Inspector Calls Flashcards
What was Priestleys approach to the world people were to build after the war?
He always gave priority to communal tasks as he had a sense of community as he was a socialist
How is Gerald presented throughout the play?
He couldn’t change but he doesn’t betray his whole class which is why he finds every reason he can to find that the Inspector is fake
How is Sheila’s character presented at the end of the play?
She is desperate for change and wants everyone to change with her
How is Edna’s character presented throughout the play?
She doesn’t question whatever the Birlings do bc without them she wouldn’t have enough money to live - not easy to get a job at her age and if she did it would be at the workhouse which isn’t a nice place
How is Mrs Birlings character presented?
She is presented as unsympathetic, stereotypical with presumptions and an elitist as she was of middle-upper class so it creates friction w Mr Birling
No nurturing qualities
“It had good solid furniture of the period”
wealthy so take care about appearance and obsessions and how they perceive others
“The lighting should be pink and intimate”
love
engagement
feminine
authority and matter
“all five are in evening dress”
socially conventional
sets time of play
“the four Birlings and Gerald are seated at the table with Arthur Birling at one end and his wife and the other”
traditional/ formal
lack of intimacy between husband and wife
“Arthur you’re not supposed to say such things”
reminded her husband of how you should speak to staff
“perhaps we may look forward to the time when Croft’s and Birlings are no longer competing but working together”
proving himself to Gerald
“I speak as a hard headed businessman who has to take risks to know what he’s about”
well versed
optimistic
narrow tunnel vision
dramatic irony- audience already knows what he’s like
“the Titanic…unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”
dramatic irony for 21st century audience
“feels as if you might have done better for yourself socially” MR B
diff tone when they’re all alone:
less sophistication
more convivial
more confidential
could’ve married someone w better class
“More money to spend and time to spare than I had when I was Eric’s age. They worked us hard in those days.”
Mr B commitment and independence
What is Mr B philosophy of life?
money orientated
shouldn’t be entitled to things: work hard
Door bell rings after Mr B lecture about business
“A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”
to interrupt Mr B monologue and creates tension and emphasise to audience
ironic as Gerald is minding his business by having an affair with eva
“The inspector need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposeless”
how the Inspector composed himself
Eric says things involuntarily
wants to stay out of it as he might be guilty
Inspector : “I see Mr Croft is going to marry Miss Sheila Birling?”
Gerald (smiling) “I hope so”
Inspector: “then i prefer you to stay”
creates suspense as to why he would be asked to stay and what would it do to his relationship
Mr Birling “wretched girls suicide”
malice, selfishness and heartless
Eric: “He could. He could have kept her on instead of throwing her out”
Sheila : “Oh how horrible!”
Sheila’s reaction is similar to Eric’s:
v opinionated
Why are Sheila and Eva a similar age?
So that they are able to relate as eventhough they have differences in lifestyle, classes and families they have the same aspirations
Inspector : “with no work, no money coming in, and living in lodgings, with no relatives to help her, few friends, lonely, half starved, she was feeling desperate”
sympathetic
she went through so much but stilll was strong enough to stand alone
Sheila: “ but these girls aren’t cheap labour”
feminism
Sheila: “Did it make that much of a difference to her?”
ignorance as she didn’t think her actions would affect it as much
Stage directions for sheila
miserably
(distressed)
warmly towards Eva
Gerald: “Why should you? It’s bound to be unpleasant and disturbing”
Inspector: “ and you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?”
gerald’s hypocrisy in the situation
Inspector is guilt tripping him into what he did
Inspector: “A pretty, lively sort of girl, who never did anybody any harm. But she died in misery and agony”
contrast between her innocence and her fate
Inspector: “ We have to share something, If there’s nothing else, we’ll have to share our guilt”
corporative responsibility
reinforces community
collective response- all accountable for
“we” and “our” - persuasive response as if they are both working together
Mrs B: “ I think you ought to go to bed and forget about this absurd business”
as if it is a disgrace in society
doesn’t empathise w Eva’s mental state
Mrs B : “girls of that class”
judgemental
outdated/ traditional
arrogance
inhumane
Mrs B stage directions: (staggered) (bitterly)
no nurturing qualities
Gerald: “she looked young and fresh and charming….old joe meggarty half-drunk and goggle eyed”
shows her sexual innocence and vulnerability in comparison to reality of the world
Inspector: “ One Eva Smith has gone- but there are millions of John Smiths and Eva smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears… all intertwined with our lives”
common names so suggests that they are connected with everyone
lots of people who are vulnerable
when you die there is no social class as we are all unidentifiable
Inspector: “ We are all members of one body, we are responsible for each other”
reinforced prejudice
socialist view which Mr B hates
Inspector: “if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire blood and anguish”
metaphorical image
destruction and pain
So much of act three is of Mr and Mrs B and Gerald trying to prove it’s a hoax because?
They still have hopes that gerald and sheila can be reconciled
keeping themselves in the clear- zero responsibility
Sheila repeats Inspectors words of fire, blood and anguish bc?
everyone’s actions have consequences
regardless of it being real or not it still happened
”By jove,yes. And as you were saying Dad, a man has to look after himself-“ Eric
reiterating Mr Birling lecture which also creates tension as everyone in the family has been minding their own business so much that they have been disregarding their responsibility in the Eva business
“Yes. I wasn’t in love with her or anything- but i liked her- she was pretty and a good sport” Eric
shows differences in his and gerald’s relationship w Eva as he actually loved her and cared for her but Eric only used her for his sexual desires
(nearly at breaking point) “Then- you killed her. She came to you to protect me- and you turned her away-yes, and you killed her- and the child she’d have had too” Eric
pauses show his shock to believe about what had happened
stayed true to his colours as he was always in support of Eva
“The money’s not the important thing. It’s what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters. And i still feel the same about it, and that’s why I don’t feel like sitting down and having a nice cosy talk” ERIC
emphasises Mr B money orientated lifestyle and how people in society at that time were so concerned about how others thought of them instead of being in a community who looks out for one another
reinforces Inspectors message and has learnt from his lectures
