The Inspector

Question 1

1. “It’s better to ask for the Earth than to take it.”

Answer 1

What: Defends Eva’s request for fair pay; criticises capitalist greed
How: Antithesis “ask” vs “take” = moral contrast between justice + exploitation
    Metaphor “take the Earth” = greed of the upper class
    Balanced syntax = persuasive authority
Why:
  - Priestley exposes selfishness of capitalism
  - Encourages audience to empathise with the working class

Question 2

2. “A chain of events.”

Answer 2

What: Describes how multiple actions led to Eva’s death
How: Metaphor “chain” = cause + effect; binds the family in guilt
    Short, blunt phrasing = factual, emotionless truth
    Imagery of entrapment = inevitability
Why:
  - Priestley highlights shared responsibility
  - Warns audience that small actions have wide consequences

Question 3

3. “If you’re easy with me, I’m easy with you.”

Answer 3

What: The Inspector warns the family about their cooperation
How: Repetition of “easy” = calm authority, but underlying threat
    Conditional structure = controlled power dynamic
    Colloquial tone = manipulative familiarity
Why:
  - Priestley shows the Inspector’s power over the powerful
  - Audience sees him as morally in control

Question 4

4. “Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.”

Answer 4

What: Confronts Birling’s denial of duty
How: Juxtaposition “responsibilities” vs “privileges” = moral imbalance
    Formal tone + title use = distance and correction
    Emphasis on “as well as” = moral expectation
Why:
  - Priestley attacks corrupt authority figures
  - Urges audience to demand moral leaders

Question 5

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

Answer 5

What: Appeals to collective moral responsibility
How: Anaphora “share” = unity
    Conditional clause = warning
    Abstract noun “guilt” = moral burden
Why:
  - Priestley promotes socialism + emotional empathy
  - Encourages audience to take ownership of injustice

Question 6

6. “She came to you for help, at a time when no woman could have needed it more.”

Answer 6

What: Condemns Mrs Birling’s rejection of Eva
How: Emotive phrasing = intensifies Eva’s vulnerability
    Hyperbole “no woman…more” = maximum moral failure
    Direct address = personal accusation
Why:
  - Priestley emphasises injustice and cruelty in upper-class hypocrisy
  - Shocks audience into empathy

Question 7

7. “Each of you helped to kill her.”

Answer 7

What: Final moral judgement on the family
How: Second-person direct address = forces personal guilt
    Declarative sentence = no argument or escape
    Verb “killed” = removes distance from consequences
Why:
  - Priestley exposes collective guilt
  - Audience made to feel complicit too

Question 8

8. “We are members of one body.”

Answer 8

What: Delivers Priestley’s core socialist message
How: Metaphor = shared humanity
    Biblical allusion = moral and spiritual resonance
    Collective pronoun “we” = universal unity
Why:
  - Priestley promotes interconnectedness
  - Audience encouraged to embrace compassion

Question 9

9. “If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”

Answer 9

What: Final warning; foreshadows war + destruction
How: Tricolon of violent imagery = apocalyptic tone
    Prophetic voice = biblical weight + fear
    Modal “will not” = stubborn human failure
Why:
  - Priestley warns against repeating history
  - Urges audience to act before it’s too late