Important Inspector Calls quotations

Question 1

‘I’ll never, never do it again to anybody.’

Answer 1

Sheila shows remorse

Question 2

‘I behaved badly too. I know I did. I’m ashamed of it.’

Answer 2

Sheila shows remorse

Question 3

‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people.’

Answer 3

Sheila argues against her dads capitalist ways. Sheila has been enlightened by the inspector to socialist ways.

Question 4

‘You began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped . You’re ready to go on in the same old way.’

Answer 4

Sheila has been enlightened by the inspector and confronts her parents about their attitudes. Changes from being spoilt at the beginning of the play ‘daddy’ - snobbish resemblance of her parents

Question 5

‘Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?’

Answer 5

Eric confronts his fathers capitalist ideas

Question 6

(unhappily) ‘My God - I’m not likely to forget’

Answer 6

Eric is remorseful about is actions

Question 7

‘You’ve beginning to pretend now that nothing’s really happened at all. And I can’t see it like that.’

Answer 7

Eric confronts his parents attitude as he has been enlightened by the inspector.

Question 8

‘Perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices.’

Answer 8

Birlings expresses his cold hearted capitalist ideas

Link to -

Question 9

‘I gather there’s a very good chance of a knighthood - so long as we behave ourselves, don’t get into the police court or start a scandal - eh?’

Answer 9

Foreshadows scandal - dramatic irony
Birling is fixated with the knighthood - higher class
Playing class 'the men in tails and white ties'

Question 10

‘mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense.’

Answer 10

Birling’s capitalist ideology - opposite to inspectors

Link to -

Question 11

‘Now look at the pair of them - the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke-‘

Answer 11

Birling is not remorseful and instead mocks Eric and Sheila for their remorsefulness

Question 12

‘when this comes out at the inquest, it isn’t going to do us much good. The press might easily take it up-‘
‘I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List-‘

Answer 12

Birling only cares about class and a knighthood
Doesn’t care about Eva Smith or the family
Selfish

Question 13

(reproachfully) ‘Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things-‘

Answer 13

Mrs Birling ia socially superior to Birling

Playing the class - not naturally higher class

Question 14

‘Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of or that won’t bear investigation.’

Answer 14

Mrs Birling passes blame onto family

Very confident and arrogant

Question 15

‘Girls of that class-‘

Answer 15

Mrs Birling very snobbish and classist

Question 16

(shocked) ‘Eric! You stole money?’

‘I’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. But I accept no blame for it at all.’

Answer 16

Mrs Birling only cares about her own family and not the lower class - turns a blind eye to the lower class

Link to - (staggered) ‘Well, really! Aldermand Meggarty!’
(Sheila)’ But everybody knows about that horrible old Meggarty.’

Question 17

‘I was awfully busy at the works all that time.’

Answer 17

Gerald lies to Sheila

Question 18

‘She’ll make you happy’

‘What I did want to say was - Sheila is a lucky girl - and i think that you’re a pretty fortunate young man too’

Answer 18

Gerald is the important one and Sheila is just being used as a tool for Birling to marry into another family which benefits his business

Question 19

(distressed) ‘sorry - I - well, I’ve suddenly realised - taken it in properly - that’s she’s dead–’

Answer 19

Gerald is remorseful and sad about Eva Smith’s death

Question 20

‘Everything’s all right now, Sheila.

Answer 20

Gerald then forgets about his earlier remorse and is similar to the Birlings in their complacent attitude

Question 21

‘We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’

Answer 21

Inspectors polemic is the opposite to Birlings and his capitalist ideology
Inspector is socialist and a literary construct to portray the political ideas of post ww2 when An Inspector Calls was written

Question 22

‘There are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives’

Answer 22

Inspectors dénouement is to care for everyone in society as we are all the same
Socialist ideology from the inspector - literary construct
Eva Smith a literary construct to portray the torrid lives of the working class

Question 23

‘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?’

Answer 23

Birling doesn’t understand responsibly and can’t accept his responsibility in Eva Smith’s death
Unlike Inspector - ‘ We are responsible for each other.’

Question 24

Gerald - ‘we’re respectable citizens and not criminals’
Inspector - ‘Often if it was left to me, I wouldn’t know where to draw the line between respectable citizens and criminals’

Answer 24

Gerald doesn’t understand that even though he hasn’t committed an illegal act he has been immoral and deserves to be held to account for that.
The only one who has acted illegally is Eric.