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ICKNIELD HIGH SCHOOL

An Inspector Calls

Study Guide

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In more detail...

Part a)

There is a light-hearted and celebratory atmosphere at dinner as the Birling family celebrate the engagement

of their daughter Sheila to Gerald Croft, the son and heir of Lord and Lady Croft (from ‘an old country

family – landed people’).

There are, however, a few hints that not everything is as perfect as it initially seemed. Mr Birling, for

example, is a bit too anxious to impress Gerald, Eric seems nervous and Sheila jokes with Gerald that he did

not come near her the previous summer.

Mr Birling is in good spirits and makes a number of speeches. One of his main themes is that a man needs to

look after himself and his own family and not worry about the wider community. As he is telling them this,

the door bell rings. Inspector Goole enters.

Part b)

Although Mr Birling tries to take control of the situation, the Inspector – an impressive character who no-

one has heard of - announces that he has come to investigate the suicide of Eva Smith, a young working-

class girl who died that afternoon in ‘the infirmary’.

Mr Birling recognises the girl from a photograph and admits that he discharged her from his factory when

she became one of the ring-leaders of a strike asking for slightly higher wages. Birling does not feel guilty

for sacking her; he justifies himself by saying that he cannot see that he has any responsibility for what

happened to her afterwards.

Part c)

The Inspector announces he would also like to question Sheila Birling. Mr Birling is annoyed that the

Inspector wants to continue with his enquiries.

Sheila is distressed as she hears more about the girl’s tragic story and the description of her suicide. When

the Inspector reveals that Eva's next job was at a big shop called Milwards, but that she was sacked after a

customer complained about her, Sheila becomes more distressed. When she too is shown a photograph of

the girl, Sheila admits that it was her fault that Eva was sacked. She is horrified by what she did and feels

guilty.

When the Inspector then tells the family that Eva went on to change her name to Daisy Renton, Gerald

Croft's reaction reveals that he too knew the girl. When the act ends, the audience expects the Inspector to

reveal more connections between the family and the mystery girl.

ACT 1

In brief: Inspector Goole interrupts the Birling’s dinner party to tell the family about the

death of Eva Smith. He seems to know everything about the family and their connections to

the girl: Arthur Birling sacked her for demanding higher wages. Sheila Birling had the girl

sacked from her job at a clothes shop. It seems that Gerald also knew her, by the name of

Daisy Renton.

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CHARACTERS IN ACT ONE

Arthur Birling (‘a heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties’)

Mr Birling is concerned about his social standing – he wants to impress Gerald as he knows that the

Crofts are from a higher class: ‘there’s a fair chance that I might find my way into the next Honours

List. Just a knighthood of course.’

He has a narrow view of ‘collective responsibility’; he ridicules the idea that everyone might want to

work towards the common good: ‘a man has to make his own way – has to look after himself ... But

the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think 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... a

man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – ‘

He is arrogant and then aggressive towards the Inspector; he doesn’t like to feel that someone else is

in control: ‘rather impatiently’ ‘I don’t like the tone’. Later on, he tries to intimidate the Inspector

with his social connections: ‘Perhaps I ought to warn you that [the Chief Constable’s] an old friend

of mine, and that I see him fairly frequently ’and with his tone of voice: ‘Look here Inspector, I

consider this uncalled-for and officious.’

He is proud to have put business and profit first: ‘it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d

agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve percent to our labour costs too.’

He does not view his employees as individuals, but as means to making money: ‘If you don’t come

down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.’

Mrs Birling (‘her husband’s social superior’)

She places a high value on things being done ‘properly’: ‘Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such

things – ‘ ‘What an expression Sheila!’ Really, the things you girls pick up these days!’

Sheila Birling (‘very pleased with life and rather excited’)

Initially, Sheila doesn’t want her evening to be ruined by hearing about suffering: ‘Oh I wish you

hadn’t told me!’

