Gerald Croft - Act 3 Key Quotations

Question 1

Gerald attempts to argue that Goole was not a real Inspector - like the Birlings, he overlooks the true lesson behind the events of the evening, instead trying to avoid a scandal that could tarnish the reputation of the upper class family:

Answer 1

“That man wasn’t a police officer.”

Question 2

Upper-class concern with reputation and public image:

Answer 2

Birling worries that Gerald told the real police inspectors about their involvement with Eva Smith, however he “passed it off by saying [he’d] been having an argument with somebody.”

Question 3

Gerald aligns with the older generation in that he views the entire story as a joke or a trick, rather than interpreting the true message of social responsibility and morality:

Answer 3

“We’ve been had.”

Question 4

Gerald agrees with Birling that the fact that the Inspector was not real “makes all the difference”:

Answer 4

“Of course!”

Question 5

Gerald argues that the Inspector lied to them about their involvement:

Answer 5

“he bluffs us into confessing that we’ve all been mixed up in this girl’s life in one way or another”

Question 6

Gerald then further attempts to protect their reputation and argue that they have not done anything wrong by suggesting that each of the Birlings interacted with different girls:

Answer 6

• “But how do you know it’s the same girl?”
• “We’ve no proof it was the same photograph and therefore no proof it was the same girl.”

Question 7

Gerald agrees with Birling that there might not even have been a suicide:

Answer 7

“How do we know any girl killed herself today?”

Question 8

MOST IMPORTANT: Gerald clearly has not learned anything by the end of the play, establishing a static character arc, depicting his aristocratic, self-centred attitudes towards society through his readiness to revert back to his old ways:

Answer 8

“What about this ring?”