An Inspector Calls Quotes Updated Exam Questions and Answers 100% Pass

An Inspector Calls Quotes Updated Exam Questions and Answers 100% Pass STAGE DIRECTIONS: "The lightning should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder.' - Context: The Burnings enjoy a lifestyle conducted away from the prying eyes of society- When the Inspector arrives, his aim is to shine a light on their behaviour. Evaluation: The lightning is symbolic of how the Birlings live their lives, and what the Inspectors role is in the play. "Pink" suggests both a luxurious lifestyle and a gentle, comfortable way of living. The Inspector brings a 'brighter" light that foreshadows the fact that he intends to shine a light on the way they behave. "Intimidate" has associations with a close knit family (or the closed ranks of the upper classes). The Inspector plans to expose this with a "harder" light. Technique: Stage directions; Symbolism. BIRLING: 'l'm talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business.' - Context: Birling behaves as a patriarch (male head of the family) should do - society would expect him to be a provider for his family, unemotional and rational, focusing on the family business and maintaining their wealth. 2COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY KATELYN WHITMAN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Evaluation: The alliteration of the "h" sound in the "hard headed", a phrase biding repeats frequently, has a cold tone, mimicking his coldness towards his workers. "Hard" shows Birling has no caring, compassionate side, and "headed" suggests he views things with his head, not heart - he has no sympathy- Birling is giving us this speech at his daughter's engagement, yet he does not identify himself as a father or husband, but as a 'practical man af business'. His main role in society is as a businessman, not a father. Technique: Characterisation; alliteration. BIRLING: "Lady Croft while she doesn't object to my girl - feels you might have done better for yourself socially." - Context: Birling makes clear he knows that Lady Croft feels the Birlings are beneath them socially - to their generation, marriage is about social status. not love. Evaluation: Biding refers to Sheila as "my girl". It may be this is said with a sense of pride, but the tone seems to be one of ownership rather than love. The phrase "done better" makes marriage seem like a competition Gerald has failed. The word "socially" has nothing to do with love or compassion, but entirely to do with public appearance. The hesitant sentence structure from Biding highlights how the upper classes don't talk openly and honestly they prefer to keep things private Technique: Characterisation; Sentence structure; Plot. BIRLING: "I was Lord Mayor here two years ago when Royalty visited us. And I've always been regarded as a sound, useful party man. So well -- I gather there's a very good chance of a knighthood." - Context: Birling is determined to show his value to Gerald and Lady Croft by emphasizing his movement through the establishment and up the social ranks. 3COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY KATELYN WHITMAN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Evaluation: Birling doesn't focus on Sheila's value as a person - instead, he lists words from the semantic field of power and politics- "Lord Mayer", "Royalty" and "knighthood" focus on upper class hierarchy (social ranking) and influence. Being a "sound, useful party man" suggests Birding believes in hierarchy and not questioning those above you - when the "party" tell him to do or think something, he does it. Technique; word Choice; Characterisation. BIRLING: "Everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense." - Context: Birling dismisses the idea of community. The play is set pre-war but performed after World War Two, a time when the county had to come together. Evaluation: The simile refers to "bees", insects that are all workers, except a single queen bee - there would be no hierarchy for Biding to abuse. "A hive" is an enclosed space with nowhere to hide from responsibilities. Words such as "everybody", "together" and "community" are dismissed by Birling as they suggest people need to take responsibility for others. Being "mixed up" would alter the class system that protects the Birlings, hence his dismissive and patronising tone when describing it as "nonsense". Technique: Characterisation; Key quote. INSPECTOR: "She'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out, of course." - Cortext: The inspector is determined to let the Birlings and the audience know just how horrific Eva Smith's death was, and the suffering she went through, Evaluation: The inspector makes Eva's suffering explicit. The adverb "a lot" highlights the desperate desire of Eva to die, and the adjective "strong" re-emphasises her determination to kill herself. The imagery of "burnt her inside out" emphasises her physical pain but also refers to how the Birlings similarly "burnt ' her both inside and out. The inspector's tone when he says "of course" may seem casual, but he shows the Birlings how their behaviour would "of course" lead to her death. 4COPYRIGHT © 2025 BY KATELYN WHITMAN, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Technique: Imagery; Word Choice SHEILA: "But those girls aren't cheap labour they're people.' - Context: For the first time a Birling is beginning to show an understanding or empathy for the working classes and recognises they have rights too. Evaluation: The image of 'these girls' as "cheap labour '' makes them seem like machines, simply a tool for the upper classes to use. The plural "girls" shows they have no individual identity. For the first time, Sheila says they "aren't ' j