When she first hears the story, she shows compassion and sympathy towards the girl, which means

the audience warms to her; she isn’t simply a snob. ‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re

people’

She is prepared to admit her mistakes quickly and shows a sense of remorse for her actions: ‘It was

my own fault...At least I’m trying to tell the truth.’ She has to learn she cannot change the past: ‘And

if I could help her now, I would – ‘ and then resolves to change: ‘I’ll never, never do it again to

anybody.’

She is intelligent and can ‘read between the lines’ of other people’s behaviour. She quickly

understands that Gerald’s involvement with the girl means that he was unfaithful to her: ‘Were you

seeing her last spring and summer, during that time when you hardly came near me and said you

were so busy? Were you? Yes of course you were.’

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Unlike the rest of her family, Sheila quickly understands the Inspector’s power and the truth of his

message. She initially questions the Inspector: ‘What do you mean by saying that? You talk as if we

were responsible – ‘ but later urges Gerald to be honest: ‘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.’

Gerald Croft (‘the easy well-bred young man-about-town’)

Gerald begins the play as a confident young man who is keen to please his father in law:

GERALD [politely]: Absolutely first class

He shares Mr Birling’s ideas about profit in business: ‘Hear, hear! And I think my father would

agree to that!’...‘You couldn’t have done anything else’

His involuntary reaction to Daisy Renton’s name gives away his guilt:

GERALD: [startled] what?

He thinks he can hide his involvement from the Inspector: ‘I don’t come into this suicide

business...So – for God’s sake – don’t say anything to the Inspector.’

Eric Birling (not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive’)

There are hints that Eric lacks control: he drinks ‘rather noisily’

His father feels that Eric’s life so far has been easy and hasn’t taught him to take responsibility:

‘Unless you brighten your ideas, you’ll never be in a position to let anybody stay or tell anybody to

go. It’s about time you learnt to face a few responsibilities. That’s something this public-school-and-

Varsity life you’ve had doesn’t seem to teach you.’

Inspector Goole (‘he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and

purposefulness... has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he

addresses before actually speaking.’

The Inspector tends to repeat someone’s words back at them to teach them the selfishness of their

way of thinking:

BIRLING: We were having a nice little family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you’ve

made of it now, haven’t you?

INSPECTOR: That’s more or less what I was thinking earlier tonight, when I was in the

Infirmary looking at what was left of Eva Smith. A nice little promising life there, I thought, and

a nasty mess somebody’s made of it.

The Inspector refuses to be intimidated by Mr Birling and shows increasing control of the

situation. At the end of the scene, Sheila has realised his power over them and the audience

expects him to reveal more secrets: [the INSPECTOR appears, looking steadily and searchingly

at them]: Well?

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RELATIONSHIPS IN ACT ONE

Family relationships initially seem very good:

‘At the moment, they have all had a good dinner, are celebrating a special occasion, and are pleased

with themselves.’

At the start of the act, there are hints that Gerald and Sheila’s relationship is not perfect:

SHEILA: [half-serious, half playful] Yes – except for all last summer, when you never came near

me, and I wondered what had happened to you.

GERALD: And I’ve told you – I was awfully busy at the works all that time.

SHEILA: [same tone as before] That’s what you say.

There are hints that there is a different attitude to life between the older and the younger

generation when Mr Birling’s children hear about his behaviour towards Eva Smith:

ERIC: And I don’t see why she should have been sacked just because she’d a bit more spirit than the

others. You said yourself she was a good worker. I’d have let her stay.

SHEILA: I think it was a mean thing to do. Perhaps that spoilt everything for her.

Mr Birling blames the Inspector for disrupting family relationships:

‘We were having a nice little family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you’ve made of it now,

haven’t you?’

THEMES IN ACT ONE

Responsibility

Mr Birling thinks that the idea of social responsibility is ‘nonsense’

‘as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense... a man has to

mind his own business and look after himself and his own – and – ‘

The Inspector wants to prove that all actions have consequences:

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.

