Theme Analysis Sheets

An Inspector Calls — 4 themes · A4 printable

An Inspector Calls conveys the extent to which Priestley believed that society must be built upon collective social responsibility, and that the refusal to accept this duty leads to suffering, inequality, and moral decay.

social responsibility

Social Responsibility

Point 1

The Inspector functions as Priestley's mouthpiece, delivering a socialist moral message directly to both the Birling family and the 1945 audience.

“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other” [Inspector Goole] Act 3

The anaphoric repetition of 'We are' creates a collectivist message — the repeated pronoun refuses to allow any individual to exclude themselves from moral responsibility.

The organic metaphor 'one body' compares society to a single living organism, arguing that harming one member damages the whole.

These are declarative statements delivered as moral absolutes, not suggestions — Priestley frames social responsibility as a non-negotiable truth.

“if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish” [Inspector Goole] Act 3

The shift from moral argument to prophecy creates dramatic irony — the 1945 audience knows the 'fire and blood' (two World Wars) has already happened.

The tricolon 'fire and blood and anguish' builds in intensity, warning that the consequences of ignoring collective responsibility are catastrophic.

Priestley instrumentalises the Inspector as a political manifesto, breaking naturalistic convention to address the audience directly.

Point 2

Sheila's moral awakening demonstrates that accepting social responsibility requires recognising the humanity of those society exploits.

“But these girls aren't cheap labour — they're people” [Sheila Birling] Act 1

The antithesis of 'cheap labour' and 'people' exposes the dehumanisation inherent in capitalist language — reducing human beings to economic units.

The dash creates a typographical caesura, forcing the audience to choose between the capitalist worldview and the humanist one.

Sheila's simple, direct language suggests that moral truth is not complex — it is inequality that requires elaborate justification.

“I'm ashamed of you as well — yes both of you” [Sheila Birling] Act 3

Sheila performs a role reversal: the child judges the parents, inverting the family hierarchy and arguing that moral authority does not follow social authority.

The word 'ashamed' shows Sheila has internalised the Inspector's moral framework — she judges her parents by the standards of social responsibility, not class respectability.

Her progression from spoiled socialite to moral authority mirrors the journey Priestley wants the audience to take.

Point 3

Mr Birling represents the capitalist refusal to accept responsibility, and Priestley systematically discredits his worldview through dramatic irony.

“The Titanic — she sails next week... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” [Mr Birling] Act 1

Devastating dramatic irony — every audience member knows the Titanic sank, undermining everything Birling says for the rest of the play.

The intensifier 'absolutely' amplifies the irony: Birling's certainty is inversely proportional to his understanding.

Priestley establishes Birling as an unreliable authority, priming the audience to distrust his dismissal of collective responsibility.

“a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own” [Mr Birling] Act 1

This is the direct antithesis of the Inspector's collectivist message — Birling represents individualist capitalism that prioritises self-interest over community.

Priestley positions this statement before the Inspector's arrival so that the play's moral argument dismantles it systematically.

The repetition of 'his own' emphasises Birling's selfishness and narrow definition of responsibility — limited to family and profit.

Point 4

Eric's confrontation with his father reveals that the failure of social responsibility begins within the family itself — the private mirrors the political.

“You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble” [Eric Birling] Act 3

Eric's accusation exposes Mr Birling's failure as both a father and a responsible citizen — if he cannot care for his own son, he cannot care for society.

The Birling family functions as a microcosm of Edwardian society: private dysfunction reflects public moral failure.

Eric's willingness to speak uncomfortable truth marks him, alongside Sheila, as the younger generation capable of redemptive change.

“We did her in all right” [Eric Birling] Act 3

The colloquial, blunt language ('did her in') strips away the Birlings' respectable veneer and forces them to confront the brutal reality of their collective guilt.

The pronoun 'We' echoes the Inspector's own collectivist language, showing Eric has accepted shared responsibility.

Eric's acceptance of guilt contrasts sharply with his parents' denial, reinforcing the generational divide at the heart of the play's moral argument.

An Inspector Calls exposes how the upper classes use their wealth, status, and social position to exploit, control, and ultimately destroy the lives of those beneath them, while refusing to acknowledge any moral consequence.

class & power

Class & Power

Point 1

Mr Birling embodies the capitalist belief that wealth entitles the powerful to dictate the lives of the working class without accountability.

“a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own” [Mr Birling] Act 1

Birling's philosophy of individualism is exposed as a justification for exploitation — 'minding his own business' means ignoring the suffering his business causes.

The repetition of 'himself' and 'his own' reveals an ideology centred entirely on self-interest, excluding any obligation to the wider community.

Priestley places this speech before the Inspector's arrival so the play can systematically demolish it.

“The Titanic — she sails next week... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” [Mr Birling] Act 1

The Titanic functions as a symbol of the upper classes' false confidence — their certainty in their own permanence and superiority.

Dramatic irony discredits Birling's authority: if he is catastrophically wrong about the Titanic, his confident worldview about class and power is equally unreliable.

Priestley uses Edwardian hubris to warn the 1945 audience against repeating the same arrogant assumptions.

