Act 1
The Birlings are celebrating Sheila and Gerald's engagement. Mr. Birling delivers speeches on capitalist views. The Inspector arrives and reveals Eva is dead. Mr. Birling confesses he knows her. It's revealed that Sheila had Eva fired from Milwards. We learn that Eva Smith changed her name to Daisy Renton, and Gerald had an affair with her.
Act 2
Gerald talks about his affair, and Sheila breaks off the engagement. Mrs. Birling initially claims she doesn't know Eva, but later admits she does. Eva was pregnant, and Mrs. Birling claims the girl's death is the father's fault. Eric walks in.
Act 3
Eric says that he got Eva pregnant and stole his father's office. The Inspector leaves. Gerald returns and reveals there's no Inspector Goole. After a ring to the hospital, Gerald confirms there have been no suicides. The phone then rings - a girl has committed suicide and an inspector calls with quotes and key points quizlet.
Quote - Act 1
"A friend of mine went over this new liner last week - the Titanic - she sails next week - forty-six thousand eight hundred tons - New York in five days - and every luxury - and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable." This quote shows Priestley's love for dramatic irony, as well as his original audience in 1946 must have seemed more controversial. Just as the Titanic was destined to sink, so was Mr. Birling's political ideology under the Inspector's investigation.
Quote - Act 1
"Take my word for it, you youngers - learnt in the good hard school of experience that a man has to mind his own business and look himself and his own and--." We hear a sharp ring of a front door bell. Birling is taking an individualist, capitalist point of view about personal responsibility. According to him, experience proves that his point of view is correct, in contrast to the possibly more idealistic youngsters. The bell marks the moment at which the Inspector arrives, which is done on purpose as the Inspector is a socialist.
Quote - Act 2
"She was young and intensely grateful… pretty and warm hearted." His words spill out; he has so much to say about Eva Smith because he was intimate with her. Gerald knows her in a positive light, unlike Sheila, Mr. Birling, and Mrs. Birling. The phrase "intensely grateful proves he also looks down on the lower class, he only knows how to help and advice in terms of finance.
Mr. Birling is portrayed as an individualist with capitalist views, as seen in his dialogue. His involvement with Eva Smith is revealed, and his character is shown to be self-centered and contradictory.
Sheila
Sheila has been socialized to use power and authority to perform negative acts, as evident in her engagement and dismissal of Eva Smith. She represents jealousy and is in conflict with her family's values. Throughout the play, she experiences an internal struggle and confronts her wrongdoings, showing a willingness to change.
Themes
Responsibility
The Inspector makes each character confess to their role in Eva's fate and advocates collective social responsibility.
Social Equality
Priestly uses the Inspector to highlight social injustice and inequality in the law.
Morality and the Law
The Inspector acts as a judge of morality, emphasizing the age difference in upholding traditional values.
Signs of Change
The play depicts the older generation as set in their ways, while the younger generation is open to change.
Quote - Act 1
"The Inspector: "What happened to her then may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events." The Inspector outlines the moral crime that the Birlings and Gerald have committed against Eva. Each of them are responsible in some way for her death, and together they're entirely responsible. This construction is a metaphor for Priestley's insistence that we are all bound up together and responsible communally for everyone's survival.
The play is set in 1912, just before World War I and the sinking of the Titanic. At that time, trade unions had little power, workers had few rights, and there was no welfare state benefit system, leading to higher homeless rates. Suffragettes were campaigning for rights. When Priestley wrote the play in 1945, it was the end of World War 2, marking the start of welfare states and ideals of social injustice.
Priestley shows his socialist views throughout the play, highlighting collective responsibility and criticizing the selfishness of capitalism, aiming for a fairer, socialist future after the horrors of World War 2. This context supports the themes and character development in "An Inspector Calls."
