Summary An Inspector Calls Characters & Themes Quotes Cheat Sheet
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Course
English
Institution
GCSE
Every single quote you need for ‘An Inspector Calls’, including every key character and every key theme, 8 page document which summarises every single relevant quote you need to pull a grade 9 in your English literature ‘An Inspector Calls’ essay.
Key quotations Key language & structural features Priestley’s Ideas
MR BIRLING long monologues Priestley uses Birling as a symbol of
the callous and heartlessness of
“I’m talking as a hard-headed practical man of business” dramatic irony capitalism. Through his character
he is criticizing the complacency of
‘you’ll hear some people say war is Inevitable … fiddlesticks!’ His language is also very dismissive when he says capitalist prosperity.
‘Fiddlesticks!’ and ‘silly’ - he belittles other’s ideas.
‘The Titanic – she sails next week…and unsinkable, absolutely He is representative of the older
unsinkable.’ Exclamatory sentence – he’s passionate and convinced about generation who were unwilling to
what he’s saying. change.
“I gather there’s a very good chance of a knighthood”
Titanic symbolizes his own family – believes they are However, he is presented as a
“A man has to make his own way – has to look after himself – and his untouchable until the Inspector arrives giving them a rude realistic character by Priestley
family too, of course” awakening. through his use of colloquial
language appropriate for the time.
“(rather impatiently) Horrid business. But I don’t understand why you His language changes when the Inspector arrives as he speaks in Furthermore, he is described as
should come here.” short, sharp fragments and uses lots of dashes. ‘panic stricken’ this indicates that
his defiance and bravado have
“you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were His language becomes more colloquial ‘y’know’ which conveys finally been shattered and so
all mixed up like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense.” how his authority is breaking down. Priestley lets the audience see
someone who is so blindly wrong
“I was an alderman for years – and Lord Mayor two years ago – and He often uses ‘I’ which conveys his selfish attitude, however, as and never as really in control of
I’m still on the Bench – so I know the Brumley police offers pretty well” the play continues he switches to the inclusive pronoun ‘we’ to events as he would like himself and
diminish the scale of the problem (Eva’s death) and shift blame. others to think. Therefore the
“there’s every excuse for what your mother and I did” audience is invited to feel
He uses understatement ‘it would be very awkward wouldn’t sympathy.
“Probably a Socialist or some sort of crank” it?’
“Now look at the pair of them- the famous younger generation who He uses euphemisms when referring to taboo subjects
know it all. And they can’t even take a joke-”
MRS BIRLING The stage descriptions of her actions change as the pretence is Priestley uses Mrs Birling to
“About fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior” revealed e.g. ‘grandly’ / ‘haughtily’/ ‘triumphantly’ become epitomize all that is wrong with
‘rather cowed’/ ‘distressed’ ‘staggered’ / ‘alarmed’. society. She represents the social
“girls of that class” snobbery and hypocrisy of the
Mrs Birling’s language is quite abrupt and dismissive: ‘that upper classes and shows no
‘you know, my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago and that class’/ ‘that sort’/ ‘the type’. She believes she is morally and remorse in her cruel treatment of
he’s still a magistrate’ socially superior to them – she is a snob. Eva Smith.
‘I’m very sorry. But I think she only had herself to blame’ Later in the play Mrs Birling’s language is broken up into Priestley presents her as an absurd
, fragments that don’t connect: ‘No-Eric-please’. The fragmented character that ironically passes her
“I’ve done nothing wrong – and you know it.” speech echoes the collapsing of self-confidence and own social guilt onto her own son
complacency of these very comfortable, middle class, wealthy – condemning him. As a result,
“Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility.” characters. This is more shocking because of the contrast with Priestley deals with Mrs Birling
how they were at the start of the play. The dashes could also with special severity, having her
“She was giving herself ridiculous airs…claiming elaborate fine represent the break down in their relationship. fall into a trap of her own making:
feelings…that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.” she is confronted with the
Mrs Birling uses imperatives as she commands the Inspector knowledge that Eric is a hard
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” and other characters which conveys her superiority, confidence drinker and the father of the dead
and self-assurance. woman’s child. She has helped to
“I’m sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. But I accept kill her own grandchild. It is only
no blame at all” Puts on a pretence of respectability by her use of euphemisms: when she realises this does she
e.g. ‘a girl of that begin to show any signs of
“he ought to be dealt with very severely-…make sure that he’s Class’ who has found herself in a ‘particular condition’ weakening.
compelled to confess in public his responsibility”
Use of imagery: Sheila warns her mother not to try and build up Priestley shows us that we should
‘he certainly didn’t make me confess – I had done no more than my a kind of ‘wall’ – the not trust the wealthy members of
duty’ wall being a symbol of a barrier/pretence society to tell the truth.
SHEILA BIRLING Sheila uses imagery when she talks of her mother’s attempts to Priestley uses the character of
“A pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather ‘build up a kind of wall’; implying the metaphorical distance Mrs Sheila to represent his own views
excited” Birling creates between the classes. When Sheila warns the of social responsibility.
others that the Inspector is ‘giving us rope so that we hang
“Yes, go on, Mummy” ourselves’, she once again uses a metaphor to create a visual She offers hope for the future and
image of the way the Inspector skilfully manipulates characters Priestley uses Shelia as an example
“(rather distressed) I can’t help thinking about this girl- destroying into confessing their sins. of people’s changing attitudes
herself so horribly- and I’ve been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you towards those less fortunate than
hadn’t told me.” Sheila’s language also reflects her increasing maturity as she themselves. She is sympathetic
begins the play saying “mummy” using a lot of personal towards Eva and other girls in her
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour- they’re people.” pronouns to highlight her selfish, childlike attitude at the start position, recognising that they
“She was a very pretty girl…that didn’t make it any better.” of the play. As the play progresses she refers to Mrs Birling as were “not just cheap labour but
“mother” which reflects this change and perhaps she doesn’t people”. She accepts that her
“I went to the manager and told him this girl had been very feel as intimate with her mother and has lost respect for her actions impacted on Eva’s life and
impertinent – and – and - ” because of the way she is behaving. that she cannot disconnect her
actions from the effects these have
“And if I could help her now, I would-” Sheila’s language becomes more passionate and she uses on others. She recognises and
sarcasm (“So nothing’s happened, so there’s nothing to be sorry understands the Inspector’s
“I’ll never, never do it again to anybody…I feel now I can never go for, nothing to learn.”) Sheila also uses irony when she is message that we are all collectively
there again” appalled by her parents’ attitudes to carry on as before: “I responsible for all that happens in
suppose we’re all nice people now”. Sheila uses irony to show the world.
“Why- you fool- he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think that she completely disagrees with her parents and that she
how much he knows that we don’t know yet. You’ll see. You’ll see.” understands the moral consequences of her actions. The use of At times she acts as almost an
irony highlights the tensions that existed between the younger assistant to the Inspector, in that
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