Point 2

Mrs Birling weaponises her charitable position to enforce class prejudice, revealing that institutions of care can be instruments of cruelty.

“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” [Mrs Birling] Act 2

The phrase 'a girl of that sort' reduces Eva to a class stereotype — Mrs Birling cannot imagine that a working-class woman could possess pride or moral integrity.

The exclamation mark signals Mrs Birling's outrage that a lower-class person would defy her expectations, exposing the entitlement embedded in her worldview.

Priestley shows that the upper classes' assumptions about the poor are projections of their own values — it is the Birlings, not Eva, who are motivated by money.

“I used my influence to have it refused” [Mrs Birling] Act 2

Mrs Birling's 'influence' is class power exercised to deny a pregnant woman help — the charitable organisation becomes a weapon of social control.

Of all the characters, she had the final opportunity to save Eva, making her refusal the most morally culpable act in the play.

Priestley exposes how institutions meant to help the poor are controlled by the very class responsible for their suffering.

Point 3

Gerald's treatment of Eva reveals how upper-class men exploit working-class women under the guise of generosity and protection.

“If you're easy with me, I'm easy with you” [Eva Smith (reported)] Act 2

The conditional syntax creates an illusion of reciprocity, but the power imbalance is enormous — Eva is destitute, Gerald is wealthy.

What appears to be a free choice is actually constrained agency: Eva 'chooses' Gerald because the alternative is starvation.

Priestley exposes how economic desperation forces working-class women into relationships that the upper classes can frame as consensual.

“She was young and pretty and warm-hearted — and intensely grateful” [Gerald Croft] Act 2

Gerald's description catalogues Eva's qualities as if she were a possession — 'young and pretty' reduce her to her appearance and usefulness to him.

The word 'grateful' reveals the power dynamic: Eva must perform gratitude for basic human decency because her class position demands it.

Priestley shows that upper-class 'kindness' to the poor often conceals exploitation — Gerald's 'help' serves his desires, not Eva's welfare.

Point 4

Sheila recognises the link between class privilege and moral blindness, representing Priestley's hope that awareness can overcome entrenched inequality.

“But these girls aren't cheap labour — they're people” [Sheila Birling] Act 1

The antithesis of 'cheap labour' and 'people' exposes how capitalist language dehumanises the working class, reducing humans to economic commodities.

Sheila's recognition marks the beginning of her moral awakening — she sees through the class assumptions she was raised with.

Priestley positions Sheila as proof that class consciousness can be overcome by individual moral courage.

“I know I'm to blame — and I'm desperately sorry” [Sheila Birling] Act 1

Sheila's acceptance of personal blame contrasts with her parents' denial, demonstrating that acknowledging class privilege is the first step toward change.

The adverb 'desperately' signals genuine emotional engagement, not the performative regret her parents later display.

Priestley uses Sheila's guilt to model the response he wants from his audience — recognition, remorse, and the resolve to act differently.

An Inspector Calls presents a stark divide between the older and younger generations, arguing that while the parents remain incapable of moral change, the children represent Priestley's hope for a more just and compassionate post-war society.

generational divide

Generational Divide

Point 1

Sheila's transformation from naive socialite to moral authority demonstrates the younger generation's capacity for genuine ethical growth.

“I'm ashamed of you as well — yes both of you” [Sheila Birling] Act 3

The role reversal — child judging parents — inverts the expected family hierarchy, arguing that moral authority belongs to those who earn it, not those who inherit it.

Sheila has internalised the Inspector's values and now holds her parents to a standard they cannot meet.

For the 1945 audience, Sheila represents the post-war generation's moral courage to demand better than what came before.

“You're pretending everything's just as it was before” [Sheila Birling] Act 3

Sheila identifies her parents' fatal flaw: the refusal to change despite overwhelming evidence of their moral failure.

The word 'pretending' exposes the artifice and pretence that sustains the older generation's worldview — they choose comfortable illusion over uncomfortable truth.

Priestley uses Sheila to challenge the audience: will you pretend, or will you change?

Point 2

Eric's confrontation with his father exposes the older generation's failure to provide moral leadership, forcing the young to build their own ethical framework.

“You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble” [Eric Birling] Act 3

Eric's accusation strikes at the heart of patriarchal failure — Birling has provided wealth but not wisdom, material comfort but not moral guidance.

The displaced self-reference ('a chap' instead of 'I') reveals how deeply Birling's emotional failure has affected Eric, teaching him to hide his vulnerability.

Priestley argues that the older generation's failure is not just personal but representative — the 'fathers' of the nation have failed to lead.

“We did her in all right” [Eric Birling] Act 3

Eric's blunt acceptance of collective guilt ('We') contrasts sharply with his parents' continued denial.

The colloquial language strips away the respectable veneer the Birlings maintain, forcing raw moral truth into the open.

Eric's willingness to accept responsibility, despite his own significant culpability, shows the younger generation choosing honesty over self-protection.

Point 3

Mr Birling represents the older generation's ideological stagnation — incapable of learning, adapting, or questioning his assumptions.

