An Inspector Calls Quotes Flashcards
What is an inspector calls?
The context of a play is the circumstances in which it happens. This helps you to understand it. JB Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls is set in 1912 but written in 1945. We need to remember that the play is set before both world wars.
This is the key moral point of the play. Priestley’s message is that we all have a duty to society and it will collapse if we don’t honour that duty.
Class is also a very important theme in this play. The historical context is that class was still very rigid in Edwardian times and it was thought that the upper classes should never mix with the lower classes.
What happened in Priestly’s life?
In Bradford, Priestley witnessed a lot of poverty amongst the working classes. The city was industrial, with its economy reliant on the wool and dyeing industries. The living conditions had improved since the 1840s, but many still lived in slums and impoverished conditions.
He was a socialist
He has lived and taken part in war.
What did Priestly believe about Sexual Exploitation?
Women who society believed had lost their innocence and fallen from the grace of God were called “fallen women”. This included prostitutes, mistresses, and adulterers. Though these women were condemned and ostracised by society, there was a romantic ideal surrounding the way men treated these women. There was an effort by middle class philanthropists (those who offered charity) in the late nineteenth century to ‘rescue’ women from prostitution. This often included religious and moral teachings, as well as training so the women could enter the workforce. The Victorians also idealised the idea of gentlemanly chivalry towards these “fallen women”. Therefore, these women were punished by society, but the men who ‘helped’ them were celebrated. Priestley suggests this romantic ideal was actually based on sexual exploitation and lust. Men preyed on these “fallen women” as easy targets to satisfy their own needs while getting credit from their peers.
What did Priestly believe about Government
Priestly believed the government wasn’t doing enough to help the poor.
HE shows this through EVA.
There is no NHS or services which can help her instead she has to rely on Eric, Gerald & Mrs Birling
What problems did Women face in 1912?
No education
low pay and low skill work which was rare
All property belonged to the man of the house
Upper class exploited Women
Dependance on men
What did people in 1912 believe about the poor?
Many factors contributed to the stereotype of lower class people being dirty and sinful. This fear of the poor began in the Victorian era but continued into the twentieth century. The upper classes were convinced that the lower classes were all thieves, criminals, and sinners, who would pollute them and threaten the purity of the nation.
On top of this, many rich people were convinced that the poor only had themselves to blame for their troubles. They believed the lower classes were stupid or idle, or didn’t work hard enough, and this was why they fell into poverty. If the poor deserved it, then it wasn’t the upper classes’ job to fix it.
What was life like for the poor in 1912?
No work
No services e.g. NHS
No social Mobility
Horrendous working conditions
What problems did the working class encounter in 1912?
Horrendous working conditions
Women were payed less than men
No minimum wage
How did Workers rights improve in 1912?
Coal strikes in 1912 led to minimum wage for Miners.
Trade unions were becoming more popular
What does the suffaragete movement represent?
In 1865, upper and middle-class women began pushing for universal suffrage: the right for all adult women to vote and stand in political elections. However, this movement did not accelerate until 1903, when Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Suffragettes.
In 1912, when An Inspector Calls is set, the Suffragettes started more aggressive tactics, such as chaining themselves to buildings, setting fire to post boxes and smashing windows.
In the play, Eva Smith represents the struggles of the suffrage movement. Her encounter with Mr Birling mirrors the failed attempts of the Suffragettes to convince MPs to vote for universal suffrage prior to WW1. Therefore, Priestley uses Mr Birling as a reminder of the backwards thinking of men in the Edwardian era.
Why is the theme of Exploitation explored?
The theme of exploitation runs through the play, as Eva Smith is exploited by individuals and the system of Capitalism as a whole.
Priestley implies the systems of class and power in British society are exploited by the upper classes.
The Birlings take advantage of their trusted positions in the community to get their own way and escape punishment.
At the time the play is set the upper classes controlled everything in society. This means the lower classes were dependent for everything, and Priestley argues that the upper classes exploited this dependency to control others.
How do the Birlings exploit Eva?
- Mr Birling exploited her for cheap labour.
- Sheila exploited her status as the daughter of a well-known man to get Eva fired for just smiling.
- Gerald and Eric exploited her for sex.
- Mrs Birling exploited her influence at the charity to get her case denied.
What quotes show Mr Birling exploiting his workers?
Mr Birling’s business motto is unveiled when he announces his hopes to work “together” with Crofts Limited “for lower costs and higher prices” - His goal is unconcerned with improving working conditions or workers’ rights.
Birling - outlines how he has “several hundred young women” at his factory who “keep changing” which shows how he doesn’t see his workers as individuals. The vague term “several hundred” illustrates the women’s loss of individual identity, as they are viewed as a collective.
The Inspector explains how beneficial extreme poverty and despair are for Capitalist companies. He tells Sheila: “There are a lot of young girls living that sort of existence in every city and big town in this country, Miss Birling. If there weren’t, the factories and warehouses wouldn’t know where to look for cheap labour”
How does Priestly present Gerald Explot Eva?