BIRLING: ...If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to

do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?

The Inspector wants the family to realise that being ‘respectable’ in society’s eyes does not mean

you are not responsible for your actions:

GERALD: After all, y’know, we’re respectable citizens and not criminals

INSPECTOR: Sometimes there isn’t much difference as you think. Often, if it was left to me, I wouldn’t

know where to draw the line.

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Responsibility

Ironically, Birling tells Eric that he needs to learn to take responsibility: ‘It’s about time you

learnt to face a few responsibilities. That’s something this public-school-and-Varsity life you’ve

had doesn’t seem to teach you.’

Guilt

The family initially joke that the doorbell might be because of Eric’s guilt. This shows how

confident they are in their secure position and innocence in any involvement.

GERALD[lightly]: Unless Eric’s been up to something [Nodding confidently to Birling] And that would

be awkward, wouldn’t it?

BIRLING [humorously]: Very.

The family are disturbed when the Inspector reveals he has not simply come to question Mr Birling:

[The other four exchange bewildered and perturbed glances]

Social status

Mr Birling is pleased about his daughter’s marriage as it links his family to a wealthier family,

thus securing their social position.

Mr Birling tries to use his social status to intimidate the Inspector.

DRAMATIC DEVICES IN ACT ONE

Lighting

Priestley uses a change in lighting to show the change in atmosphere that the Inspector’s arrival

brings: ‘The lighting should be pink and intimate until the INSPECTOR arrives, and then it

should be brighter and harder.’

Doorbell

The sharp ring of the doorbell interrupts Birling’s speech about social responsibility. This forces

the audience to make a connection between the Inspector’s arrival and Birling’s Capitalist

ideology that promotes self-interest and believes that community is ‘nonsense’.

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Photograph

The Inspector only shows the photograph to one person at a time. This means that no one

character can ever be sure that they have seen the same photograph as any other character. This

adds to the sense of mystery which surrounds the girl and the Inspector. It is important to notice

that the photograph always has an immediate impact on whoever sees it.

Dramatic irony

The audience know that Birling’s first speech is full of inaccuracies. This makes us question the

reliability of his judgement – if he’s wrong about war and the Titanic, what else will he be wrong

about?

‘And I say there isn’t a chance of war...the Titanic – she sails next week -...unsinkable, absolutely

unsinkable’

‘let’s say in 1940...by that time you’ll be living in a world that will have forgotten all these Capital

versus Labour agitations and all these silly little war scares. There’ll be peace and prosperity and rapid

progress everywhere.’

Foreshadowing

Birling is overconfident when he tells Gerald that he is expecting a knighthood and his throwaway

comment about getting into trouble makes the audience expect something bad to happen:

‘so long as we behave ourselves. Don’t get into the police court or start a scandal – eh?’

Sheila’s taunting of her brother hints that he may have an issue with drink: ‘You’re squiffy’

Contrasts

Priestley uses opposites or contrasts as an effective device:

He juxtaposes the beliefs of Birling with the attitude of the Inspector

He also forces the audience to make links between Sheila and the dead girl to highlight the

differences in their lives because of their social classes

Cliff-hanger

Act 1 ends with the Inspector saying ‘Well?’ to Gerald. This is the same way that Act 2 begins.

This cliff-hanger means the audience have to wait to find out what happens, even though they

have already anticipated what will happen.

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ACT 2

In more detail...

Part a) Gerald does not want Sheila to stay in the room to hear details of his involvement with the girl. She insists,

and warns her mother not to try to deceive the Inspector. Gerald admits that he too had known Daisy

Renton. He had met her in ‘the Palace Bar’, and let her stay in the flat of a friend of his when he discovered

she was penniless. She became his mistress although Gerald broke off the relationship when he had to go

away on business, giving her some money to see her through for a few months. Sheila is upset and

disappointed; Gerald had told her he was busy at work when in fact he was having a relationship with this

girl.

