DIDACTIC PLAY - has a lesson

EACH PERSON IS A CONSTRUCT

Mr Birling:
"lower costs and higher prices"
"a man has to mind his own business, and look after himself and his own-"
(interrupted by the doorbell, immediately challenged, he summoned the Inspector)
"I speak as a hard-headed practical man of business" (arrogant [Pride]) (speaks of
Sheila's marriage as business)
"unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" (repitition, dramatic irony, the "Titanic" is a
metaphor for Capitalism)
"the germans don't want war" (strong dramatic irony) "Everything to lose and
nothing to gain by war." (dramatic irony - war is benefitial for capitalism -
companies like Birling would benefit because outfits + it advances planes and so)
"like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense" (simile that's ironic)
"they could go and work somewhere else" (A CARTEL (illegal) - that's the problem -
they couldn't because the entire country is the same way because of Capitalism - if
they could get more money somewhere else, they would, which is why noone is doing
it)
(Eric responds) "It isn't if you can't go and work somewhere else" (^ this is
Priestley argument and view)
"wretched girl's suicide" (disrespectful)
"I can't accept any responsibility" (irresponsible)
"the famous younger generation who know it all" (mocks younger generation when they
are the more sensible)

Mrs Birling:
'a rather cold woman' (immediate impression)
"girls of that class" (sees those girls as inferior beings)
(triumphantly) -> (alarmed) (shows the impact the Inspector's visit has had on
her)
"She only has herself to blame" (doesn't take responsibility, a dead person can't
blame anyone, insensitive)
"Look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility" (ironic, simple
sentences)
"he ought to be dealt with very severely" (further ironic, putting own son into
trouble)
"absurd in a girl in her position" (she runs a charity - ironic) (true BUT she
missed that Eva would rather commit suicide than marry Eric)
"No - Eric - please" (scared of her own son, terrible relationship)

Sheila: CHANGES FROM CAPITALIST AND CHILDISH TO SOCIALIST AND MATURE WHEN THE
INSPECTOR COMES
'pretty and pleased with life' (innocent, doesn't know she caused a suicide, going
to come as a shock)
"Mummy" -> "mother" (childish) (This is when she was capitalistic - Capitalism is
childish) (Socialism - mature and women's roles enhanced as time went on)
"these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people." (respects people of lower
class, although ironic as she didn't do so)
"I can't help thinking about this girl" (feels sympathy)
"I'll never, never do it again to anybody" (repitition, accepting responsibility)
"I behaved badly too, I know I did" (^ repitition of "I" shows she is not putting
blame on anyone, she accepts it as her own fault)
"if she'd been some miserable plain little creature, I don't suppose I'd have done
it" (idea of Envy)
"you musn't build up a kind of wall... Inspector will break it down" (most mature
and understanding of the situation, yet the youngest)
"you fool - he knows" (^ younger generation are the only hope)
"(bitterly) So I suppose we're all nice people now?" (rhetorical question
questioning the morality of her parents)
"We killed her" (says it bluntly, mimicking the inspector)
"It frightens me the way you talk" (she can't believe her parents are happy)
"it was my fault really that she was so desperate when you first met her" (accepts
Gerald, she gives in to the patriarchal society and didn't learn the Inpsector's
lesson - the younger generation don't actually create a socialist future)

Eric: CAME LAST BECAUSE HE WAS THE WORST

"Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?" (rhetorical question - shows
consideration for working class)
"I threatened to make a row" (using his power)
"that's when it happened" (euphemism)
"an animal, a thing, not a person" (Inspector to Eric)
"you're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble" (can't
trust his own father, sympathy for him)
"You killed them both - damn you - damn you" (uncontrollable anger through pauses)
(ironic because he is most to blame)
"we all helped to kill her - that's what matters" (accepts responsibility - gets
the message)

