Inspector calls notes and quotes
Mr birling- He is a powerful character; he starts and dictates the conversation.
He uses imperative verbs such as “go” “should” “get.” Described as a
prosperous manufacturer which introduces us to hierarchy. The stage direction
shows “Substantial and heavily comfortable” which suggests how luxurious his
home is which was a rarity for the time. He is away from the reality of the
society. “Not cosy” immediately highlighting the issues of Mr birling's family
life and shows the Superficial life that they life. Foreshadows that the challenge
that Mr birling is going to face from his children. “If you don’t come down
sharply on these people they’ll soon be asking for the earth” Sharply shows
that he is being harsh and aggressive to the lower class. “These people”
reference to lower class and the patronising attitude towards them. “they’ll
soon be asking for the earth” exaggerating the demands of the lower class. He
thinks they are greedy and demanding but the irony he himself is like this. The
inspector responds with “it's better to ask for the earth than take it” this
metaphor highlights the fear that Mr birling has of the retaliation of the lower
class. This fear links to the Marxist theory- from a guy called Karl Marx who
said that society was a capitalist society in which the bourgeois (upper class)
was concerned with exploiting the proletariat (lower class) for profit. He
predicts a social revolution where proletariats rise. This is evident where Eva
Smith demands and asks for higher wages. “She had a lot to say- far too much
to say- she had to go” repetition of say shows that he’s feeling Eva Smith’s
voice and is trying to silence them. The dash mirrors his nervousness which
signifies his fear of the lower class speaking. “As if we are all mixed together
like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense” Mr birling is mocking
the socialism society. By comparing socialism to the bee's, socialism is mocked
because bees follow a queen bee and at the time men were more superior.
And therefore, threatening the patriarchal and male society. He sees
community as ‘nonsense’ if something is seen as nonsense it is seen as untrue
and something to be mocked and ridiculed. This is ironic as the bee community
is important as it produces something valuable to society. Priestly cleverly
structures this quote by Mr birling with other inaccurate statements. As a few
lines later Mr birling states “titanic unsinkable absolutely unsinkable” the
reptation of unsinkable and intensifier of absolutely shows his confidence and
belief in his statement. From this inaccurate statement Priestly is creating Mr
, birling’s caricature to be mocked by the audience because Priestly's 1945
contemporary audience will be aware of how inaccurate and false Mr birling's
predictions are but also shows how the powerful men were oblivious to this
society. Priestly is using Mr birling’s character to educate and inform the
audience. These false statements allow the reader to cast doubts on
everything he says. “You may look forward to the time where cross and
birling's are no longer competing but working together for lower costs and
higher prices” he sees the marriage as an opportunity to bring two businesses
together, and for him to advance his name.
Gerald croft (Sheila's fiancé)- He is a metonym for the 1912 society. He
possess power and dominance over women as he is described as “a well-bred
man of town” he belongs to the upper elite class and will possess power
because of his status and because of his gender. See this power because of the
dominance he has over Eva smith and Sheila. “Is this the one you wanted me
to have.” the fact that Sheila is asking him and that he selected the ring for her
at the start of the play mirrors that he is in charge in their relationship. “She
has had a long and exciting tiring day... she has obviously had about as much as
she can stand.” Gerald is creating Sheila as a vulnerable immature child. The
fact that he is speaking on behalf of Sheila shows that he is taking her voice
away. He is playing on the time of women being the weaker sex. “I did not
install her as a mistress” the verb ‘install’ shows that he sees her as an object
that he can control like something that can be operated like a machine and
that shows the little status he gives to women, he is objectifying them as
something mechanical that can be done as his command. Again, he sees Eva
smith as something vulnerable as he describes her as “soft brown hair” which
on the other hand he sees her as a vulnerable girl but also shows how he was
taking advantage on her innocence. He describes her as young and fresh and
he sees her as young and a minor. Soft creates an image of Eva being delicate,
vulnerable, and weak and he is preying on her innocence. He also uses
euphemism to strive away from the reality from where he met her so instead
of saying prosecution bars, he uses colloquial language saying he met her on
the “favourite haunt of the women of the town.” he does this to relieve
himself from further questioning so he prevents himself from being exposed.
The noun ‘haunt’ creates the impression of a ghostly figure which shows how
Gerald saw women as supernatural being without social identity and emotions.
Despite this, He presents himself as a very garland and charming. He talks
about Eva smith when he took her to his friend's house he says “I made her go
Mr birling- He is a powerful character; he starts and dictates the conversation.
