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An Inspector Calls - Coggle Diagram
An Inspector Calls
Themes
Responsibility
Prejudice
Age
Constant infantilising of Sheila and Eric
It's a lovely ring be careful with it
Like Sheila's life is a bit of a toy, and that she is very clumsy
Class
The Inspector is just a police-man, so he should show deference
Marriage
Politics
Gender
Class
Love
Society
Age
Wealth
Power
Family
Sexual Hypocrisy
The men say what how people should treat women, but treat them differently to how they say that they should
She should be protected from this
Any boy who gets a girl pregnant should look after their child, but not if they are Mrs Birling's son.
No, he should not need to do this
Boys can have sex before marriage, but girls can't, otherwise they are a fallen woman
Once Gerald has had sex with Eva, she can't get a husband any more
When they treat some women differently than others
Some women are saved by Mrs Birling's charity, but not all.
Difference between normal rape and 'date rape' is decided by a man, but it is actually a woman who is the victim of it
Boys will be boys, it's not such a bad thing
Public Image
It matters how you are percieved, not what you are like.
Mrs Birling has the charity
Mr Birling uses institutions to have power over each person. Systemic Bias.
The power of the people shopping, of the charity directors etc.
Not wanting to be associated with someone in any way possible
Mrs Birling hated how Eva used the Birling name
Doesn't like it when people see them as a different person to how they are usually seen in public
Sheila gets Eva fired from Millwards because she looked prettier and didn't like being bossed around by her mother.
Women are unable to do anything but wait for an answer
She has to wait for Gerald to come home. A man asks to be engaged, rather than she does
Small reception for the engagement because Gerald is more wealthy than the Birlings
The Crofts are avoiding the engagement
Need for acceptance from the upper class by having a better public image
Knighthood of Mr Birling
Expectations for women
Supposed to care about how they look and their clothing
Gives them an edge over the other women, and gives them money by attracting a man
Should take any help that they get given
Should take the money from Eric even though it has been stolen
They should stay away from trouble
Sheila come away
Should be protected from any falsities and other problems
Mrs Birling doesn't know about Meggarty and Eric's drinking
They should be the perpetrators, rather than the victims
Eva is blamed for her being raped
Should be too emotional and be handled carefully
Calm down Sheila
Characters
Mr Birling
'Your daughter isn't living on the moon. She's here in Brumley too'
- The Inspector. Shows us that Mr Birling has to be reminded that people of all classes live in the same areas, that they should experience the same things
'Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges'
-Goole. Shows that Mr Birling has to be reminded of his status, that he takes it for granted and doesn't uphold the expectations of his responsibilities in class.
'I'm talking as a hard-headed practical man of business'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that he thinks that everything is to do with work and business. Hard h's and d's mimic machinery making it seem like his whole life is just a factory. Long monologues show that he is not good with words, more with actions, but that he loves hearing his own voice.
Eric
'Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person'
- Eric. Shows that he has changed by the end of the play and has understood his wrongs, and can see how class defines everyone differently
'Why shouldn't they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices'
-Eric. Doesn't understand why the upper class is so cruel on their workers, he realises how hard life is for the lower classes. -
'It isn't as if you can go and work somewhere else.'
'Well I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty- and I threatened to make a row'
-Eric. Shows that he uses euphemisms to hide the truth even from himself at the start - is under pressure to from the family
Mrs Birling
'Girls of that class'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that Mrs Birling thinks that she is separate from everyone else, and better than them.
'Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that she is a very bossy woman and cares about her reputation as the leader of the household a lot. Doesn't want to humanize the lower classes.
'I'm very sorry. But I think she only had herself to blame'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that she thinks that whatever happens to women is their fault, not society's. Also very broken up near the end of the play, showing that she feels like she is being unmasked from the respectable woman to the woman causing the family to break down.
'Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility.'
-Mrs Birling. Use of imperatives shows that she thinks that she is superior to all the others, even more superior to her family.
'She was giving herself ridiculous airs...claiming elaborate fine feelings...that were simply absurd in a girl in her position'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that she thinks of the lower class as animals without the chance of experience. Also shows her as judging and demanding - that every girl needing help should act like this, not like the individual that they are.