“The whole thing's different now. Come, come, you can see that, can't you?” [Mr Birling] Act 3

Birling's relief when he believes the Inspector was a hoax reveals that he has learned nothing — the moral lesson is dismissed the moment social consequences disappear.

The patronising tone ('Come, come') shows his attempt to reassert patriarchal authority over his children's moral awakening.

Priestley demonstrates that the older generation values reputation over redemption — appearance over genuine change.

“a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own” [Mr Birling] Act 1

This philosophy, stated at the play's opening, remains Birling's position at the play's end — proving his total inability to change.

His ideological stagnation contrasts devastatingly with his children's moral progression.

Priestley positions Birling as a warning: this is what happens when a generation refuses to learn from its mistakes.

Point 4

The cyclical structure of the play suggests that moral lessons, if ignored by the older generation, will be violently repeated until the young can break the cycle.

“That was the police. A girl has just died... an Inspector is on his way here” [Stage direction / Mr Birling] Act 3 (final line)

The final phone call creates a cyclical structure — the play's events may repeat, suggesting the Birlings (and the audience) will face this moral reckoning again.

For the older Birlings, who had dismissed the evening, this is a devastating return of the truth they tried to deny.

Priestley refuses the audience the comfort of closure, insisting the moral question remains open until society genuinely changes.

“if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish” [Inspector Goole] Act 3

The Inspector's prophecy bridges the generational divide: the 'fire and blood' refers to both World Wars, which the 1945 audience has already witnessed.

The conditional 'if' gives agency — the lesson can be learned voluntarily (through the young) or imposed violently (through history).

Priestley's message to the audience is clear: your generation has one more chance to choose differently from the Birlings.

An Inspector Calls conveys the extent to which society, and especially the lives of the upper classes, are built upon artifice and pretence — a fragile facade of respectability that conceals exploitation, hypocrisy, and moral emptiness.

artifice & pretence

Artifice & Pretence

Point 1

The advice on the lighting given by Priestley in the stage directions implies from the very start of the play that the characters were, perhaps unknowingly, hiding secrets.

“pink and intimate” [Stage Directions] Act 1 (opening)

Implies that the characters were previously living life filtering out all of the bad parts; the audience sees them through rose-tinted glasses.

Later on in the play they are exposed for their secrets, and there is nowhere for them to hide.

“Give us some more light” [Arthur Birling] Act 1

When the Inspector arrives, Birling unknowingly invites him to shine a light on his family's lies.

After Edna gives the light, she leaves which may imply to the audience that it is mostly the upper class that have secrets to hide.

The Inspector is a beacon of light and truth, and Priestley may be suggesting that without people like him, we would continue to be blinded to reality.

Point 2

Throughout the play, we see how Mr and Mrs Birling self-aggrandise, especially to the Inspector and to Gerald, performing respectability to maintain their social facade.

“you ought to like this port, Gerald... it's exactly the same port your father gets” [Arthur Birling] Act 1

Birling has clearly gone through a lot of trouble to impress Gerald in an attempt to make himself seem on par with Gerald's superior social standing.

The audience can hear that Arthur is 'provincial' in his speech which indicates that he wasn't born into a high-class background, but he continues to pretend to act like someone else simply to move up the social ladder.

“you know of course that my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago” [Sybil Birling] Act 2

Though Arthur has held these positions of responsibility in the community, earlier on we learnt that he thinks community is 'nonsense'.

Sybil believes that these positions her husband has held will dissuade the Inspector from prying into their lives, which probably would have usually worked.

This is almost a threat, showing that the real reason Arthur went for these roles was to be in a position of superiority, not to make a difference.

Point 3

Priestley presents the hypocrisy between Sybil being part of a charity organisation and her prejudiced, spiteful character traits, exposing how the upper classes use virtue as a performance.

“I used my influence to have it refused” [Sybil Birling] Act 2

Of all the characters, she had the final opportunity to save Eva, but refused to because she was prejudiced against her case.

If Sybil was truly part of the charity organisation because she was caring, then she wouldn't have refused Eva's plea, leading the audience to believe that she only belongs to the charity for the sake of appearing charitable, and as a way of gaining more control and influence over the lives of others.

“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!” [Sybil Birling] Act 2

Ironic because Eva did indeed refuse Eric's stolen money, whilst Arthur is the greedy one who wants to make as large a profit as possible, even if it's at the expense of his workers.

The rich pretend it's the poor that are greedy, when it is the opposite that is actually true.

Point 4

Eric's alcoholism has been ignored by his parents, perhaps because it may dissolve the pristine reputation they have constructed, revealing that the Birlings' pretence extends even to their own family.

“his whole manner of handling the decanter and then the drink shows his familiarity with quick heavy drinking” [Stage Directions] Act 3

Illustrative action shows the audience that Eric is clearly a hardened drinker, and yet Sybil denies this.

The fact that Eric's drinking problem is so obvious alludes to the idea that Sybil may have been pretending not to notice it because she doesn't care, and wants to keep the family's reputation intact.

“you're not the type — you don't get drunk” [Sybil Birling] Act 3

Shows that Sybil thinks that her family is better than the 'type' that get drunk, which she expects to be working class.

The upper class pretend to be better, when really they are just the same as everybody else.