He uses imperative verbs such as “go” “should” “get.” Described as a
prosperous manufacturer which introduces us to hierarchy. The stage direction
shows “Substantial and heavily comfortable” which suggests how luxurious his
home is which was a rarity for the time. He is away from the reality of the
society. “Not cosy” immediately highlighting the issues of Mr birling's family
life and shows the Superficial life that they life. Foreshadows that the challenge
that Mr birling is going to face from his children. “If you don’t come down
sharply on these people they’ll soon be asking for the earth” Sharply shows
that he is being harsh and aggressive to the lower class. “These people”
reference to lower class and the patronising attitude towards them. “they’ll
soon be asking for the earth” exaggerating the demands of the lower class. He
thinks they are greedy and demanding but the irony he himself is like this. The
inspector responds with “it's better to ask for the earth than take it” this
metaphor highlights the fear that Mr birling has of the retaliation of the lower
class. This fear links to the Marxist theory- from a guy called Karl Marx who
said that society was a capitalist society in which the bourgeois (upper class)
was concerned with exploiting the proletariat (lower class) for profit. He
predicts a social revolution where proletariats rise. This is evident where Eva
Smith demands and asks for higher wages. “She had a lot to say- far too much
to say- she had to go” repetition of say shows that he’s feeling Eva Smith’s
voice and is trying to silence them. The dash mirrors his nervousness which
signifies his fear of the lower class speaking. “As if we are all mixed together
like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense” Mr birling is mocking
the socialism society. By comparing socialism to the bee's, socialism is mocked
because bees follow a queen bee and at the time men were more superior.
And therefore, threatening the patriarchal and male society. He sees
community as ‘nonsense’ if something is seen as nonsense it is seen as untrue
and something to be mocked and ridiculed. This is ironic as the bee community
is important as it produces something valuable to society. Priestly cleverly
structures this quote by Mr birling with other inaccurate statements. As a few
lines later Mr birling states “titanic unsinkable absolutely unsinkable” the
reptation of unsinkable and intensifier of absolutely shows his confidence and
belief in his statement. From this inaccurate statement Priestly is creating Mr
, birling’s caricature to be mocked by the audience because Priestly's 1945
contemporary audience will be aware of how inaccurate and false Mr birling's
predictions are but also shows how the powerful men were oblivious to this
society. Priestly is using Mr birling’s character to educate and inform the
audience. These false statements allow the reader to cast doubts on
everything he says. “You may look forward to the time where cross and
birling's are no longer competing but working together for lower costs and
higher prices” he sees the marriage as an opportunity to bring two businesses
together, and for him to advance his name.
Gerald croft (Sheila's fiancé)- He is a metonym for the 1912 society. He
possess power and dominance over women as he is described as “a well-bred
man of town” he belongs to the upper elite class and will possess power
because of his status and because of his gender. See this power because of the
dominance he has over Eva smith and Sheila. “Is this the one you wanted me
to have.” the fact that Sheila is asking him and that he selected the ring for her
at the start of the play mirrors that he is in charge in their relationship. “She
has had a long and exciting tiring day... she has obviously had about as much as
she can stand.” Gerald is creating Sheila as a vulnerable immature child. The
fact that he is speaking on behalf of Sheila shows that he is taking her voice
away. He is playing on the time of women being the weaker sex. “I did not
install her as a mistress” the verb ‘install’ shows that he sees her as an object
that he can control like something that can be operated like a machine and
that shows the little status he gives to women, he is objectifying them as
something mechanical that can be done as his command. Again, he sees Eva
smith as something vulnerable as he describes her as “soft brown hair” which
on the other hand he sees her as a vulnerable girl but also shows how he was
taking advantage on her innocence. He describes her as young and fresh and
he sees her as young and a minor. Soft creates an image of Eva being delicate,
vulnerable, and weak and he is preying on her innocence. He also uses
euphemism to strive away from the reality from where he met her so instead
of saying prosecution bars, he uses colloquial language saying he met her on
the “favourite haunt of the women of the town.” he does this to relieve
himself from further questioning so he prevents himself from being exposed.
The noun ‘haunt’ creates the impression of a ghostly figure which shows how
Gerald saw women as supernatural being without social identity and emotions.
Despite this, He presents himself as a very garland and charming. He talks
about Eva smith when he took her to his friend's house he says “I made her go