Part b) Inspector Goole then moves onto Mrs Birling, who is convinced that she has no connection with the girl.

After showing her a photograph of the girl Mrs Birling has to grudgingly admit that she had seen the girl two

weeks previously. The girl - now pregnant - had come to ask for financial assistance from the Charity

Organisation where Mrs Birling was chairwoman. Mrs Birling had denied the girl any support, and refuses

to feel any remorse . In fact, she is proud that she did her duty and blames the man who got Eva Smith

pregnant.

Part c) Sheila urges her mother to stop talking, as she and the audience have realised at this point that Eric is

involved. Just as Mrs Birling denounces the father of the baby, Eric re-enters the room.

In brief: Gerald initially tries to cover up his involvement with the girl but Sheila

encourages him to tell the truth. He admits he had an affair with the girl. When Mrs

Birling sees a photograph, she also admits that she knew the girl, having refused to

support her when she asked Mrs Birling’s charitable committee for financial

support as she was now pregnant. Eric enters the scene as Mrs Birling denounces

the father of the child. The audience expect to hear more about Eric’s involvement

with the girl.

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CHARACTERS IN ACT TWO

Mr Birling

Mr Birling tries to protect his daughter from the Inspector, and has to be reminded that she is also

responsible: ‘Your daughter isn’t living on the moon. She’s here in Brumley too.’

Mr Birling has to be reminded that the Inspector has taken control of the situation:

INSPECTOR [cutting in, with authority]: He must wait his turn.

Mr Birling shows his preoccupation with status and reputation when he hears further confessions in

this scene: ‘I must say, Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquest, it isn’t going to do us much

good. The Press might easily take it up – ‘

Mrs Birling

Mrs Birling thinks she can use her social status to dismiss the Inspector: You know of course that my

husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago and that he’s still a magistrate’

She is ignorant of the world around her; she is shocked when Gerald describes ‘women of the town’

and is ‘staggered’ when she hears about Alderman Meggarty’s behaviour. She is also ignorant of the

behaviour of her own son: her social position means that she is distanced from real life.

She is used to having her opinions accepted as right: ‘Please don’t contradict me like that’.

She unwittingly reveals her class prejudices by her language. She calls Eva Smith ‘the girl’ and

implies that her social position separates her from a family like the Birlings: ‘girls of that class – ‘

She reveals that the reasons she did not support Eva Smith was because of the girl’s ‘gross

impertinence’ in using the name ‘Birling.’ These words reveal that she believes Eva should have

shown more respect. She also refuses to believe that someone from a lower social class could have

any morals: ‘She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl

in her position’

She insists on her innocence: ‘Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of or that won’t

bear investigation’. Her self-righteousness sets her up to fall further than the other characters.

She is unwilling to believe her son’s involvement with the girl and this distress is expressed as

denial: ‘I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it.’

Sheila Birling

Sheila knows there is not point in trying to pretend before the Inspector: ‘You mustn’t try to build up

a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the Inspector will just break it down.’

Sheila’s ironic comments during Gerald’s confession show that she is hurt by what he is admitting:

‘Well we didn’t think you meant Buckingham Palace – ‘, ‘I’m supposed to be engaged to the hero of

it. Go on Gerald...’

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Gerald Croft

Gerald is ‘distressed’ when he finally realises his involvement with the situation. The fact that

Gerald’s affair was not pre-meditated (I want you to understand that I didn’t install her there so that

I could make love to her’) and that he tries to protect Sheila and Daisy mean that he does maintain

the impression of being vaguely honourable.

Gerald’s description of Daisy emphasises her vulnerability, although he does not blame her for their

affair: ‘she looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there.’

In Gerald’s confession, he tries to portray himself as Daisy’s rescuer: he says she gave him ‘a glance

that was nothing less than a cry for help’

Eric Birling

Sheila has to tell her mother about Eric’s drinking in this scene: ‘has been steadily drinking too much

for the last two years’. This prepares the audience for the later revelations about his drunken

behaviour towards the girl.

