An Inspector Calls Quotes

"She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life - you understand?"

Act 2

Gerald

Polysyndeton- Used for emphasis from, Gerald to try and make himself seem more noble, and attempting to ignore any responsibility he played in her death; he attempts to distract the others, especially Sheila, with some sort of justification of what he did, like it wasn't his fault. However Priestley uses it differently; he uses it to emphasise again what people viewed women as; they see them as objects, and even the qualities that are about her as a person are so general and vague, that they hold no meaning; either way he still sees her as an object; this can be used for gender and class

Repetition of dashes- give it an infantilising tone, and makes it seem like Gerald is talking to a child, when in fact he is talking to Sheila; shows how women were seen as hysterical children throwing a temper tantrum, and they have to be calmed down with belittling language- theme of gender.

"She looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there."

Act 2

Gerald

Polysyndeton and Triplet- It is used for emphasis, to try and make himself appear justified and noble in his actions; he shows how she looked nice, and therefore he tries to imply that that means he holds no fault in his betrayal of Sheila; he also only talks about her physical and feminine characteristics, showing how him being a 'man about town' actually means he objectifies and represents the theme of gender. He also does it to try and make himself appear noble; he shows how she felt 'out of place down there' showing that he believed she needed saving, and therefore making him valiant and heroic, once again giving himself the power in this dynamic, and despite helping her, he still shows how even the most noble of gentlemen, could abuse their power, and take control of the women they help.

"She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life - you understand?"

Act 2

Gerald

Polysyndeton- Used for emphasis from, Gerald to try and make himself seem more noble, and attempting to ignore any responsibility he played in her death; he attempts to distract the others, especially Sheila, with some sort of justification of what he did, like it wasn't his fault. However Priestley uses it differently; he uses it to emphasise again what people viewed women as; they see them as objects, and even the qualities that are about her as a person are so general and vague, that they hold no meaning; either way he still sees her as an object; this can be used for gender and class

Repetition of dashes- give it an infantilising tone, and makes it seem like Gerald is talking to a child, when in fact he is talking to Sheila; shows how women were seen as hysterical children throwing a temper tantrum, and they have to be calmed down with belittling language- theme of gender.

"She looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there."

Act 2

Gerald

Polysyndeton and Triplet- It is used for emphasis, to try and make himself appear justified and noble in his actions; he shows how she looked nice, and therefore he tries to imply that that means he holds no fault in his betrayal of Sheila; he also only talks about her physical and feminine characteristics, showing how him being a 'man about town' actually means he objectifies and represents the theme of gender. He also does it to try and make himself appear noble; he shows how she felt 'out of place down there' showing that he believed she needed saving, and therefore making him valiant and heroic, once again giving himself the power in this dynamic, and despite helping her, he still shows how even the most noble of gentlemen, could abuse their power, and take control of the women they help.

"Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility."

Act 2

Mrs Birling

Imperatives- shows her belief that she is in control and has the high ground, not just in terms of power but also morally; she believes that she has no part in this issue, and will 'accept no blame for it at all'. This is used to show the theme of responsibility, as the capitalist upper class have no compassion or put any value towards the working class; can also show age

Dramatic Irony- Could be used simply to make the Birling seniors appear stupid and self-righteous, similar to Mr Birling's 'there isn't a chance of war' and saying the titanic is 'unsinkable'. However on a much deeper level also shows how quickly she is to put the blame on others without thinking, and her views of the working class is that the father must be of thar station as well; she is seen as ignorant and old-fashioned, and when she eventually finds out the father is Eric, she is put in her place and creates a sense of satisfaction in the audience, as well as increased tensions and a cliff hanger.

"I'm sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. But I accept no blame for it at all."

Act 2

Mrs Birling

Juxtaposition- She begins with a surprisingly positive tone, which gives the reader false hope and lures them into a false sense of security; by doing this Priestley gives the reader a glimpse of hope, and this reflects the idea that capitalism might still encourage people to help others, and be kind, but still in the end it fails the people, just like the way mrs b does here, as she almost appears like her character has developed and changed, but in the end, just like capitalism, she fails us and reverts to the same stuck up and unjust ways. Theme of responsibility and class

"...well I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty - and I threatened to make a row."

