AN INSPECTOR CALLS KEY QUOTATIONS

“But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself, I couldnt be sorry for her.”

SHEILA, MATERIALISTIC, CLASS

• Believes that Eva’s good looks means she won't suffer from losing her job- shoes importance placed on looks by patriarchal edwardian society

• Presents sheila as jealous and insecure

• Sheltered from the reality of working class life

• Doesn't realise the impact her actions will have

“Look - Mummy - Isn’t it a beauty”

SHEILA, MATERIALISTIC

• Yearns for her mothers approval

• Her focus on the ring's "beauty" demonstrates a preference for outward appearance over deeper meaning. She's more concerned with the ring's visual appeal than with the relationship it represents or the historical implications of the engagement

• Marks the starting point of her character development, when she refuses to take the ring back from gerald

"I know I'm to blame (...) - it's simply my fault that in the end she - she committed suicide."

SHEILA, RESPONSIBILITY

• She is accepting social responsibility for her action, demonstrating self awareness and personal growth

• The repeating use of dashes reveals that sheila is so guilty she can barely string a sentence together

• “Desperately” emphasises this, repetition of “She” shows that Sheila is on the verge of tears. 

“Crofts limited are both older and bigger than Birling and Company”,

MR BIRLING, CLASS

• demonstrating his respect for the crofts as the more elite, as he is aware Gerald Croft would be marrying down,

• he unabashedly tries to flatter and impress gerald

• Priestly implies that this unending need to climb the social ladder causes people to be selfish and are only motivated by the opportunity to improve their social position.

• Priestly also uses the Crofts treatment of the Birlings as a foil towards the treatment of Eva Smith by Mr Birling to demonstrate his ironic actions. 

“If you don't come down sharply on these people, they’de soon be for the earth”

MR BIRLING, CLASS

• making it his personal obligation to put the lower class in their place

• The hyperbole also implies how Mr Birling views the working class as greedy and unreasonable.

• Priestly uses this to underline how the Upper class purposefully perpetually the cycle of poverty for their own vanity.

• Mr. Birling's ambition and societal values reflect a class-based society where the wealthy prioritise profit and social status over the well-being of the working class.

"When this comes out... it isnt going to do us much good. The press might easily take it up"

MR BIRLING, RESPONSIBILITY

• Mr Birling is more focussed on his public image than accepting his role within the suicide.

• Priestley reinforces that idea by showing Birling's concern for the potential damage to his reputation rather than the consequences of his actions. His statement highlights his prioritization of social standing over genuine accountability.

• Preistley presents social change towards equality by being driven by the younger generatios as they are quick to accept responsibility and to rectify their ignorance, contrasting against the older generation

"Now you three young people, just listen to this - and remember what I'm telling you now."

MR BIRLING, AGE