His mother’s confident outburst against the ‘drunken young idler’ who made Eva Smith pregnant and

who she feels ‘ought to be dealth with very severely’ leads the audience to expect that it is Eric who

was responsible

Inspector Goole

Again, the Inspector repeats the characters’ words in order to have maximum impact:

MRS BIRLING: She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a

girl of her position.

INSPECTOR [very sternly]: Her position now is that she lies with a burnt-out inside on a slab.

Sheila describes the Inspector’s methods insightfully: "He's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang

ourselves.”

The Inspector speaks as though he knows what is about to happen. Shortly before Eric enters the

scene, the Inspector says: I’m waiting ... to do my duty as if he knew that Eric was about to arrive.

RELATIONSHIPS IN ACT TWO

At the start of Act Two, tensions arise between Gerald and Sheila. He thinks she wants to stay in

order to see him shamed: ‘You’ve been through it – and now you want to see somebody else put

through it.’ And she is upset that he has changed his opinion of her: ‘you’ve made up your mind that

I must obviously be a selfish, vindictive creature.’

Mrs Birling still treats Sheila like a child, even though Sheila is the only one who has realised that

they are all responsible: ‘You seem to have made a great impression on the child, Inspector.’ She

thinks Sheila’s interest is ‘morbid curiosity’, rather than an awareness of guilt, and tries to send her

to bed. When Sheila points out that her mother’s comments are only making things worse, her

mother dismisses her as being ‘over-excited’

Mrs Birling treats Eric like a child as well. When asked about the extent of Eric’s drinking, Mrs

Birling replies ‘He’s only a boy’

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RELATIONSHIPS IN ACT TWO

When Sheila returns her engagement ring to Gerald, we see a deepening of her character: ‘I don’t

dislike you as I did half an hour ago, Gerald’. She respects his honesty, but feels that for their

relationship to continue, ‘we’d have to start all over again...’ She says ‘I rather respect you more

than I’ve ever done before.’ Sheila has admitted her own blame and has accepted Gerald’s intentions

with the girl were initially good; she starts to see events differently.

THEMES IN ACT TWO

Hypocrisy

Gerald makes the excuse that he does not want Sheila to listen to the Inspector’s questioning in case

it is ‘unpleasant and disturbing’ – this reveals his hypocrisy.

INSPECTOR: And you think young women ought to be protexted against unpleasant and disturbing things?

GERALD: If possible – yes

INSPECTOR: Well, we know one young woman who wasn’t, don’t we?

Guilt

The Inspector does not want Sheila to feel completely responsible for the girl’s death: ‘Now Miss

Birling has just been made to understand what she did to this girl. She feels responsible. And if she

leaves us now, and doesn’t hear any more, she’ll be alone with her responsibility, the rest of tonight,

all tomorrow, all the next night –...You see, we have to share something. If there’s nothing else, we’ll

have to share our guilt.’

The Inspector criticises Mrs Birling for refusing to take any responsibility for the girl’s death: ‘I

think you did something terribly wrong – and that you’re going to spend the rest of your life

regretting it. I wish you’d been with me tonight in the Infirmary...’

Social status

Mrs Birling is so offended by the pregnant girl’s use of the name ‘Birling’ that she overlooks her

poverty and desperate situation: ‘a gross impertinence’. This word is significant; Mrs Birling does

not simply think Eva was rude, she is offended that Eva did not show enough respect to someone

from the upper class.

Gerald comments that he rescued Daisy from Alderman Meggarty – a senior local councillor who is

‘a notorious womanizer as well as being one of the worst sots and rogues in Brumley – ‘. This shows

that anyone can end up involved in scandalous behaviour and should have been a warning for Mr

Birling.