Act 3

Eric

Vague, generalised language and 3rd person narrative- this part is a potential attempt to avoid responsibility and try to make himself, similar to the way Gerald, mr b and mrs b all did when they told their stories, so when we see this we begin to feel that Eric will go the same way, but the use of the dash implies that the two statements are seperate, and in a way almost makes this single line a microcosm of his development as a person, and this line alone shows his character development and his character arc- themes of gender and age used here to show his development, but also the way he treats women as a result- juxtaposition between the two lines separated with the dash

"...I hate these fat old tarts round the town - the ones I see some of your respectable friends with-"

Act 3

Eric

- Derogatory Language- Objectifying women, theme of gender, shows the way that working class women were seen by upper class people of the time, theme of class, evidently unconscious as he seen as someone who thinks more acceptingly, shows the way that sexist language was used without the knowledge

- Juxtaposition between the women and the 'respectable men' shows the real nature of the upper classes and reflects class again

"One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us..."

Nomenclature- symbolism of the working class, 'smith' is a surname for a blacksmith, a symbol of the working class; furthermore, common names and surnames, used to show that eva smith was simply any working class person, and this is symbolic of the way the clases treats each other - theme of class

Polysyndeton and Repetition- used for emphasis from the inspector, and used to show that the working class are the majority, and yet are the ones who are being punished and mistreated; or used to show how many working class people suffer, and teach the audience about the errors of their ways and create pathos for the working classes

"...a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself - and his family too, of course..."

Act 1

Mr Birling

- Male gendered pronouns- reflect the views of the time, and show how Mr Birling is old-fashioned and behind the time; used as preemptive foreshadowing to establish Mr Birling as a character who follows traditional values, and sets him up for later in the play as an unchanging and non developing character

- Imperatives- used to reflect his strong beliefs surrounding responsibility, and shows how he is attempting to preach responsibility, which later sets him up to be hypocritical, when he 'can't accept responsibility' for what happened to Eva Smith- establishes him as an unlikable and untrustworthy character- link to capitalism and Priestley socialist views

"you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive"

Act 1

Mr Birling

Simile- the use of a simile instead of a metaphor reduced the comparison between the two, and emphasises the belief that this is incorrect, when in fact the contrary is true; furthemore, the comparison to bees, which are thought of as an equal community, with strong work ethics and dedications to worker together for the greater goods, makes him seem more ignorant and privileged and an unlikeable character; by also representing a capitalist view through his ideas on this simile it is done by Priestley to present capitalism as a community hating, equality loathing ideology, and therefore reflect his capitalist views- theme of class

Derogatory tone- Shows his ignorant views on class again and reflects how capitalism, what Birling is a symbol for, is as obnoxious and ignorant towards new ideas and won't move forward when it comes to new ideas; he is stuck in the past and refuses to accept the new ideas about the rights of all people- he encourages injustice

"If you don't come down sharply on some of these people they'd soon be asking for the earth."
"But after all it's better to ask for the earth than to take it."

Act 1

Mr Birling and Inspector Goole

- Hyperbolic Metaphor- used to reflect Mr Birling's outdated views on class; despite being from a poorer background, shown by his 'provincial accent', he still has the old fashioned upper class belief that the working class are lazy and greedy, and when we later see the suffering of Eva Smith, and the pathos is created for her, the audience also begins to hate Mr.B and therefore the capitalism he is symbolic for

- Juxtaposition between the views of Mr.B and IG- because mr.b represents the ignorant views, and IG represents the forward thinking and liberal views, the juxtaposition between the two emphasises the difference between the two political ideologies and therefore shows the political ideas that Priestley is trying to encourage on his audience

"But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her."

Act 1

Sheila

Objectifying language- Reflects how even the women of society held the same ignorant views surrounding gender, but in this instance subconsciously- used to make the audience think about themselves, as they may want to think of themselves as Sheilas, but even Sheila has prejudices she doesn't notice

Modal Verb- implies that she had no choice, and there was no possibility of her feeling sorry for Eva. Theme of responsibility. Two interpretations- used to show parents in the audience the effect that their beliefs can have in their children, as Sheila subconsciously reflects her fathers views in her speech; used to make the audience reflect on themselves; or could be used to show that even those in the audience who think they're Sheila, can again also be prejudiced and not accept responsibility. However, she does then later accept responsibility when she say 'so its all my fault?'

"We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other...if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish."

Pronouns- collective to third person- When talking about everyone, he uses we, symbolising socialism, and the collective group that is here; but when talking about those that need to learn, the capitalists, he uses third person pronouns, symbolising separation and isolation from each other, showing the nature between the two groups

theme of responsibility

Triplet-Used for violent emphasis and used to invoke more fear in the audience; while it may be used for relative foreshadowing for the characters, but since the story was written after both ww1 and ww2, it is actually dramatic irony, but in a much more resonant sense, as it had only been a year since the end of the war; it evokes real genuine emotions in the audience that is relative to something they'd understand.