Eva Smith
'She was a lively, good-looking girl - country-bred, I fancy'
- Mr Birling. Eva is reduced to her looks and origins
And this girl, Eva Smith, was one of them. She'd had a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go.
-Mr Birling. Shows that his female workers should be seen and work hard but not heard, he thinks he is doing them a favour. -
They could go and work somewhere else. It's a free country.
What was she like? Quite young? Pretty?
-Sheila. Shows that her looks are the most important bit of the story
'You mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl'
-Sheila. Shows that she understands now that everyone is human and that splitting classes does not help anybody.
'She looked young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there'
-Gerald
'She was - very gallant - about it'
- Gerald. Shows that he respected her more the more he got to know her - gallant is masculine
'As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that people are just defined by the class that they are, Eva is unemployed, so Mrs Birling assumes that she has no shred of human decency
The Inspector
'We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.'
-Goole. Alludes to the bible, shows how important belief in love and equality is. Use of we shows collective responsibility
'The young ones are the most impressionable'
-Goole. Shows that age can change how someone reacts to a situation and can see between the layers of class.
'If there's nothing else we have to share our guilt'
-Goole. Shows that collective responsibility makes everyone feel better in the end, but he has to remind them, so it is not normal for their class to think of the 'we'
Sheila Birling
'I'll never, never do it again to anybody... I feel now I can never go there again'
-Sheila. Shows that she understands how terrible her actions were and regrets them, but she cares a lot more about how society may think of her - as if they see her as her actions.
'No, he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves'
-Sheila. Shows that she has become a lot more aware of the world around her, at the start she hated hearing how Eva died, now she is using strict metaphors about them socially killing themselves - like Eva did, but literally.
'It frightens me the way you talk'
-Sheila. Shows that she as a young person has changed a lot after the run-in with the Inspector, but she worries that the rest of the family hasn't changed at all.
'But these girls aren't cheap labour- they're people'
-Sheila. She starts to understand just how much bad stuff Mr Birling has done to get them where they are today, and hates him for it - as she is just lucky. They are girls, so she connects more strongly with them.
Gerald Croft
'An attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town'
-Mrs Birling. Shows that the young in the upper class are only judged by their looks, but the personality of the male is also judged when talking about the prospective marriages
'It's a favourite haunt of women of the town'
-Gerald. Shows that he uses euphemisms because he doesn't want to show the terrible truth, and can't due to class restrictions.
'That was nothing less than a cry for help'
-Gerald. Shows how the male imagines himself as the saviour for the female, and he is the one the glance goes to because he looks wealthy and Daisy would rather have sex with him that Meggarty.
Comparing Characters
Mr Birling
Background
Work Life
Relationships with Women
Economic Position
Reaction to Inspector
Social Perspective
Gerald
Background
Work Life
Relationships with Women
Economic Position
Social Perspective
Reaction to Inspector
Eric
Background
Work Life
Relationships with Women
Economic position
Social Perspective
Reaction to Inspector
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Eva Smith
The Inspector
Timeline
Sheila
You're squiffy
Is it the one you wanted me to have?
Was it an accident?
And I've been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you hadn't told me. What was she like?
Why should you? He's finished with you. He says it's one of us now
It's a rotten shame
But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people
So I'm really responsible?
I told him that if they didn't get rid of that girl, I'd never go near the place again and I'd persuade mother to close our account with them
I was in a furious temper [] It was my own fault
Mother had been against it, and so had the assistant, but I insisted. I knew they'd been right [] she was the right type for it
If she'd been some miserable, plain little creature, I don't suppose I'd have done it
If I could help her now, I would
I feel now I can never go there again. Oh - why had this to happen?
You not only knew her but you knew her very well. Otherwise, you wouldn't look so guilty about it. When did you first get to know her?
Were you seeing her last spring and summer []? Were you?
She looks at him (Gerald) almost in triumph
With a hysterical laugh, [] You see? What did I tell you?
It can't be any worse for me than it has been. And it might be better
And now you've made up your mind I must obviously be a selfish, vindictive creature
You mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the Inspector will just break it down. And it'll be all the worse when he does
A girl I know had to see him at the Town Hall one afternoon and she only escaped with a torn blouse
I rather respect you more than I've ever done before
I'm not being. If you want to know, it's you two who are being childish, trying not to face the facts
Gerald
Getting a bit heavy-handed, aren't you, Inspector?
