for their rights.
