What are the key quotes in An Inspector Calls?

Terms in this set (10)

“You’re squiffy” – Sheila to Eric (Act 1)
Mr Birling: “I speak as a hard headed business man” (Act 1)
Mr Birling: “Unsinkable, completely unsinkable” (Act 1)
“We really must stop these silly pretences” Sheila to Mrs Birling. (
“Girls of that class” Mrs Birling to The Inspector (Act 2)

Who is the most guilty in An Inspector Calls?

Birling as the Most Responsible for the Suicide in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. leaves, ‘each of you helped to kill her’.

Who killed himself in An Inspector Calls?

An inspector arrives at the Birling house. He tells them how a girl called Eva Smith has killed herself by drinking disinfectant – he wants to ask them some questions. The Inspector reveals that the girl used to work in Arthur Birling’s factory and he had her sacked for going on strike.

What character says this quotation but these girls aren’t cheap Labour they’re people?

SHEILA BIRLING
SHEILA BIRLING “But these girls aren’t cheap labour- they’re people.” “She was a very pretty girl…that didn’t make it any better.”

What does the quote unsinkable absolutely unsinkable mean?

BIRLING: unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable. Symbolically, just as the Titanic is destined to sink, so too is Birling’s political ideology, under the Inspector’s interrogation.

What does the quote a man has to make his own way mean?

to look after himself
(3) “a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself” – Mr Birling shows that he is arrogant and selfish. As a middle-class businessman, Mr Birling sees himself as being better than the working-class – he doesn’t think people from different classes should mix.

How is guilt shown in Inspector Calls?

Guilt. Arthur, Sybil, Sheila, Eric, and Gerald must come to terms with their guilt, leading to Eva/Daisy’s demise. The Inspector wants the family to accept the pain it has caused Eva/Daisy. In this way, guilt plays an important role in the Inspector’s politics.

How does Gerald show guilt?

His guiltis further shown through the immediately defensivetoneof Gerald as he questions the Inspector “where did you get the idea that I did know her”. This allows Gerald to gage how much the Inspector knows and therefore adapt his story to be consistentwith the Inspector’s knowledge.

Was Eva Smith murdered?

Eva Smith is killed by the selfishness of others. She was dismissed from her first job at Birlings for protestsing for worker’s rights, then sacked from her job at Milwards at the whim of Sheila Birling. She loses her virtue to the predatory but weak Gerald Croft and becomes pregnant by the spineless Eric Birling.

Why is Mr Birling responsible for Eva’s death?

Mr. Birling is partly to blame for the death of Eva Smith because after she came back from her holiday and went on strike Mr. This relationship got so serious that Eva Smith eventually got pregnant. She told Eric that she was pregnant’ she told me that she thought she was going to have a baby’.

Who says cheap Labour in An Inspector Calls?

Mr Birling
Mr Birling – “lower costs and higher prices”. 1.

What does Mr Birling say about Labour relations?

“It’s my duty to keep labour costs down.” “If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.”

What are the key quotes in an Inspector Calls?

‘An Inspector Calls’ – Key Quotes Mr Birling “You’re just the kind of son-in-law I always wanted” 4 “I’m talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business… there isn’t a chance of war” 6 “… unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” 7

Why are Gerald and Birling together in an Inspector Calls?

These lines also suggest the alliance between Gerald and Birling, two men who share the same values, whose bond will become stronger after the Inspector’s exit. But take my word for it, you youngsters – and I’ve learnt in the good hard school of experience – that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and –

What makes Inspector Goole such a good Inspector?

Goole remains solid as each of them breaks down and nothing distracts him from his purpose. He is clearly there to challenge and investigate. He has a habit of ‘looking hard’ at the person he is interrogating before starting to speak. This unnerves the characters.

What did Inspector Goole say in the Bible?

He is a teacher – to teach each character (and the audience) of the importance of social responsibility. Goole might have made a reference to the Bible in his statement ” We are members of one body”. His assertion suggests a moral character, with Biblical characteristics of compassion and love.