You will be writing an essay-style answer on the play, An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley, in your first English exam. You will need to have knowledge of the context (1945 and 1912) to the play, an understanding of Priestley's socialist ideals and his motivation for writing the play, a good knowledge of themes, plot, characters (what they represent and some key quotes for each), dramatic techniques and Priestley's use of linguistic and dramatic techniques to create character and develop suspense.
There are many excellent resources on the internet which will help you with your revision. I mostly recommend
BBC Bitesize for giving you a good working knowledge of the key areas of study. There are also some great revision powerpoints available at
Slideshare which I recommend you look at.
Universal teacher is good and, of course, there is a comprehensively useful study guide to the play available at a discounted price from the school library.
Below, are some quotes which should help you with your revision. Once you know the text and have revised context, plot, themes, character, literary and dramatic techniques, structure, you should be looking at exam style questions and planning some answers. Past papers are available on the
AQA website.
An
Inspector Calls Key Quotes and Analysis
1. BIRLING
A friend of
mine went over this new liner last week - the Titanic - she sails next week -
forty-six thousand eight hundred tons - forty-six thousand eight hundred tons -
New York in five days - and every luxury - and unsinkable, absolutely
unsinkable. Act One
Priestley's love of dramatic irony is biting here, and his irony is
never more satirical than in these comments of Birling's, which, to his
original audience in 1946, must have seemed more controversial than they do
today because the sinking of the ship was within people's memory. Symbolically,
just as the Titanic is destined to sink, so too is Birling's political
ideology, under the Inspector's interrogation. The ship was a titan of the
seas, and its imminent failure "next week" suggests the dangers of
capitalistic hubris, illustrating the risk of the entrepreneur.
2. GERALD [laughs]: You seem to be a nice
well-behaved family -
BIRLING: We
think we are - Act One
Coming early in the play, these lines also exemplify Priestley's love of
dramatic irony: the last thing the Birlings have been is well-behaved. 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.
3. BIRLING
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 -
We hear the sharp ring of a front door bell. Act One
Birling is taking an individualist, capitalist point of view about
personal responsibility, and his lines here provide the general attitude of his
speeches since the play began. According to him, experience proves that his
point of view is correct, in contrast to the possibly more idealistic
"youngsters." Yet, the bell marks the moment at which the Inspector
arrives, and it is no accident that the socialist-leaning Inspector arrives at
precisely this moment.
4. INSPECTOR
... what
happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and
what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of
events. Act One
In this fascinating excerpt, the Inspector outlines the nature of the
moral crime the Birlings and Gerald have committed against Eva. Each of them is
responsible in part for her death, and together they are entirely responsible.
This construction is itself a metaphor for Priestley's insistence that we are
all bound up together and responsible communally for everyone's survival. Note,
too, that the repetition in the Inspector's lines reflect the "chain"
he is talking about.
5. SHEILA [laughs
rather hysterically]
Why - you
fool - he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that
we don't know yet. You'll see. You'll see. She looks at him almost in triumph. Act One
Sheila, shortly before the end of Act One, crucially understands the
importance of the Inspector and the fact that he has more information than he
is revealing. She is the first person in the play to really begin to understand
the Inspector which, in turn, leads her to see her relationship with Gerald in
a more realistic, more cynical way.
6. INSPECTOR
Yes, Mr.
Croft - in the stalls bar at the Palace Variety Theatre...
GERALD
I happened
to look in, one night, after a rather long dull day, and as the show wasn't
very bright, I went down into the bar for a drink. It's a favorite haunt of
women of the town -
MRS. BIRLING
Women of the
town?
BIRLING
Yes, yes.
But I see no point in mentioning the subject .... Act Two
Eva Smith, by the time she encounters Eric in the Palace bar, seems to
be working as a prostitute, and indeed, the fact that the Palace bar is a
location known for prostitutes looking for business is here partly mentioned
but partly suppressed. Moreover, this information points out the streetwise
character of Gerald Croft, and it might even lead to questions about precisely
what he was doing in that bar, at night, other than just happening to
"look in" after a "dull day" and having "a
drink."
7. INSPECTOR
She kept a
rough sort of diary. And she said there that she had to go away and be quiet
and remember "just to make it last longer." She felt there'd never be
anything as good again for her - so she had to make it last longer. Act Two
This is an unusually personal moment from the Inspector, who gives us
one of the first insights into Eva Smith's feelings and personality. He claims,
of course, that he has found a diary in Eva Smith's room, though many
interpretations have argued that the Inspector in fact has a more personal
connection to Eva Smith: perhaps he even is her ghost, or a ghoulish embodiment
of her dead child? Priestley never tells us, but there is certainly opportunity
for the actor in this part to suggest a more personal connection. Note, too,
the interest in time on Eva's part, keeping a diary and making a point of
remembering the past nostalgically.
8. BIRLING
You'll
apologize at once ... I'm a public man -
INSPECTOR
[massively]
Public men,
Mr. Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges. Act Two
Here the Inspector, who by this middle act of the play is gaining in
power and control over the situation, "massively" silences Birling
with a putdown. It is not the first or last time that Birling is cut off
mid-thought. It is also important because Priestley points an extra finger of
blame at Birling not just for his actions, but for his failure to see that his
public position entails a duty of responsibility to other people.
Interestingly, this attitude draws on the traditional notion of the upper
classes taking responsibility for the welfare of the lower classes, but in the
newer, more democratic life of Britain, the "public men" are not
necessarily of higher social class even if they have more public privileges; at
any rate, their position of power comes with responsibility.
9. INSPECTOR
We don't
live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And
I tell you that 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. Good night. Act Three
The Inspector's final lines, from a longer speech he makes shortly
before his exit, are a blistering delivery of Priestley's socialist message.
Moreover, his promise of "fire and blood and anguish" also looks
forward to the First and Second World Wars, a resonance, which, to Priestley's
1946 audience, must have been quite chilling.
10.BIRLING
... we've
been had ... it makes all the difference.
GERALD
Of course!
SHEILA
[bitterly]
I suppose
we're all nice people now.
Act Three
These lines illustrate the mood of this last part of the play, as well
as the split between the Birlings and their children. Sheila and Eric realize
the importance of the Inspector's lesson, notably that they need to become more
socially responsible whether or not the particular scenario was a valid
example. In contrast, their parents absolutely fail to learn such a lesson,
arguing that the failure of the example invalidates the Inspector's argument.
Why still feel guilty and responsible? It also is significant that Gerald Croft
takes Birling's side (uncritically) rather than Sheila's.
