An Inspector Calls

• “No, he's giving us the rope – so that we'll hang ourselves” demonstrates Sheila understands the Inspector’s role and that they must take responsibility. However, it may also suggest that Sheila is immature, voluntarily giving up more information to the Inspector than he already has.
• “It’s better to ask for the Earth than to take it” - the Inspector is suggesting that it is socially irresponsible to be greedy and 'take' things without permission. This is a practice the privileged Birlings would be used to. It also shows the Inspector challenging the Birlings’ beliefs and how Eva was just to ask for more.
• Mrs Birling “blame[s] the young man who was the father of the child” and thinks “he should be made an example of”.
• “Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges”
• The younger generation are ambitious, determined and motivated - Eva “had a lot to say - far too much”. Her courage is the main reason Birling sacked her. This quote also shows Mr Birling’s opinions of the younger generation are unfavourable - he thinks they’re too involved
• Eric shouts at his mother - “You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried- ” and he might be right, but he’s angry, creating a divide between the young and old generation. Similarly, the line “you’re not the kind of father a chap can go to” suggests that Mr Birling is not approachable and creates a divide between younger and older generations.
• Eric accepts responsibility for what he did - “the fact remains that I did what I did”. He criticises his parents for pretending nothing’s happened - “You lot may be letting yourselves out nicely”.
• “the famous younger generation who know it all” - although Birling’s being sarcastic, Priestly shows that the only characters who really listen to the Inspector’s message are Sheila and Eric. Mr and Mrs Birling aren’t as willing to change or learn from their mistakes
• There are different types of responsibility in the play. The Inspector wants people to be “responsible for each other” because “we are members of one body”. He sees responsibility as a duty towards others. In contrast, Mr and Mrs Birling are only interested in finding out who is “responsible” for the scandal that’s going to emerge. To them, responsibility is about individual blame, rather than collective good.
• At the start, the men and women start as stereotypes. They’re supposed to be obsessed with “pretty clothes”, shopping and weddings (“clothes mean something quite different to a woman”) - Sheila gazes adoringly at her ring and asks, “is it the one you wanted me to have?”. They’re protected against “unpleasant and disturbing” things. Men are preoccupied with work and public affairs (e.g. “the miners came out on strike”. And, Gerald feels it’s his duty to rescue Eva/Daisy from the womanising Alderman Meggarty.
• The young women challenge to break the stereotypes - Eva/Daisy questioned the decision of her boss and “had a lot to say” about wages at the factory. Instead of relying on a man to save her, Eva/Daisy refused to accept Eric’s stolen money. Sheila interrupts and challenges everyone at different times, apart from the Inspector.
• By the end of the play, stereotypes are turned upside down. As the play develops, Birling, Gerald, and Eric get weaker, while Sheila gets stronger. Priestley does this to challenge the audience’s view of women at the time. Sheila starts stating her own opinions, not those she is supposed to have - “That’s what’s important - and not whether a man is a police inspector or not.” She’s learnt to think for herself.
• The stage directions “The lighting should be pink and intimate until the INSPECTOR arrives and then it should be brighter and harder” have connotations to the idea that the Birling family, being an upper class, see the world through rose-tinted windows. The Inspector changed the tone of the stage to imply how he brings the family back to reality, talking about the suffering of lower classes and wanting them to take responsibility. Also creates the appearance of an interrogation room, as the Inspector shines a light on everyone’s crimes.
• Sybil claims “he didn't belong to her class… that's all the more reason why he shouldn't escape”. She thinks that because Eva and the father of her child are of a different class, the problem was a whole lot worse - she clearly thinks of different social classes differently.
• Gerald tells the Birlings that Joe Megarty “a notorious womaniser as well as being one of the worst sots and rogues in Brumley”. This contrasts the Birling’s views and shows to them that people of the upper class can behave badly. This links to Eric and Gerald’s relationships with Eva/Daisy and how Eric is “a bit squiffy” throughout the play.
• Sheila’s final line adds some ambiguity to how the audience sees her character. When Gerald offers her the ring back, she replies, “It’s too soon. I must think.” Her hesitation shows that she’s been affected by the Inspector’s message - she needs to think about the kind of life she wants to lead. But she leaves open the possibility of taking Gerald back and returning to normal - this could hint that even Sheila might eventually forget the Inspector’s lesson
• Gerald claims there were lots of different girls - “We’ve got no proof it was the same photograph and therefore no proof it was the same girl.” The identity of Eva Smith is kind of a jigsaw portrait of an ordinary working-class girl, only we don’t know if the pieces fit. Her first name “Eva” sounds like Eve, the first woman (in the Bible) and symbolic of all women. Her last name is very common and is from the word for a tradesman.
• “These girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people” - the B and P plosives create a harsh sound - Sheila has realised the harsh and barbaric exploitation permitted by capitalists such as Mr Birling, personified through his relationship with Eva Smith. ‘cheap’ typically connotes something of monetary value - although Sheila is now recognising the immoralities of capitalism, these capitalist ideologies of viewing people in terms of money and status are still deeply ingrained into her; she can’t part from these ideologies, as ceaselessly indoctrinated by capitalism
• Gerald is debonair (confident, stylish, charming). From Act 1, there is this debonair atmosphere around him. This is exemplified through the stage direction “man about town”. From the offset, we can see this debonair presentation about Gerald. He’s well-liked and well-presented, with a charming persona. This links to how his debonair presentation is likely as a result of his aristocratic background.
• Sheila is the Inspector’s proxy. She takes on his role - the didactic vehicle (teaching and carrying the message of socialism). After leaving and emphasising the need to develop a collective social conscience, she becomes the Inspector’s proxy and emulates his words and phrases. People will “be taught in fire and blood and anguish”, which Sheila mimics in the line “what he made me feel, fire and blood and anguish”. The fact she mirrors the inspector’s words is because she’s trying to carry the message of socialism and enlighten her family about the hellish consequences of capitalism.
• Mr Birling is sanctimonious - he believes he is morally superior to others and is trying to make it known. He believes he is above his family, above the inspector, and presents his views as fact rather than opinions. The line “as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense” reinforces his sanctimonious nature as he is presenting his ideas of socialism and society as a fact that shouldn’t be disputed, also reinforcing the stubborn and ignorant nature that is clear throughout.