AIC Flashcards
(20 cards)
- Priestley uses the Inspector to deliver a clear moral message about how everyone is responsible for others in society especially the vulnerable
“We are members of one body”
- The Inspector forces the family and audience to reflect on how all their actions combined led to Eva’s tragic death
“Each of you helped to kill her”
- Eric shows emotional honesty and takes responsibility unlike his parents which supports Priestley’s message about the younger generation
“The girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her”
- Sheila begins to understand the unfair treatment of working class women and challenges capitalist attitudes early on
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people”
- Sheila immediately accepts blame and shows growth which highlights her moral development throughout the play
“I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry”
- Sheila recognises that they all played a part in Eva’s downfall which shows awareness and emotional maturity
“Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide”
- Mr Birling represents selfish capitalist values by focusing only on personal success and ignoring community responsibility
“A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own”
- The Inspector challenges the powerful like Mr Birling by reminding them that privilege comes with duty and consequences
“Public men Mr Birling have responsibilities as well as privileges”
- This quote uses dramatic irony to mock Mr Birling’s overconfidence and show the ignorance of the upper class
“The Titanic… unsinkable absolutely unsinkable”
- Eric shows the emotional distance from his father and highlights the lack of trust and support in the family
“You’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble”
- The Inspector reinforces the importance of caring for others to prevent suffering and injustice in society
“We don’t live alone We are members of one body”
- Mr Birling insults the Inspector as a way to dismiss his socialist views and protect his own pride
“Probably a socialist or some sort of crank”
- Mrs Birling unknowingly shifts the blame onto her son which reveals her ignorance and prejudice
“Go and look for the father of the child It’s his responsibility”
- Mrs Birling’s assumptions about Eva show her classism and lack of compassion for the poor
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money”
- The Inspector uses shocking imagery to force the family to understand the brutal reality of Eva’s suffering
“She lies with a burnt-out inside on a slab”
- Sheila recognises that her relationship with Gerald cannot continue as they have both changed and grown apart
“You and I aren’t the same people who sat down to dinner here”
- Sheila’s reaction to the ring shows how women were expected to accept gifts without opinion or choice
“Is it the one you wanted me to have”
- Mr Birling mocks young people but the audience knows they are actually morally right which shows his arrogance
“The famous younger generation who know it all”
- The stage direction shows the weight of guilt and the lasting effect of the Inspector’s visit on the younger characters
“[As they stare guiltily and dumbfounded the curtain falls.]”
- The Inspector makes it clear that Eva Smith represents countless other suffering people in society warning of consequences if they are ignored
“There are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”
