Flashcards for An Inspector Calls

Arthur Birling

Arthur Birling is the head of the Birling household and represents the play's main example of capitalist complacency and moral blindness.

character

Edna (the maid)

Edna is the Birlings' parlour maid in J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, a minor character rich in symbolism who frames the drama's action without being involved in its moral reckoning.

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Eric Birling

Eric Birling is the younger son of the Birling family.

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Eva Smith / Daisy Renton

Eva Smith, also known as Daisy Renton, is the unseen but crucial figure at the center of An Inspector Calls.

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Gerald Croft

Gerald Croft is a charming young businessman with strong connections—he's the son of a rival industrialist and engaged to Sheila Birling.

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Inspector Goole

Inspector Goole is the mysterious and pivotal figure in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls.

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Sheila Birling

Sheila Birling is the eldest daughter of the Birling family, introduced at the start of the play as a bright and caring young woman celebrating her engagement to Gerald Croft.

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Sybil Birling

Sybil Birling is the detached, status-focused matriarch of the Birling family and arguably represents the moral failure at the heart of the play's exploration.

character

“She was desperately hard up and she needed a job... she'd been sacked from her last place for impertinence.”

This line is delivered by Inspector Goole as he methodically questions the Birling family in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945).

Inspector Goole

“A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.”

This line is spoken by Arthur Birling, a self-made and successful businessman who heads the Birling family, in Act One of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945).

Arthur Birling · Act One

“You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble.”

This powerful line is delivered by Eric Birling to his father, Arthur Birling, towards the end of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945).

Eric Birling · Act Three

“It's better to ask for the earth than to take it.”

This line is delivered by Inspector Goole near the end of An Inspector Calls (1945) by J.B. Priestley, directed at the Birling family and Gerald Croft as he wraps up his questioning.

Inspector Goole

“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”

This serious declaration comes from Inspector Goole near the conclusion of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945), given as a farewell address to the Birling family and Gerald Croft before he departs.

Inspector Goole

“If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”

This chilling prophecy is delivered by Inspector Goole near the end of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945), which takes place in 1912.

Inspector Goole

“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.”

This chilling prophecy comes from Inspector Goole near the end of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945), which takes place in 1912.

Inspector Goole · Act Three

“There are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us.”

This line is delivered by Inspector Goole towards the end of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945) as his powerful farewell to the Birling family before leaving.

Inspector Goole

“I used to think of myself as a pretty good fellow, but now I'm not so sure.”

This line is spoken by Eric Birling near the end of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945), after the full truth about his relationship with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton has come to light.

Eric Birling · Act Three

“Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.”

This line comes from Inspector Goole, who is addressing Arthur Birling, a self-important and wealthy businessman at the heart of J.B. Priestley's 1945 morality play An Inspector Calls.

Inspector Goole

“We don't live alone. We are members of one body.”

This line is spoken by Inspector Goole near the end of An Inspector Calls (1945) by J. B. Priestley, as part of his powerful closing speech to the Birling family and Gerald Croft.

Inspector Goole

“Good night, Mr Birling. I think you know what I mean.”

This chilling line is delivered by Inspector Goole towards the end of Act Three in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls (1945).

Inspector Goole · Act Three

Eva Smith's Diary / Photograph

In An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley, Eva Smith's diary and photograph serve as powerful symbols of the silent working class and the human toll of upper-class indifference.

Sheila's Engagement Ring

In An Inspector Calls, Sheila's engagement ring reflects the empty, transactional essence of upper-middle-class social contracts and the fragile nature of the Birling family's moral comfort.

The Dining Table and the Birling Home

In An Inspector Calls, the Birling family's dining table and their lavish home reflect the complacent isolation of the Edwardian upper-middle class.

The Inspector as a Supernatural Figure

In J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Inspector Goole serves as a supernatural or semi-divine representation of our shared moral conscience.

The Pink and White Lighting

In An Inspector Calls, the pink-and-white lighting that fills the Birling dining room at the beginning of the play reflects the family's comfortable self-deception and moral complacency.

The Telephone

In An Inspector Calls, the telephone symbolizes how unavoidable social realities and moral responsibilities disrupt the Birlings' insular and complacent existence.

Dramatic Monologue

Inspector Goole takes charge of the play with a series of lengthy, controlled speeches that resemble dramatic monologues, captivating both the Birling family and the audience.