Gerald: THINKS HE'S DONE GOOD

"fairy prince" (Sheila to Gerald)
"You seem to be a nice well-behaved family" (engaged to someone without knowing
their family - impulsive)
"Why should you [stay]? It's bound to be unpleasant and disturbing" (thinks of
women as unsuited for these situations)
"and you think women ought to be protected from unpleasant and disturbing things?"
(Inspector to Gerald)
"a glance that was nothing less than a cry for help" (sees himself as a hero)
"I at once became the most important person in her life" (assumes that, arrogance)
"she'd been happier than she'd ever been before" (tries to make himself look like a
"fairy prince", he thinks he's done good but only exploited Daisy)
"she lived very economically on what I'd allowed her" (he didn't pay her much,
"allowed" feels superior - patriarchal society) (he paid her less than if she were
a prostitute - part of his plan)
"but how do you it's the same girl?" (tries to find a way around it - only
questions it after Inspector leaves)
"not criminals" (links to the Inspector and how IMMORALITY IS A CRIME AGAINST
HUMANITY)
"Everything's alright now Sheila. What about this ring?" (thinks nothing of the
situation and tries to make things immediately happy) (this idea summons the
Inspector)

Inspector: HE IS THE MORAL LAW / IMMORALITY IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY (if so,
capitalism becomes a crime) / MORAL TEACHER / JUXTAPOSES MR BIRLING'S FOOLISH
CLAIMS
'pink and intimate' -> 'brighter and harder' (shows his significance) (biblical
references to God's omniscience, as God is seen as the light and hope for the human
race) (shine on the darkness that is Capitalism, harder, his opinion will not be
changed)
'he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness'
(Triple) (semantic field of size - his words carry deep meaning and weight)
"I haven't much time" (society should change quickly for the betterment of all)
"burnt her inside out" (grotesque imagery to shock)
"what happened to her afterwards" (anadiplosis) "a chain of events" (metaphor)
"We have to share our guilt" (personal pronouns 'we' and 'our')
"It's better to ask for the earth than to take it" (metaphor - capitalism is
ruining the earth and attempting to take it over - a very greedy idea)
"the most impressionable"
"there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths"
(repitition)
"Each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it." (simple
sentences, repeating the same point twice) (blunt language)
"if men will not learn that lesson," ('men' not 'man' - women had no power -
patriarchal society - capitalism and war was the fault of men)
"taught it in fire, blood, and anguish" (Triple, religious imagery) (2 deaths of
Eva Smith like the 2 World Wars)
"We are members of one body" (personal pronoun and metaphor)
(LOTS OF EMOTIVE LANGUAGE TO GET REACTION OUT OF AUDIENCE AS WELL AS THE BIRLINGS)
'dryly' 'calmly' 'cooly' (ALL STAGE DIRECTIONS SHOWING HOW HE NEVER LOSES HIS
TEMPER, FURTHER SHOWS GOD, HE IS ACTING AS THE MORAL LAW)
"Remember" (repitition throughout play as it is an imperative - implies that they
are not likely to remember as he has to repeat it) (repeats it in his final speech)
(uses in the beginning of sentences - it is a command)
^ (comes from the old Latin word 'mindful', it can also be interpretted as late
Latin as 'call something to mind' - reminds the Birling of what they've done and
audience of morals) (Biblically we were a community)
^ (in the modern dictionary it can also mean 'pray for the wellbeing of')
HE STRUCTURES THE PLAY - EACH CHARACTER IN TURN

Eva Smith:
"lively good-looking girl" (she was a nice person, envoking sympathy in the
audience)
"young and pretty and warm hearted" (^ always referring to her appearance)
"never did anybody any harm... died in misery and agony - hating life" (she didn't
deserve her death, juxtaposition)
"friendless, almost penniless, desperate" [needed] "advice, sympathy, friendliness"
(Triples, she didn't receive help from anyone - abused)

7 DEADLY SINS
LINKING CHRISTIANITY TO SOCIALISM AS MOST PEOPLE ARE CHRISTIAN

THE SECOND PHONE CALL HAPPENS WHEN SHEILA DECIDES SHE WILL TAKE THE RING - DIDN'T
LEARN THE LESSON
second death - second world war - which is why it is set before first war

CONTEXT:
Set in 1912, written in 1945
Morality Play
Christianity
1945 General Election
Desire for social change at the time
Social inequality
The 2 World Wars
Priestley was part of a movement
Capitalist society
Mass poverty in 1930