Inspector Calls Key Quotes

Question 1

“Arthur Birling is a ……..rather…… …….. in his ……………..with fairly…….. ……but rather……….”

Answer 1

”Arthur Birling is a heavy looking rather portentous man and his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial speech”

Question 2

What does mr Birling say that portrays him as a business man?

Answer 2

“Perhaps…crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but working together - for lower costs and higher prices”

Question 3

What does Mr Birling wrongly predict about the titanic?

Answer 3

“The titanic-she sets sail next week. Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”

Question 4

How is Mar Birling portrayed as a typical capitalist

Answer 4

“Man has to mind his own business and look after himself”

Question 5

What does mr Birling say that shows he doesn’t care about Eva’s death?

Answer 5

“It has nothing to do with this wretched girl’s suicide. Eh inspector”

Question 6

How does Birling desperately want Sheila and Gerald to get married despite Gerald’s wrong actions?

Answer 6

“Nonsense! You’ll have a good laugh over it yet! Look, you’d better ask Gerald for that ring you gave back to him, hadn’t you? Then you’ll feel better”

Question 7

What does Birling say that shows the divide between the younger and older generations ideologies?

Answer 7

“ The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke”

Question 8

What is the final line of the Play?

Answer 8

As they stay guilty and dumbfounded, The curtain falls.

Question 9

What is the stage direction that gives the reader an insight into mrs birling’s character?

Answer 9

“ his wife about fifty, A rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior.”

Question 10

How does mrs Birling accept the divide between men and women in the Edwardian era?

Answer 10

“when you’re married you realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on business”

Question 11

How does mrs Birling not care about Eva?

Answer 11

“ I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class-“

Question 12

How does mrs Birling not take the blame for Eva’s death?

Answer 12

• “She only had herself to blame”

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

Question 13

Mrs Birling:

“I wish…. ….. ….. when that…. ….. ……. I’d have asked……. … …. questions before……to ask us any”

Answer 13

“ I wish I’d been here when the man first arrived. I’d have asked him a few questions before I allowed him to ask us any.”

Question 14

What stage direction first describes Eric?

Answer 14

”Eric is in his early 20s, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive”

Question 15

I how is it evident Eric used Eva?

Answer 15

“I didn’t love her or anything- but I liked her-she was a pretty good sport-“

Question 16

How does Eric not trust his father?

Answer 16

“you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble”

Question 17

Finish the quote on Eric blaming his mother for Eva’s death

“Then-you killed her!

Answer 17

…my child-your own grandchild-you killed them both-damn you, damn you”

Question 18

How does Eric accept responsibility for Eva’s death and is different to his parents?

Answer 18

“ and I say the girls dead and we all helped to kill her-and that’s all that matters”

Question 19

How is Sheila described in the opening stage directions?

Answer 19

“ sheila is a very pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.”

Question 20

How does Shiela disagree with her father and his business ideology?

Answer 20

“ but these girls aren’t cheap labour-they’re people”

Question 21

Complete the quote implying Sheila wants to be truthful and work with the inspector:
“ you mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do

Answer 21

, then the inspector will just break it down. And it’ll be worse when he does.”

Question 22

How does Sheila have the same idea as Eric in that they all are responsible for Eva’s death?

Answer 22

“ between us we drove that girl to commit suicide”

Question 23

How is Shiela afraid of the inspector yet doesn’t understand why her parents aren’t?

Answer 23

“ how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk.

Question 24

How does Sheila disagree with her parents and Gerald about the inspector when he’s left?

Answer 24

“ I tell you-whoever that inspector was, it was anything but a joke.”

Question 25

What do the stage directions first suggest about Gerald Croft?

Answer 25

“an attractive chap, about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the well-bred young man-about- town“

Question 26

How does Gerald not take blame for Eva’s death?

Answer 26

“After all, y’know we’re respectable citizens and not criminals”

Question 27

How does priestly show a divide between the capitalists and the socialists through Gerald and Shiela?

Answer 27

(About Sheila): “she’s obviously has about as much as he can stand”

Question 28

Complete this Gerald quote:

“But how do you know it’s the same girl?…we’ve no proof

Answer 28

It was the same photograph and therefor no proof it was the same girl”

Question 29

How does Gerald pretend nothing’s happened after the inspector has left?

Answer 29

“Everything’s alright now Sheila. What about this ring?”

Question 30

What are the stage directions that illustrate the inspector’s character?

Answer 30

“The inspector need not be a big man, but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”

Question 31

How does Inspector Goole describe Eva to make the audience empathise with her.

Answer 31

• “Burnt out her insides…few friends…lonely…half starved”
• “she was in great agony”

Question 32

How does the inspector imply there is a divide between the older and younger generations?

Answer 32

“(coolly) We often do on the young ones, they’re more impressionable”

Question 33

How does the inspector have authority over the Berlings?

Answer 33

Stage directions like “sharply”, “harshly”, “severely”

Question 34

How does the inspector represent socialism?

Answer 34

“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”

Question 35

What is the last thing the inspector leaves the audience with and this links back to something Sheila said?

Answer 35

“They will be taught it in fire, blood and anguish”