English LIT Paper 2 - An Inspector Calls

"The germans don't war ... everything to lose nothing to gain"

Shows Birling stupidity the germans did have war causing millions of deaths.

Showing billing stupidity as the audience knows (dramatic irony) that business did have lots to gain - nation scandal how many British business made a fortune from WW1

"Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable"

Shows Birling stupidity but on a wider scale, the arrogance of businessmen who believed WW1 ' war to end all wars' and they were clearly wrong as WW2. Priestly blames businessmen who did not learn from WW1, similar to Birling who doesn't learn the lesson from Eva death at the end of the play

"The famous younger generation ... they can't even take a joke"

Priestly is making a parallel between the death of Eva and the deaths in WW1. The second phone call at the end of the play symbolises the Second World War. It happens as Birling refuses to learn inspector lesson just as the 1912 generation didn't learn from WW1 which led history to repeat itself. Birling exists as a warning of what has gone wrong in society.

"Millions and millions of John smiths and Eva smiths"

Eva is a symbolic figure for the proletariats and a microcosm for the dehumanising treatment of the lower class.millions and millions. John smith quite popular names.

"We are members of one body" and "We are responsible for one another"

The repetition of the collective pronoun ‘we’ implies that it is our collective duty to look out for one another. The "members of one body" would appeal to the christian members of the audience as it references holy communion where you eat christ body, drink his blood thus a christian should vote for a socialist society as Jesus cares for others unlike capitalist society focuses on itself.

"Taught it in fire and blood and anguish"

The fire blood and anguish references WW1 and WW2. Priestly makes a Direct link between capitalism, self interest and war. Priestly saying to the audience they didn't learn their lesson from WW1 so they ought to learn it after WW2. Similar, Inspector leaves the play after this warning as a test to see if the Birling will learn their lesson. Alternatively, it has religious context when god set up the test for Adam and Eve to not eat the fruit of the tree but greed causes them to be sent to earth.

"Alright. But it doesn't make any real difference, you know."

Sheila is going against her family who doesn't care about their actions, just their reputation. Priestly is using Sheila to say for a successful society people should be responsible for their actions, thus criticizing a captialist society

"in that state where a chap easily turns nasty - and I threatened to make a row"

Priestly chooses to use colloquial language to suggest its something that happens often to men + Eric trying to soften the harshness of his actions with the carefree term 'chap' which juxtaposes the violent terms 'row, nasty, threaten'

Edwardian and post war

"You'll have to get used to that, just I had"

Priestly is saying women of Miss Birling generation had to turn a blind eye to their husband infidelity. Patriarchal society oppresses women by forcing women to marry for class not for love. priestly is Saying to a 1945 audience that they change this by voting for socialist society.

"Girls of that class"

Priestly is using Sybil to symbolise the pernicious effects of the class system, she sees Eva as vastly inferior or even potentially subhuman.

"(agitated) I don't believe it. I won't believe it"

Similar to Sybil, society refused to learn the lesson from WW1. Priestly arguing it's human nature to try to hide painful truth but to create a better society we need to accept responsibility and become better humans.

"What about this ring? ... Not yet, its too soon"

Gerald represents male power as he is the Birlings social superior who will inherit Crofts limited. It introduces the possibility even Sheila has not learnt from Inspector. Alternatively, Sheila learnt the lesson but is clearly powerless against the patriarchal society as she is only a women who does not even have the vote in 1912. Priestly is telling the women in the audience they are not powerless like Sheila as they can vote for a socialist society and bring change.

"I hate these fat old tarts"

Priestley demonstrates how upper class men condemn prostitutes while simultaneously using them, criticising their exploitation of lower class women. However on a wider scale Priestly is saying that rich men sees women as commodities, and in marriage its an exchange of his wealth for her subservience and thus women's role in a patriarchal society is to be submissive to men