Irony

Priestley weaves dramatic irony into the opening act by having Arthur Birling make confident predictions that the audience in 1945 knows to be utterly misguided.

Symbolism

The Inspector's name, Goole, plays with the words 'ghoul' and a location, hinting at something otherworldly and morally unavoidable.

Allegory

The play serves as a social allegory where the Birling family symbolizes the British ruling class, while Eva Smith represents the exploited working class.

Juxtaposition

Priestley builds the play around sharp contrasts between comfort and suffering, complacency and crisis.

Motif

Responsibility stands out as the central theme, starting with the Inspector's initial questioning and lingering throughout the play.

Metaphor

Goole's most famous metaphor compares society to a body: "We are members of one body."

Pathetic Fallacy

Priestley's stage directions use lighting to create a sense of pathetic fallacy, reflecting the moral tone of each scene.

Rhetorical Question

The Inspector's interrogations are filled with rhetorical questions that either trap characters into confessing or compel the audience to reflect uncomfortably on their own beliefs.

Extended Metaphor

Birling's opening speech introduces an extended metaphor that compares individuals to self-sufficient units in a competitive world, suggesting that social progress hinges on each person "looking after himself and his own."

Volta

Though the play is written in prose rather than verse, it features a series of sharp turns that dramatically reframe everything that came before.

Repetition

Priestley uses repetition to create the Inspector's questioning rhythm and to highlight each character's moral journey.

mind his own business

To stay out of other people's affairs and focus only on one's own concerns; used here by Birling to argue that individuals owe nothing to society and should look after themselves alone.

phrase · Chapter 1

cheap labour

Workers who are paid very low wages, treated as a cost to be minimised rather than as human beings with rights or dignity.

phrase · Chapter 1

self-made

Having built one's own wealth and social position from nothing, without inherited money or family connections.

adjective · Chapter 1

Lord Mayor

The elected ceremonial head of a major British city, a prestigious civic title that signals high social standing in the local community.

noun · Chapter 1

fiancé

A man who is formally engaged to be married to a woman; the male counterpart of fiancée.

noun · Chapter 1

wage strike

A collective work stoppage in which employees refuse to work in order to pressure their employer into raising their pay.

noun · Chapter 1

disinfectant

A strong chemical liquid used to kill germs; swallowing it causes severe internal burning and death, making it a means of suicide in the play.

noun · Chapter 1

ingesting

Swallowing or taking a substance into the body through the mouth, used here to describe how Eva Smith consumed the disinfectant that killed her.

verb · Chapter 1

elaborate

Excessively detailed or refined; Mrs. Birling uses the word dismissively to suggest Eva was putting on an act of sensitivity she had no right to claim.

adjective · Chapter 2

scruples

Strong personal moral principles that stop someone from doing something they feel is wrong; here used contemptuously by Mrs. Birling to belittle Eva's sense of ethics.

noun · Chapter 2

absurd

Completely unreasonable or out of place; Mrs. Birling means it is ridiculous for a working-class girl to claim refined moral feelings.

adjective · Chapter 2

frank

Completely honest and direct, even when the truth is uncomfortable or unwelcome to the listener.

adjective · Chapter 2

mistress

A woman who has an ongoing sexual relationship with a man who is not her husband, typically kept secret and without the social status of a wife.

noun · Chapter 2

pressing

Questioning someone persistently and forcefully, refusing to let them avoid or deflect the subject under investigation.

verb · Chapter 2

interrogation

A formal, intense session of questioning, often with an authority figure demanding answers that the person being questioned may wish to hide.

noun · Chapter 3

collective responsibility

The idea that all members of a society share moral duty for one another's welfare, not just for their own individual actions.

phrase · Chapter 3

fire and blood

A vivid image of war, violence, and mass suffering used by the Inspector as a warning of what will happen if humanity ignores its shared moral duties.

phrase · Chapter 3

hoax

A deliberate trick or deception intended to make people believe something false; the older characters decide the Inspector's visit was a planned fraud.

noun · Chapter 3

committed suicide

Deliberately ended one's own life; used in the play to describe Eva Smith's act of swallowing disinfectant.

phrase · Chapter 3

turned out unfortunately

Ended badly or with harmful consequences; Birling uses this mild phrase to minimise the gravity of his and his wife's actions toward Eva.

phrase · Chapter 3