Inspector/Class Quotes

Question 1

‘No thank you Mr Birling I am on duty’

Answer 1

Takes his role very seriously
Won’t treat the Inspector with nepotism
This shows how Mr Birling treats police officers in the past

Question 2

“What we think and say and do. We don’t love alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other” - end of play

Answer 2

Priestly’s message is clear- we are all part of society and we should be supporting one another
Birling’s use pronouns of “I” “my” or “them”
Inspector uses the pronouns “we” “our” - we are a collective society not individuals
- Inspectors sentence structure make each of his statements sound like facts and the repetition of “we are” leaves no room for the Birling’s to argue against him

Question 3

“I tell you the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”

Answer 3

INTERPRETATION - inspector here is mimicking Birling from Act 1 using some phrase Birling said “I tell you”. Whilst Birling looks foolish, arrogant and uneducated, the Inspector is wise and correctly foresees the future - the World Wars
ANALYSIS - polysendetic list “fire and blood and anguish” lengthens scale of suffering of the World Wars
Tri-colon suggests suffering will destroy our landscapes “fire” and kill our communities “blood” and cause immense physical and mental pain “anguish”
- dramatic irony is evident to the audience - Birling’s predictions are incorrect but Inspectors chilling predictions are painfully correct

Question 4

“A girl died tonight. A pretty, lively sort of girl, who never did anybody any harm. But she died in misery and agony - hating life”

Answer 4

-Here the Inspector explicitly shows the unjust nature of Eva’s death
- Birling’s refer to her as “that sort of girl” throughout the play. Inspector uses adjectives like “pretty, lively” these have positive connotations which contrast with the Birling’s being prejudice who use “sort of girl” as an insult
- referring to Eva as “she” Inspector emphasises her lack of identity “misery and agony” confirm how little people cared for her.
Short sentence “a girl died tonight” is emphatic and clear - there is no getting away from the brutal facts of the situation. Innocence + youthfulness of “girl” is juxtaposed with the horror of “died”

Question 5

“She’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burns her insides out of course.”

Answer 5

• dysphemistic language - to evoke remorse and guilt in the family
• highlights her suffering that she endured and extreme level of desperation.
  “Two hours ago” shows how it was imminent and could’ve been stopped
  “Young” emphasises her vulnerability and how she should’ve been
  “Strong” emphasises her determination to kill herself
  “a lot” re-emphasises her determination to kill herself in any way possible

Inspectors tone “of course” seems casual but shows Birling’s how their behaviour would “of course” lead to her death

Question 6

“And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things?”

Answer 6

• Inspector highlights the hypocrisy of Gerald when he tries to protect Sheila as she is a “young woman” yet he failed to do the same for Eva? Emphasises double standards
• adjective “Young” emphasises Eva’s vulnerability. Inspector’s questions shows upper class tea reacted differently to working class
• adjective “unpleasant + disturbing” are deliberately underwhelming - treatment of Eva was far worse than this

Question 7

“There are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness”

Answer 7

• Inspectors final speech convey Priestley’s message to the audience. Inspector claims Eva’s story is not simply a one-off event.
• polysendetic list emphasises the sheer scale of the issue facing society - use of the repetition “and” makes the number of people just like Eva go on and on
• “John Smiths” remind us it isn’t just about gender. Many of Eva’s troubles was because she was female but we have a duty to all people
• events in life contain negative “suffering” but only a “chance of happiness”
  Suffering is guaranteed, happiness is not.

Question 8

“Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person. No, you won’t forget”

Answer 8

-inspector coming to the end of Eric’s interrogation. Reminds the audience how degrading their treatment of Eva Smith was.

Inspector’s vocabulary is full of words that express how senseless his treatment of Eva was - “just used” “end” “stupid drunken” and “evening” all highlight how fleeting + insignificant Eric saw the evening, contrasting greatly with long term consequences of his actions

• tri-colon starts with two nouns that de-humanise Eva. “Animal” and “thing” suggest Eric doesn’t even see her as “a person” but rather something he can simply use and control

Question 9

“Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges”

Answer 9

• core message of the play is that all people have responsibilities to on another. Partially important to the post-war audience.
• statement is directly addressed to Mr Birling but “public men” emphasises message of the play - all men have responsibilities
• statement is delivered as a fact Birling can’t argue with it. Weak reply of “possibly” shows that Birling knows the Inspector is correct
• juxtaposition “responsibilities” and “privileges” emphasises difference between the Inspector and Birling as Inspector sees the two as linked - Birling sees them as completely separate things

Question 10

“She was here alone, friendless, almost penniless, desperate. She needed not only money but advice, sympathy, friendliness”

Answer 10

• Inspector creates a very human image of Eva - she was not a worker or a charitable case, she was a human being who required support from others
• image of girl “alone” suggests vulnerability and isolation. Tri-colon refers to social struggle ‘friendless’ economic struggle ‘penniless’ and psychological struggle ‘desperate’
• “needed” highly emotive word Eva didn’t want hope for support she had essential need for it to survive
• “advice, sympathy, friendliness” are abstract nouns. These cost nothing yet Mrs Birling refused

Question 11

“Mrs Birling, you’re a member - a prominent member - of the Brumley Women’s Charity Organization, aren’t you?

Answer 11

Criticising Mrs Birling as she is in the position to help Eva yet she turned her down

Emphasising the irony as Mrs Birling is a cold hearted + cruel person so it is ironic she’s part of a charity organisation where they help the lower class