An Inspector Calls Quotes

AIC quotes for theme

Thesis statement (5 ideas)

• Explain that the capitalist class need to accept social responsibility

• Expose how capitalists naturally exploit workers and women

• Persuade the audience to pursue socialist and Christian ideas about social responsibility

• Create an anti-war play to promote anti-capitalist views

• Promote feminism to ensure the female audience vote for socialism

Thesis paragraph

Priestley’s play carries the didactic message that the wealthy and capitalist classes need to accept social responsibility for those they employ and exploit for profit, sex, and satisfaction. He wants to persuade the audience of 1945 to vote for a socialist government and reject capitalist thinking that ended up with two wars.

The Germans don’t want war. (4 ideas)

Said by Mr Birling, in Act 1.

• Links to Priestley’s message that capitalists have led us to war

• Discredits Mr Birling which shows that the upper class are ignorant

• Anti-war play

• The audience knows he is wrong about this, so they will assume he is wrong about capitalism as well

You’ll have to get used to that, just as I had. (4 ideas)

Said by Mrs Birling, in Act 1.

• “just” - ironic since it isn’t just or fair

• The Patriarchal society has taught Mrs Birling that men are allowed to have affairs. This is what women in society expect, and Sheila will have to expect it as well

• Priestley exposes the unfair treatment of women to promote feminism

• Since Sheila has to learn to get used to it, it is unnatural and shouldn’t happen

A man has to mind his own business. (4 ideas)

Said by Mr Birling, in Act 1.

• “man” - Priestley exposes the worst people in society. The men sexually exploit Eva and make things worse for her

• “business” - not only looking after yourself, but also represents profit and capitalism

• The Inspector’s “sharp ring” interrupts the rest of the message showing how Mr Birling causes him to appear

• He comes to disapprove the idea, showing there is something deeply wrong with only caring about yourself

Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? (2 ideas)

Said by Eric, in Act 1.

• Delivering Priestley’s message that workers should get paid more

• Not against business, just thinks that business owners should share money more fairly

These young women counting their pennies. (4 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 1.

• Priestley deliberately makes the victim female to expose the sexual exploitation women face

• Shows how poor men still have more choice than poor women

• “women” - contrasts with Mrs Birling who calls them “girls”. The Inspector thinks they should be treated with equal status

• “pennies” - shows how little they earn and highlights how their wages are unjust

You might be said to have been jealous of her. (4 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 1.

• Out of all the reasons, Priestley picks jealously to expose how women only achieve status through their looks in the Patriarchy society

• He criticises the Patriarchal role of women

• Borrows the tradition of a Christian morality play where each character represents a deadly sin to teach the audience about morals

• Acts as a morality play stating how the socialist message is the same as the Christian message since the majority of the audience would be Christian

It happened that a friend of mine… nice little set of rooms. (3 ideas)

Said by Gerald, in Act 2.

• The choice of language shows that it wasn’t an accident which exposes Gerald’s deceitful nature

• Priestley exposes how the capitalist class was often deceitful and manipulative

• However, this manipulation is still nicer than what Eric does, showing the type of behaviour that is acceptable in the Patriarchal society

Girls of that class. (3 ideas)

Said by Mrs Birling, in Act 2.

• Believes that the lower class are not allowed to have the same emotions as the upper class

• Mrs Birling is prejudice and represents most women in the upper class

• They only get status by being more successful than other women, so their prejudice is fuelled by the Patriarchal society

I was in that state where a chap easily turns nasty. (4 ideas)

Said by Eric, in Act 3.

• He forces himself upon Eva but tries to avoid responsibility

• “that state” - isn’t his normal behaviour so not completely his fault

• “chap” - generalising it and suggesting all men do it. Pushing the blame off him, but also exposing society’s exploitation of women

• The audience won’t trust Eric’s conversion and will doubt if he actually learnt the message

Not really. I intended to pay it back. (2 ideas)

Said by Eric, in Act 3.

• Self-deception since it is still theft, even if he pays it back

• He has made no attempt so far, so he is an unreliable character and won’t retain the lesson he learnt. It is only a temporary lesson

We are members of one body. (2 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 3.

• Final speech reiterates all of Priestley’s teaching

• Uses the Christian idea of community, so if the audience is Christain, then they have to vote socialism

We are all responsible for each other. (2 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 3.

• Promoting the welfare state and the idea that we all need to look after each other

• Explains how charity should be something that the state does, not prejudice people like Mrs Birling

Millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths. (2 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 3.

• “Eva Smith” - comes first since Priestley’s main focus is feminism

• Woman are dominating the audience in 1945 since men are still at war. He gives a feminist message to a female audience, since they have a vote now

They will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. (3 ideas)

Said by the Inspector, in Act 3.

• An anti-war play, not just anti-capitalist

• Priestley explains how men and capitalism has led to two world wars. If we keep electing the same type of people, war will keep happening

• At the beginning they trusted in Birling, and at the end they are trusting in Gerald. But they are the same type of people, so they both summon an Inspector with their ideas

How about this ring? (3 ideas)

Said by Gerald, in Act 3.

• Wants Shiela to take him back since it won’t be a public scandal so there is no problem

• He hasn’t learnt his lesson, so the phone “rings sharply” again

• Supernatural feeling that the Inspector is listening to them and won’t accept Capitalist behaviours

Not yet. It’s too soon. (4 ideas)

Said by Sheila, in Act 3.

• “not yet” - doesn’t say no, showing how she will take him back in the future. Exposing how in the Patriarchal society, women don’t have many choices

• If Sheila and Eric learnt their lesson, they would change society, but that doesn’t happen, so another Inspector comes

• Eric didn’t learn the message, and Sheila is powerless so she can’t do anything about it. But the audience of 1945 would be able to vote and do something about it

• He contrasts the freedom 1912 women had to the freedom 1945 women have to show how much power they have gained, so they vote socialism to keep their power

Key words (10 ideas)

1. Society

   • Writing to the society in 1945 about the society in 1912 to show how much change has happened, but how much is still the same

   • A general election is about to happen, so Priestley is promoting socialism

2. Patriarchal

   • Where society is guided by men and only in the interests of men

   • Eva is the victim to show capitalist exploitation but also sexual exploitation. This would only happen to women in the Patriarchal society

3. Capitalist/Socialist

   • Capitalism is about the exploitation of people and focuses solely on money

   • Priestley promotes socialism which cares about social welfare and social responsibility

4. Inequality

   • The effect of a patriarchal society

   • Reduce inequality and the class system and replace with a welfare state instead of fake charities

5. Responsibility

   • Didactic play about social responsibility

   • All characters are taught the same message, but only one of them properly learns it

6. Christian

   • Borrows ideas of a Christian morality play that teaches the audience about Christain messages since nearly the whole audience would understand this

   • Priestley makes it deeply Christian to show how capitalism is an unchristian way of looking at society

7. Morality

   • The play questions whether morality is defined by the law or by personal ethics

   • Even when the Inspector is revealed as a fraud, the moral lessons still remains valid

8. Feminism

   • Sheila is the Inspector’s mouthpiece and the one who learns the lesson most, but she can’t vote so can’t do anything about it

   • Audience of 1945 enjoyed equality during the war so Priestley warns them that Capitalist views will remove the power they have gained

9. Anti-war

   • The play’s main message that a Capitalist society benefits from war and makes more money in the production of goods

   • Capitalism deliberately benefits from war, but Socialism is against war which aligns with the audience’s views