Priestley uses these characters to demonstrate how men exploit the dominance they are given in a patriarchal society and the power their wealth brings them to take advantage of working class women.
It is clear from Gerald’s descriptions of when he first met Eva that her worth was based purely on how attractive she was. He said: “looked quite different”, “was very pretty”, and “looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there”.
The focus on her appearance, with the repetition of how she “looked”, shows that he formed these opinions of her before even talking to her. He continues by saying how she gave him “a glance that was nothing less than a cry for help” leading him to get rid of Joe Meggarty and tell her “if she didn’t want any more of that sort of thing, she’d better let [him] take her out of there” (Act 2, pg 35). This is an ultimatum, tying her escape to his company. He implies that if she rejects him, she will be in trouble again, forcing her to be reliant on him. He takes advantage of her distress, her need for “help”, and how she was “out of place”.
How is Eva’s dependency on Gerald used to show the lower class’ dependency on the upper class
Gerald recalls how Eva was “intensely grateful” to him, and he “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 did not offer Eva much, but she had been so lonely and desperate that his status as an upper class man made him automatically “important”.
It is clear the love and dependency within their relationship wasn’t equal: he confesses he “didn’t feel about her as she felt about [him]”,
and he enjoyed being the “wonderful Fairy Prince” (Act 2, pg 38), suggesting he exploited Eva’s need for him in order to sleep with her.
➔ The sense of power being her “Fairy Prince” gave him enabled him to do as he wished. When he did eventually break it off, she told him she “hadn’t expected it to last”, and “she didn’t blame [him] at all” (Act 2, pg 39), showing how he took advantage of her kindness and forgiveness.
➔ As she “hadn’t expected it to last” this suggests she was aware that Gerald was much less invested in their relationship than she was, and that his desire for her would wear off.
How does Eric exploit Eva?
The Inspector summarises how Eric exploited Eva to satisfy his own urges, saying he “just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person,” (Act 3, pg 56). This shows how he used Eva as a means to an end, and didn’t consider her own feelings.
Eric Like Gerald, Eric also has a relationship with Eva. This appears to be very one sided with Eric admitting: “I wasn’t in love with her or anything - but I liked her - she was pretty and a good sport” which shows how he used her to satisfy his own sexual desires.
How does Wealth influence the Birling’s actions?
- Mr Birling won’t raise his workers’ wages so that he can make a bigger profit.
- Sheila is a wealthy customer and enjoys spending money in upmarket shops.
- Gerald uses money to support Eva while she is his mistress.
- Eric steals money
- Mrs Birling refuses to give Eva money to help her.
Wealth brings each family member power over others and this power seems to make them forget that the poor are human too. Priestley uses the Inspector to try and change how the characters and audience feel and act towards the lower classes.
How does Priestley show the theme of Materialism through the house of Birling?
Priestley sets the play in the Birlings’ home which is a physical manifestation of upper class materialism.
- “Fairly Large and Suburban house but not cosy or homelike”
➔ The “Champagne glasses”, “port”, and a “cigar box” (Act 1, pg 1) are all indications of their excessive wealth.
Equally, Sheila’s excitement over her engagement ring - “Isn’t it a beauty? Oh - darling -” suggests the physical token of her engagement brings her more joy than the engagement does. Her declaration, “Now I really feel engaged,” implies a material possession is needed for the engagement to be real.
Mr Birling refused to pay his workers a slightly higher wage because of his greed: it was too “heavy” a “price” for his business. Realistically, raising their wages was within his power, and would not have destroyed his business. In contrast, the “price” Eva was forced to pay was losing her life.
Priestley’s audience would learn to value emotional connection and fellowship over wealth.
How does Priestly present the Old vs Young
➔ He presents the older generation as being stuck in their old ways, used to their comforts and conservative values. The parents refuse to be self-aware or accept responsibility. MR Birling resists suffarage.
➔ In contrast, the younger generation are curious and compassionate, and quick to rectify their ignorance. He suggests the younger generations should learn from the mistakes of their elders in order to create a more peaceful and progressive future for Britain.
The play ends how it started - the family gathering is interrupted by a phone call to say an Inspector is coming to the house. On the surface the mirroring suggests that nothing much has changed, however the audience knows that the family has divided and changed since the first act.
Furthermore, the cyclical structure could allude to the two World Wars, evoking the same idea of “pretend[ing] all over again”. Priestley suggests history will keep repeating itself until people learn
How does Priestly present Mr Birling as arrogant?
. He claims “We don’t guess - we’ve had experience - and we know,”
“Some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!” and “I say there isn’t a chance of war,”
“You don’t know what some of these boys get up to nowadays. More money to spend and time to spare than I had when I was Eric’s age,” - Struggle to accept change
Furthermore, the use of derogatory (insulting) words like “cranks”, “bees in a hive”, and “nonsense” show how Mr Birling actively mocks socialists, rather than just disagreeing with them.