We're respectable citizens and not criminals
What?
And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things? -Inspector
It's a favourite haunt of women of the town
Old Joe Meggarty, half-drunk and goggle-eyed, had wedged her into a corner with that obscene fat carcass of his
I became at once the most important person in her life - you understand?
Mr Birling
The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder
Tell cook from me
Your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me [] your father and I have been friendly rivals [] you've brought us together
Hard-headed business man [] The Germans don't want more [] The Titanic - she sails next week - 46800 tons - NY in 5 days - and every luxury - unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable
She doesn't object to my girl, she feels you might have done better for yourself socially [] Just a knighthood of course [] I was Lord Mayor here 2 years ago when Royalty visited us.
Sound useful party man
Make 'em look prettier [] a sort of sign or token of their self-respect
A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself - and his family too
If we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense
I was an alderman for years [] Lord Mayor 2 years ago [] still on the Bench
I discharged her [] left us nearly 2 years ago
Incidentally we've been modestly celebrating his engagement
There's nothing mysterious or scandalous about this business [] its a straightforward case
It's my duty to keep labour costs down [] go and work somewhere else. It's a free country
If you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth
Uncalled-for and officious
Then she got herself into trouble there, I suppose?
Public men, Mr Birling, have privileges
The Press might easily take it up
She'll make you pay a heavier price still
There'll be a public scandal
Mrs Birling
Arthur, you're not supposed to say such things
When you're married, you'll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business
It's a lovely ring. Be careful with it [] it came at just the right moment
I don't suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class -
That - I consider - is a trifle impertinent
He's just talking to my son, Eric, who seems to be in an excitable silly mood
Gerald - and you're a man - you must know it isn't true
Women of the town?
Well, really! Alderman Meggarty! I must say, we are learning something today
We've done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases
I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinence - quite deliberate - and naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case
She only had herself to blame
It's his responsibility
As if a girl of that sort would every refuse money!
Eva/Daisy
She was a lively, good-looking girl - country-bred, I fancy. A good worker too
They suddenly decided to ask for more money
She'd had a lot to say - far too much - she had to go
Twenty-four [] she had been pretty - very pretty
With no work, no money coming in, and living in lodgings, with no relatives to help her, few friends, lonely, half-starved, she was feeling desperate
She was take on in a shop - and a good shop too - Milwards
She liked working there, it was a nice change from a factory, she enjoyed being among pretty clothes, I've no doubt
A customer complained about her - and so she had to go
She decided she might as well try another life
This girl had been very impertinent
She was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her
I noticed a girl who looked quite different. She was very pretty - soft brown hair and big dark eyes
She looked so young and fresh and charming and altogether out of place down there
She'd better let me take her out of there. She agreed at once
What she did let slip - though she didn't mean to - was that she was desperately hard up and at that moment was actually hungry
She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful
She was - very gallant - about it
She was here alone, friendless, almost penniless, desperate. She needed not only money but advice, sympathy, friendliness
She said that the father was only a youngster - silly and wild and drinking too much. There couldn't be any question of marrying him - it would be wrong for both of them
Eric
It isn't if you can't go and work somewhere else
Why shouldn't they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices [] sacked just because she'd a bit more spirit than the others. [] I'd have let her stay
I'm sorry [] I've had a few drinks, including rather a lot of champagne [] I think I'd better turn in
I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty
That's the hellish thing
She was pretty and a good sport
She treated me - as if I were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was
I got it - from the office
Because you're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble - that's why
Then - you killed her [] - my child - your own grandchild - you killed them both - damn you, damn you -
Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person
The Inspector
We hear a sharp ring of a door bell
He creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness
She'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out, of course
One person and one line of inquiry at the time
Better to ask for the earth than to take it
No, wait a minute, Miss Birling
After several hours of agony
I've had that notion myself from time to time. In fact, I've thought that it would do us all a bit of good if we put ourselves in their places
A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made of it
Sometimes there isn't as much difference as you think. Often, if it was left to me, I wouldn't know where to draw the line
We often do on the young ones. They're more impressionable
You can't even say 'I'm sorry, Eva Smith'
One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us
Their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do.
We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. [] If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish