inspector calls

• Daisy Renton's name


  In Christian symbolism, symbol of innocence and purity, also associated with death as the flower disappears after short period of time - calling herself this shows she is almost reading her own future, realises she is an innocent victim but also that she is not likely to survive
• Renton


  'for rent' - she recognises she is essentially renting herself out to men in palace bar
• Eva Smith's name


  'eve' biblical allusion, all women have descended from eve in bible, symbolic of all working class women exploited by capitalist society
• Eric Birling's name


  Comes from combination of viking words 'ei' (meaning ever) and 'rikr' (meaning ruler) - represents his power but also abuse of power, represents all men of power (capitalists) being the victim of lust and gluttony, denying their own responsibility
• Inspector Goole's name


  Homophone for 'ghoul' suggesting a phantom and also a morbid interest in death, reminding us that his concern is Eva Smith's death
• Arthur Birling's name


  Reminds audience of legendary figure 'king arthur' from 5th century, Priestley shows how effectively people like Mr Birling own whole country (capitalists own what we should all own), ironic as King Arthur was seen as good king but Arthur Birling juxtaposes this
• Sheila Birling's name


  Latin name comes from Cecilia, symbolic in two interesting ways: 'Cecilia' is the feminine form of 'blind' in Latin, blind to impact of actions, seen as weakness, Sheila lacks power
• Sybil Birling's name


  10 sybils in Greek and Roman legends, sybils were female prophets at different holy sites which were worshipped and believed to have divine knowledge, hugely ironic as Priestley shows Sybil to have a lack of knowledge and understanding of our world
• Inspector Calls is a morality play
• Morality plays were the first kind of plays written in English language, written to explain morals of the bible, performed in churches to those who couldn't read or write (most of society)
• 7 Sins of morality play

  How Priestley attaches the 7 sins to the characters in order to add effect, 80% of his audience would have gone to church, writing about Christian morality, so attaching the 7 sins communicates Priestley's points in a way the audience would understand
• Mr Birling


  Personifies greed/avarice
• Sheila


  Clearly personifies envy
• Gerald


  Personifies lust and capitalist greed
• Sybil


  Clearly personifies pride
• Eric


  Personifies gluttony (which causes lust through alcohol abuse)
• Priestley uses the 7 sins to show his didactic purpose, by being a capitalist you are behaving in an anti-Christian manner, to be a good member of society you must be a socialist
• Social responsibility reflected through Mr Birling

  He represents the antithesis of Priestley's message on social responsibility, when Priestley first raises idea of shared responsibility, he says "you'd think everybody has to look after everyone else as if we're all mixed together like bees in a hive" (simile 'bees in hive' implies responsibility is primitive and demeaning, adjective 'mixed' shows he doesn't want to be associated with lower classes), his intolerance for socialism reflects the political climate of 1910s and suggests he is narrow-minded, his continued rejection of responsibility seems to be a result of arrogance and disrespect for others, accepting blame would be seen as a sign of weakness and imperfection, "I can't accept any responsibility" (modal verb 'can't' suggests accepting responsibility goes against his nature)
• Social responsibility reflected through Mrs Birling


  She personifies upper classes' contempt towards poor and authorities' neglect to those in need, Priestley uses her to suggest the hatred of social responsibility stems from classism and prejudice, she has a duty of care but she neglects this responsibility, shows institutions set up to help are intrinsically corrupt, "we've done a great deal of useful work to help deserving cases" (irony - hasn't done this, hyperbolic statement, her charity work brings her a false sense of moral accomplishment, doesn't actually care, adjective 'deserving' foreshadows prejudice and her harsh judgement)
• Social responsibility reflected through the Inspector

  Priestley's mouthpiece to show importance of universal responsibility in protecting vulnerable and benefiting everyone, Inspector's closing speech is direct opposite and parallel of Mr Birling's opening lecture, whilst Mr Birling supported capitalist ideals, the Inspector says "there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us" (repetition of noun 'millions' - exaggerates collective society, semantic field of connection - dismisses societal divisions, we are all the same and shared responsibility is the inevitable outcome of living side by side)
• Social responsibility reflected through Sheila

  First member of family to grasp concept of shared responsibility, takes it upon herself to continue Inspector's message, physical embodiment of society's ability to improve, acts as Inspector's proxy, after accepting responsibility, Sheila shows permanent change as she promises to "never, never do it again to anybody" (hyperbole - shows change in behaviour is arguably more important than accepting responsibility), perhaps Sheila's acceptance is from her youthfulness, Inspector says "we often do on the young ones, they're more impressionable" (adjective 'impressionable' - younger generation more likely to accept responsibility than older)
• Gender reflected through Sheila


  Transforms from stereotypical, upper class girl to self-assured, assertive woman, she imitates progression of woman suffrage from 1912-1945, when confronting Gerald she is "half serious, half playful" (duality of repeating noun 'half' - connotes internal conflict between desire to be assertive but also her inability due to her gender, she is using a mask to hide her true feelings to remain likeable and meet expectations), "looks at him in triumph. He was almost crushed" (metaphor - power dynamic shifted by facing truth, she is liberated which empowers her, this makes her stronger and more capable than those still trapped in their lies), by constructing her own voice, she became self-aware, shows respecting women gives them autonomy, society makes women appear weak and two-dimensional as they haven't had opportunity to explore their own identities
• Gender reflected through Eric

  Eric's treatment of Eva is an allegory for how upper class men treated women and viewed sex, just as Eric did, men abused women and took advantage of desperate situations some women were in, vague declarative "was in that state where a chap easily turns nasty", noun 'chap' - won't take responsibility for his sexual violence as it is natural for a 'man' and he could not restrain himself, shows how society treated violent masculinity as if it were natural or even desirable, and so couldn't be helped
• Gender reflected through Gerald


  Where as Eric's masculinity is crude and imperfect, Gerald is a symbol for the refined, cultured masculinity of the upper class, despite being polite and charming, his misogyny is insidious, his behaviour towards women is manipulative and selfish showing even the most respectable men were corrupt, "she's had a long, exciting and tiring day - we were celebrating our engagement - she's obviously had as much as she can stand" (by speaking for her, symbolises how men stole women's voices, almost infantilises her, presents women as delicate and childlike, also alludes to female hysteria - invalidating her before she reveals his secrets, declarative "we were celebrating our engagement" - stakes his claim over her, objectifies her, reflects 1910s)
• Gender reflected through Mrs Birling


  Symbolic of traditional 1912 woman, when in presence of a man she acts as their subordinate, it's important to recognise she is "her husband's social superior" however due to her gender she is automatically his subordinate, despite being opinionated, she only holds strong opinions about women and is not heavily involved in any man's business, her attitude to other women is mocking which mirrors her husband's sexist tendencies, refers to Sheila as "over excited" "hysterical child" (derogatory tone - invalidates Sheila portraying her as immature, ironic as her morals are more matured), women also used misogynistic language to dismiss others
• Gender is not the main focus, characters are not confronted about misogyny, this avoided making play even more controversial, gender is still a constant undercurrent in all dialogue
• Inequality in society is multifaceted and not dependent on one thing, society must face all its prejudices to truly become equal
• Age reflected through Mr and Mrs Birling

  As the patriarchs of the Birling family, they are a symbol of the older generation's power and control over society, see themselves as teachers to youth due to experience, Mr Birling "now you 3 young people just listen to this, and remember what I am telling you now" (imperatives 'listen' and 'remember' - emphasise Birling's desire for attention and for his children to be his disciples, wants to have impact on young generation, adjective 'young' - shows he is fixated on age and superiority, patronising and mocking), Mrs Birling "please don't contradict me like that" (verb 'contradict' - she seems to ban people disagreeing with her, presenting older generation as strict dictatorship, desires to stay in control and wants children to obey the 'pecking order')
• Age reflected through Sheila and Eric Birling

  Represent changing face of British society, at beginning are mouthpieces for their parents' beliefs, they quickly break free and think independently, they accept responsibility for actions and encourage others to do the same, they are in close proximity to socialist ideologies, younger generations are capable of starting a revolution, Eric repetition "he could, he could of kept her in, instead of throwing her out" (whilst the older generation see no possibility of forgiving others, the youth are more understanding, he recognises how capitalist system is toxic and exploitive), Sheila "these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people" (reflects left wing politics, uses shrewdness to express ridiculousness of older generation facades)
• Class represented through Mr Birling


  Member of nouveau riche, meaning he established himself without inheriting money, he has made it his personal obligation to keep lower classes in check as he states "if you don't come down sharply, they'd soon be asking for the earth" (hyperbolic metaphor 'soon be asking for the earth' - implies lower classes are greedy, shows upper classes viewed any socialist that showed a strong moral compass as an outrage to society, capitalists purposefully perpetuated the cycle of poverty and widened class disparities as they believed themselves as righteous)
• Class represented through Mrs Birling


  The epitome of upper class prejudice, her "cold" demeanour and social superiority makes her blunt and judgmental, "girls of that class" (noun 'girl' - infantilises her portraying her as weak and foolish, she generalises 'girls of that class' showing she doesn't believe Eva deserves any of her attention, upper class were deliberately dismissive)
• Class represented through the Inspector

  Purpose of Inspector's visit was to condemn capitalism and the action of those who support it, "it's better to ask for the earth than to take it" (hyperbole - Birling and all capitalists were responsible for "taking the earth" and making a "nasty mess" of Eva Smith's life, this imagery shows how extreme capitalist destruction is, business men have "the [whole] earth" but still prevent others from asking for higher wages)
• Class represented through Eva Smith


  Represents the working class, exploited by the capitalist system, her death symbolises the suffering of the lower classes at the hands of the upper classes