The Inspector Flashcards
How is the Inspector described when he comes on stage?
“The Inspector need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”
“He is a man in his fifties, dressed in a plain darkish suit of the period.”
“He rather than speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking.”
What reason does the Inspector give for interrogating everyone one by one? (Act 1)
“It’s the way I like to go to work. One person and one line of inquiry at a time. Otherwise, there’s a muddle.”
Why does the inspector think Mr Birling firing Eva Smith contributed to her suicide? (Act 1)
“Because what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards, and what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide. A chain of events.”
How does the inspector point out Mr Birling’s hypocrisy by using his own words against him in Act 1?
(When Birling claims the workers would soon “be asking for the Earth” if they were paid more)
“But after all it’s better to ask for the earth than to take it”
(When Mr Birling accuses the Inspector of making “a nasty mess” of their party)
“That’s more or less what I was thinking earlier tonight… looking at what was left of Eva Smith. A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody’s made of it.”
How does the Inspector control the flow of information when interrogating the Birlings?
Uses monosyllabic responses to answer their questions (“Yes.”, “No.”)
How does the Inspector answer Sheila when she says she would help Eva now, if she could?
“[harshly] Yes, but you can’t. It’s too late. She’s dead.”
What does the inspector say about social responsibility in Act 2?
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll have to share our guilt.” (To Sheila and Gerald
“Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.”
How does the Inspector contradict Mr and Mrs Birling? (Act 2 before Mrs Birling’s interrogation)
(About Eric when Mrs Birling says “He’s only a boy”)
“No, he’s a young man”
(To Mr Birling when he demands for him to quickly question eric and let him go)
“[cutting in, with authority] He must wait his turn”
(When Mr Birling protests Sheila hearing Geralds confession of the affair)
“[sharply] Your daughter isn’t living on the moon.”
How does the Inspector say Eva Smith felt about her time with Gerald?
“She felt there’d never be anything as good again for her”
What does the Inspector say when Mrs Birling claims she doesn’t recognise the picture of Eva Smith?
“MRS BIRLING: I don’t understand you, Inspector.
INSPECTOR: You mean you don’t choose to do,”
What does the Inspector say about Eva Smith’s situation and how much she needed help from Mrs Birling?
“She was here alone, friendless, almost penniless, desperate. She needed not only money, but advice, sympathy, friendliness. You’ve had children. You must have known what she was feeling. And you slammed the door in her face.”
How does the inspector become more aggressive towards Mr Birling?
(Act 2, during Mrs Birling’s interrogation)
Don’t stammer and yammer at me again, man. I’m losing all patience with you people.
How does the inspector use Mrs Birling’s words against her
(Mrs Birling talks of Eva in a condescending referring to her acting absurd for “a girl in her position”)
Inspector replies: “Her position now is that she lies with a burnt-out inside on a slab”
(Uses her words against Eric)
“No hushing up, ch? Make an example of the young man, eh? Public confession of responsibility - um?”
How does the Inspector scold the Birlings in Act 3?
“each of you helped to kill her”
(To Eric) “Just used her… as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person.”
(To Mr Birling) “You made her pay a heavy price [for wanting a raise]… now she’ll make you pay a heavier price still.”
“Eva Smith’s gone. You can’t do her any more harm. And you can’t do her any good”
What does the inspector say in his final speech?
“just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance at happiness, all intertwined with our lives”
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”
“if men wil bot learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”
