Inspector

Question 1

“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”

Answer 1

Central message of the play.
Reflects Priestley’s socialist ideology.
Strong moral tone — contrasts sharply with Birling’s views.

Question 2

“There are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us.”

Answer 2

Eva represents the whole working class.
Reinforces the play’s broader social message.
The repetition emphasizes scale and urgency of the issue.

Question 3

Inspector adjectives:

Answer 3

Mysterious, authoritative, moral, socialist, passionate

Question 4

Inspector’s role in play

Answer 4

Catalyst, moral voice, Represents Priestley’s socialist ideals, challenges the status quo, delivers the message.represents moral authority

Question 5

Themes linked to the Inspector

Answer 5

Social Responsibility
Collective Guilt
Morality and Justice
Supernatural

Question 6

Inspector’s development

Answer 6

He remains calm, focused, and delivers Priestley’s moral message with increasing urgency. He forces each character to confront their actions

Question 7

Priestley’s Message through the Inspector

Answer 7

The Inspector is a mouthpiece for Priestley’s socialist views. His final speech (“We are members of one body…”) is the core message: society must care for everyone, not just the privileged.

Question 8

Stage directions: he creates at once an impression of massiveness

Answer 8

• No necessary physically big but makes a big impression right away
• Shows his authority despite the Birling’s being upper class

Question 9

“We have to share something. If there’s nothing else, we’ll have to share our guilt”

Answer 9

• Social responsibility

Question 10

“We are members of one body… if men will not learn that lesson then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”

Answer 10

• Directly contrasts to Mr Birling’s first speech
• Polysyndeton (repetition of and)- consequences are emphasised
• Semantic field of hell

Question 11

Stage direction: “The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives…”

Answer 11

This creates a warm, soft, relaxed atmosphere — almost dreamlike.
It reflects the Birling family’s mood at the start: complacent, self-satisfied, and unaware of any threat.
It also suggests rose-tinted vision — they see the world in a comfortable, self-serving way.

Question 12

Stage direction continues: “…then it should be brighter and harder.

Answer 12

It is interrogative — like a spotlight in a police interview room.
It forces the characters (and audience) to see things more clearly and truthfully.
It symbolises exposure, stripping away comfort and revealing guilt
Represents how the inspector sheds light on the truth