An Inspector Calls - Quotes

An Inspector Calls - Quotes

1. Sheila Birling

   • "I suppose we are all nice people now"
   • "It frightens me the way you talk"
     • Sheila is learning new morals
   • "All last summer when you hardly ever came near me"
     • Sheila was aware of Gerald not being around, however was dissmissive of it, but we realise this suggest that she is not as naive and shallow as she first appears?

2. Eric Birling

   • "It's still the same rotten story"
     • Although now there is no proof that Eva/Daisy had commited suicide, it should still be a lesson for the Family.
   • "We did her in all right"
     • he is fully aware of his social responsibility. He is not interested in his parents' efforts to cover everything up: as far as he is concerned, the important thing is that a girl is dead
   • "Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?"
     • This is a very socialist approach to run a company and opposes the thoughts and morals of Mr and Mrs Birling

3. Mrs Birling

   • "Girls of that class"
     • Mrs. Birling looks down upon those below her socially.
   • "Her husband's social superior"
   • "I did nothing I'm ashamed of"
     • Mrs. Birling is stubborn that she has done nothing wrong and feels entitled to that "fact".

4. Inspector Goole

   • "Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges"
     • Priestley points an extra finger of blame at Birling not just for his actions, but for his failure to see that his public position entails a duty of responsibility to other people. Interestingly, this attitude draws on the traditional notion of the upper classes taking responsibility for the welfare of the lower classes, but in the newer, more democratic life of Britain, the "public men" are not necessarily of higher social class
   • "Fire and blood and anguish"
     • The Inspector's final lines, from a longer speech he makes shortly before his exit, are a blistering delivery of Priestley's socialist message. Moreover, his promise of "fire and blood and anguish" also looks forward to the First and Second World Wars
   • "One line of inquiry at a time"
     • The Inspector's final lines, from a longer speech he makes shortly before his exit, are a blistering delivery of Priestley's socialist message. Moreover, his promise of "fire and blood and anguish" also looks forward to the First and Second World Wars

5. Mr Birling

   • "Unsinkable"
     • Dramatic irony is used to show how wrong Mr Birling is and how contrerversial this must have been to the audience of 1945, this also shows how Mr Birling's political ideology.
   • "You're the one i blame for all this...there'll be a public scandal"
     • Arthur Birling is a man with some reputation in the town and "this scandal means loss of bussiness which is Mr Birling's main priority."
   • "Lower costs and higher prices"
     • The fact that he sees his daughter's engagement as a chance to push for 'lower costs and higher prices' shows just how greedy he is. He does not consider the impact 'higher prices' might have on anyone else, he just wants more money.

6. Gerald Croft

   • "What about this ring then?"
   • "We've been had"
     • The fact that Eva Smith had not commited suicide, invalidates all of what the inspector had said in the eyes of Mr and Mrs Birling, however Sheila and Eric take the more socialist approach and realise the lesson
   • "You seem like a nice well behaved family"
     • Preistly uses dramatic irony to convery the fact that this light hearted comment is in fact very wromg.