The Inspector shows no fear of Mr Birling’s importance in the town and reminds the family that men

who hold public authority ‘have responsibilities as well as privileges’

Mr Birling reveals that his big concern is the reputation of the family name when he hears about his

wife’s involvement: ‘I must say, Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquest, it isn’t going to do us

much good. The Press might easily take it up – ‘

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DRAMATIC DEVICES IN ACT TWO

Dramatic irony

There is dramatic irony in the way Mrs Birling is trapped at the end of the scene. When she

forcefully blames ‘some drunken young idler’, the audience realise that she is describing Eric. This

also highlights her hypocrisy to the audience: we know that she would not apply the same standards

to her own family.

Contrasts

Again, the audience are forced to make contrasts between the Birlings’ self-interested attitudes and

the beliefs of the Inspector.

The Inspector himself

It is especially clear in this scene that Priestley is using the Inspector to move the plot along, to

control the pace of events and to decide the order in which the characters are questioned.

Entrances

The timing of Mrs Birling’s entrance mean that she is unaware of the impact the Inspector is having

and insists on trying to control events herself.

The timing of Eric’s entrance is also significant: he reappears at the end of the Act just at the

moment when the audience and the characters on stage realise that Eric is the father of Eva Smith’s

baby.

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ACT 3

In more detail...

Part a)

The relationships in the family are beginning to break down. The Inspector interrupts the family argument to

question Eric who then admits his relationship with the girl. He met her in the same place as Gerald and in

his drunkenness, forced himself on her. Soon afterwards she discovered that she was pregnant. Eric offered

to marry her, but she did not accept as she knew Eric did not love her. Eric admits he supported her with

money stolen from his parents.

Part b)

Mr Birling’s reaction shows that he is more concerned about covering up his involvement with the girls and

avoiding scandal.

The Inspector delivers a strong message observing each character’s individual guilt in the affair. He warns

what will happen if people do not feel responsible for each other and then leaves.

Part c)

The family gradually begin to wonder about the Inspector. Gerald explains that he has discovered that there

is no Inspector Goole in the police force. When they telephone the infirmary, they realise that there hasn't

been a suicide case for months.

Mr Birling is thrilled as he now thinks that they are relieved of any responsibility or guilt. Sheila and Eric,

on the other hand, still feel guilty and insiste that nothing has changed - each of them still committed the acts

that the Inspector had accused them of, even if they did turn out to be against five different girls.

At this point, the telephone rings. Mr Birling answers it and tells the family it was the police on the line: an

inspector is on his way to ask questions about the suicide of a young girl...

In brief: When Eric realises that everyone knows, he admits that he made Eva

pregnant and stole money from his father to support her. The Inspector makes a

final speech about social responsibility and urges the Birlings to learn from their

behaviour. The family are distressed and intrigued until they discover that

Inspector Goole does not exist and no suicides have taken place that evening.

The Birlings are Gerald are delighted and return to the play’s initial jolly good

humour although Sheila and Eric continue to feel guilty.

The play ends as the telephone rings with the news that a girl has died in the

infirmary and a police inspector is on his way to ask them some questions.

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CHARACTERS IN ACT THREE

Arthur Birling Eric accuses his father of being uncaring and unsympathetic: ‘not the kind of father a chap could go

to when he’s in trouble’

Mr Birling is thrilled to realise that the Inspector was not a real policeman: [excitedly] By Jingo! A

fake!

Birling is happy to forget his actions and uses the information from the Infirmary as ‘proof positive’

that the whole story is ‘just a load of moonshine’.

Mrs Birling Mrs Birling has been the most resistant to the Inspector throughout the play, but in this act, she has to

leave the room, showing that she has been unsettled by what she has heard.

However, like her husband, Mrs Birling feels vindicated when she discovers that Inspector Goole

was not a real policeman: [triumphantly] Didn’t I tell you?

Her language to describe the Inspector continues her class prejudice – her proof that he was not a real

police inspector is based on the fact he failed to show them the respect she expected and had been

‘rude – and assertive’. We realise she has not learnt through the experience.

She speaks as though the previous two acts were a game: ‘allowed yourselves to be bluffed’.

