An Inspector Calls - Selfishness Quotes

• Introduction

  In 'An Inspector Calls' Priestley presents selfishness as a pernicious and harmful quality with disastrous consequences for all members of society. He presents the Birlings as a microcosm for the upper classes, and draws strong associations between Selfishness and Capitalism, mirroring his own Socialist views, whilst also presenting the aristocracy as being callous and cold.
• portly

  strout or overweight, hinting at his excessive consumption due to selfishness and greed. It can also be deduced that he is bloated and swollen; perhaps from gluttony and over indulgence and as he is brimming with arrogance and vanity.
• lower costs and higher prices

  lower costs' means that his workers are most likely going to get lower wages highlights his disregard for the effects of his selfish wants. It also highlights his fiscally driven nature and his utter devotion to profit and personal gain. The comparative of 'higher' and 'lower' may highlight the juxtaposition between Capitalism and social responsibility, the two are mutually exclusive and Preistley presents being a Capitalist and moral as impossible.
• hard-headed practical man of business.

  self-proclaimed - alliteration reinforces his callous and heartless nature, and is Priestley criticising the selfishness of Capitalist parsimony.
• a man has to make his own business and look after himself

  declarative 'has to', highlights his selfish view of responsibility - it is the antithesis of social responsibility, and is intensified using repetition.
• had [...] far too much to say' 'had to go'

  idiom 'had to' shows that Arthur felt as if he had no choice but to protect the profitability of his business, as Eva may have increased his costs by asking for higher wages. This again reinforces Mr Birling's egocentric mindset, while the refusal to acknowledge the needs of his workers symbolises his disregard for the poor
• thousands - yes, thousands."

  highlights his belief that reputation is more important than human life, trying to pay the Inspector for his silence rather than accepting responsibility for her death
• "we"

  The Birlings' hermetic household is a bubble of wealth and avarice, a bubble the Inspector 'pops' by undermining the bravado and self-importance held by the edler Birlings. The minute the Inspector shatters their rapacious ignorance, Mr Birling begins to use the collective nouns 'we'. This shows that Arthur has begun to spread the blame and highlights his selfishness in only using collective pronouns to protect his own reputation.
• "been so happy tonight wishes he hadnt told her"

  highlights her focus on the news' effect on herself, rather than Eva's death - emphasising her selfish views.
• "Admiring her ring"

  highlights her vain and materialistic nature and how self centered she is
• mass use of personal pronouns ('I' 'My')"

  highlights the selfishness of the ruling classes, and the fact that Capitalism, alongside selfishness, is hereditary.
• girls aren't cheap labour, they're people

  eschews the Capitalism mindset which holds workers as a commodity to be exploited, and shows Sheila's sense of morality that the elder Birlings lack.
• mummy/mother

  childish colloquialism-highlights childish nature - noun mother -reflecting a change towards a less selfish and more socially responsible character. It perhaps, shows her loss of intimacy within their relationship as she has lost respect for her family - a result of Sheila beginning to view the selfish trait of Capitalists as negative
• I suppose we're all nice people now

  irony/sarcasm - completely disagrees with her parents' self-important focus, and she now understands the moral consequences of her, and her family's, selfishness. Sheila's emerging social conscience, alongside her sympathy towards socialist ideology, is Priestley attempting to show that change is possible, regardless of status. It is also his way of highlighting that Socialism is the answer for society to escape the selfish shackles of 'business men' like Arthur Birling.
• prejudiced against her case so i used my influence to have it refused

  adjective 'prejudiced' highlights her ungenerous and egomaniacal character, whilst she is openly admitting to having rejected a fair case with no other reason other than 'impertinence'.
• it's [the father's] responsibility

  highlights her anachronistic view that a child is the father's responsibility, and is her shifting blame to presenting her self-centred want to protect her reputation. This backfires when she realises she is criticising her own son, highlighting selfishness' detrimental consequences. Preitsley also uses dramatic irony (as the audience knows that Eric is at fault), to discredit her character and expose the flaws of a narcissistic mindset.+also preserve family name = selfish want
• confess in public

  responsibility should be tied to shame and guilt, and highlights her unorthodox view of responsibility - that public humiliation may stop people making the same mistakes.
• wasn't I who had her turned out of employment

  shifts blame to own husband -no remorse for her cruel treatment of Eva, and even shows a sense of hypocrisy - when Mr Birling is threatened for exposing his wrongdoing, he attempts to bribe the Inspector, however, Sybil believes the father should be 'dealt with severely' and accept his mistake. This shows that both characters are selfish in the means that if their reputation is at stake, their views change accordingly.
• stole

  ability to show generous intent
• that's the hellish thing. Oh - my God!

  semantic field of heaven and hell when Eric describes what he did to Eva Smith -religious exclamation, alongside the dashes, highlight his hysteria surrounding his guilt over being selfish
• you killed her [...] my child, your grandchild, you killed them both

  repitition of killed - emphasises the disastrous effects of selfishness on society, whilst the personal pronoun 'my' shows that Eric has accepted responsibility for his child, and has shown a capacity to become less selfish. It also presents Eric as having taken up the Inspector's role of enforcing responsibility, showing he has recognised his own, and his mother's mistakes, and is holding her accountable. However, this may also be a metaphor to show the all encompassing effect of selfishness, that even an unborn child (the future generation) has been killed as a result of an inability to accept social responsibility and show kindness.
• plain darkish suit

  does not indulge in luxuries
• harder, brighter

  symbolising that their selfish behaviours are being brought 'into the light'. The adjective "harder" connotes that the process of exposing the Birlings' selfishness as physically gruelling; perhaps as a result of their own self-imposed myopia
• chain of events

  mouthpeice for P's socialist message - metaphor for collective responsibility, that we are all interconnected and responsible for each other. The chain imagery also shows the power of selfishness- Eva's death was the direct result of selfishness and an individualistic mentality, and it it highlights selfishness' unprejudiced mass effect, no matter who does a selfish deed, eventually it will come back to punish them, just as it did to the Birlings. The noun 'chain' suggests that these bonds between everyone are unbreakable and that as a member of society, feeling the consequences of selfishness is inevitable
• put ourselves in the place of these young women counting their pennies in their dingy little back bedroom

  his highlights the need for sympathy in society, to ensure that all selfish actions are deterred, and the importance of understanding and kindness to avoid further death and destruction.
• Will be taught in fire, blood and anguish

  If society refuses to repent for its selfishness,-prophetic warning of the consequences of the continuation of selfishness, whilst the declarative 'will be', alongside the triadic structure, shows that regardless of the beliefs of the upper classes, punishment will come.
• Conclusion

  Selfishness is the antipode of Priestley's Socialist ideals, it is presented as the downfall of man, and the corrupting force of civilisation. Throughout the morality play, Selfishness is to be blamed for all of the Birling's sins, and as a consequence, Eva Smith takes her own life, drinking 'disinfectant' to purify herself, and cleanse herself of the Birlings' influence. The audience is made to condemn selfishness, as the devastating repercussions of the Birlings makes the audience recognise the need for change in a selfish society.