Sheila Birling Sheila is concerned that her family haven’t taken the Inspector’s lessons seriously: ‘But you’re

beginning all over again to pretend nothing much has happened.’

She is offended when her concerns are dismissed as childish: ‘If you want to know, it’s you two who

are being childish – trying not to face the facts.’

Her language against her family grows stronger as she realises their determination to continue as

though nothing has changed: ‘It frightens me the way you talk.’

Gerald Croft Although the Inspector condemns all of the characters, he does note that Gerald ‘at least had some

affection for her and made her happy for a time.’

Gerald is the one who confirms that Inspector Goole is not on the local police force, raises the key

question about the photograph; But how do you know it’s the same girl?and about the suicide: How

do we know any girl killed herself today?’

Gerald is relieved to discover there is no Inspector: he agrees with Birling that if Goole is a fake, it

‘makes all the difference. ’This undermines his sense of responsibility– we see that he has not learnt

as much as Sheila and Eric and is perhaps more similar to the adult Birlings.

Eric Birling Eric is initially upset with his sister for revealing his secret drinking habits

He then realises there is no way of hiding the truth and admits everything; his behaviour towards Eva

Smith was brutish: ‘that’s when it happened’ His behaviour was driven by impulse and drink: I

wasn’t in love with her or anything – but I liked her – she was pretty and a good sport.’ The

Inspector exposes how Eric used the girl: ‘as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person.’

However, his later comments reveal his regret at his actions:

ERIC [unhappily]: My God – I’m not likely to forget

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Inspector Goole Again, the Inspector uses repetition of other character’s speech to expose their hypocrisy and faults:

BIRLING [angrily]: I don’t want any of that talk from you –

INSPECTOR [ very sharply]: I don’t want it from either of you. Settle it afterwards...

BIRLING [angrily]: Your trouble is – you’ve been spoilt –

INSPECTOR [cutting in]: And my trouble is – that I haven’t much time...

Again, Sheila offers insights into the Inspector’s ways of working: ‘We hardly ever told him anything

he didn’t already know’

RELATIONSHIPS IN ACT THREE

The Inspector recognises that his revelations have disrupted family relationships: ‘There’ll be plenty

of time, when I’ve gone, for you all to adjust your family relationships.

Mr Birling questions Sheila’s ‘loyalty’ to the family when she has chosen to be honest about Eric’s

drinking.

When Eric realises that his mother turned Eva Smith away, he turns on her: ‘my child – your own

grandchild – you killed them both – damn you, damn you – ‘

Eric has lost respect for both of his parents through the process of the evening: ‘But don’t forget I’m

ashamed of you as well – yes, both of you.’

Sheila is concerned that her parents want to cover over everything that has been exposed: The point

is, you don’t seem to have learnt anything. Is this the big difference between the generations in the

play?

THEMES IN ACT THREE

Guilt and responsibility

The Inspector wants to family to realise their individual responsibility: ‘This girl killed herself – and

died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her.’

He is also proposes the idea that everyone in society is responsible for each other and threatens that if

the privileged classes continue to pursue self-interest, it will lead to disaster:

‘Just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone – but there are millins and millions and millions of Eva Smiths

and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and their fears, their suffering, and their

chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, with what we think and say and do. 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 in fire and blood and anguish.’

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Social status

Even after the Inspector’s speech, Mr Birling is still concerned about his status and reputation:

‘There’ll be a public scandal...I was almost certain for a knighthood on the next Honours List – ‘

Sheila recognises that her family are more concerned with appearing respectable than with being

honest about their responsibilities: ‘I suppose we’re all sensible people now.... You’re just beginning

to pretend again.’

DRAMATIC DEVICES IN ACT THREE

Priestley uses sound effects again in Act 3 when the telephone ringing heralds the significant

information about to be shared

The final denouement is a shocking surprise to the characters on stage and the audience – a ‘twist in

the tale’.