The Exam Question
On AQA, An Inspector Calls appears in Paper 2, Section A (Modern Texts). Unlike Shakespeare, you do not get an extract — the question asks you to write about a theme or character using your knowledge of the whole play. The question is worth 30 marks (+4 for SPaG) and you should spend approximately 45 minutes on it. You need to know the play well enough to select your own quotations and examples.
Typical question formats: "How does Priestley present the theme of responsibility?" or "How does Priestley use the character of Sheila to convey his ideas?" Notice the focus is always on Priestley's methods and intentions, not on the characters as real people.
Key Themes
Social Responsibility
This is the play's central thesis. Priestley argues that we have a moral obligation to care about others — particularly those less powerful than ourselves. The Inspector's final speech crystallises this: "We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other." Every character in the play is implicated in Eva Smith's death because each prioritised self-interest over compassion.
How to use this in an essay: Whatever the question, link back to Priestley's message about responsibility. If asked about a character, discuss how they embody or reject social responsibility. If asked about a theme (power, guilt, class), show how it connects to the play's central argument.
Class and Inequality
The Birlings are wealthy factory owners; Eva Smith is a working-class woman with no safety net. Priestley shows how class privilege enables the Birlings to act without consequences — Birling sacks Eva for asking for higher wages, Sheila has her dismissed from a shop on a whim, Gerald keeps her as a mistress then discards her. Each act of cruelty is enabled by the power imbalance between rich and poor.
Context: Priestley was writing in 1945, when the Labour government was introducing the welfare state. The play argues against returning to the pre-war class system where the wealthy felt no obligation to the poor. Mr Birling represents the old order; the Inspector represents the new society Priestley wanted to build.
The Generational Divide
Priestley's most hopeful theme. Sheila and Eric accept responsibility, feel genuine guilt, and change. Mr and Mrs Birling deny responsibility, blame others, and learn nothing. Gerald occupies a middle ground — he shows some emotion but ultimately sides with the older generation. Priestley uses this divide to argue that change is possible through the younger generation, but only if they reject their parents' values.
Key quotation: Sheila to her parents: "You're pretending everything's just as it was before." This shows her awareness that the Inspector's visit should have been transformative — the tragedy is not just Eva's death but the Birlings' refusal to change.
Gender and Eva Smith
Eva/Daisy is exploited by every character, but the nature of exploitation differs by gender. Birling exploits her labour; Sheila exploits her as a servant class to be punished; Gerald and Eric exploit her sexually. Mrs Birling denies her help through moral judgement. Priestley shows how a patriarchal, class-bound society leaves working-class women with no protection and no recourse.
Key Characters as Mouthpieces
Mr Birling
Priestley's primary target. Birling is pompous, self-serving, and spectacularly wrong — his predictions about the Titanic and the impossibility of war are designed to destroy his credibility with the 1945 audience. He represents the capitalist belief that "a man has to mind his own business". Priestley makes him foolish so that his ideology is rejected alongside his character.
Sheila
Priestley's vehicle for hope. She begins as a shallow, privileged young woman but becomes the play's moral conscience. Her transformation is the clearest evidence that change is possible. She recognises her guilt immediately, shows genuine empathy for Eva, and refuses to retreat into denial. Her final lines challenge her parents directly — she becomes the Inspector's successor.
The Inspector
More than a character — he is a dramatic device. He controls the pace of revelations, challenges each character in turn, and delivers Priestley's message directly. His name, "Goole" (a homophone for "ghoul"), suggests he may be supernatural. His ambiguous identity — is he a real inspector, a spirit, a manifestation of collective guilt? — does not matter. What matters is his function: to force the Birlings (and the audience) to confront their responsibility.
The Ending and Its Significance
After the Inspector leaves, Gerald discovers there may not be a real Inspector Goole and there may be no dead girl at the infirmary. The older Birlings celebrate — they think they are off the hook. But then the phone rings: a girl has just died, and a police inspector is on his way. The play ends.
This cyclical ending serves Priestley's message powerfully. First, it shows that the Birlings' relief was premature — you cannot escape responsibility by denying it. Second, it echoes the play's historical context: the audience knows that after the complacent Edwardian era came the catastrophe of World War One. "Fire and blood and anguish" — the Inspector's warning — came true. Priestley is warning his 1945 audience not to repeat the cycle.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main themes in An Inspector Calls?
The key themes are: social responsibility (the central message — we are all responsible for each other), class and inequality (the Birlings represent upper-class privilege and indifference), generational divide (Sheila and Eric learn; Mr and Mrs Birling do not), gender (Eva Smith's vulnerability as a working-class woman in a patriarchal society), guilt and denial (each character reacts differently to their role in Eva's death), and power and exploitation (how the powerful abuse the powerless). Social responsibility is by far the most commonly examined theme.
What quotations should I learn for An Inspector Calls?
Focus on 15-20 key quotations. Essential ones: 'We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other' (Inspector — the play's thesis), 'a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own' (Birling — foil to the Inspector's message), 'Fire and blood and anguish' (Inspector — prophetic warning), 'But these girls aren't cheap labour — they're people' (Sheila — empathy), 'I'm ashamed of you' (Eric to his parents), 'The famous younger generation who know it all' (Birling — ironic dismissal), 'I don't think we can help him much now' (Sheila — recognition of damage done), and 'You began to learn something. And now you've stopped' (Inspector — to Mrs Birling).
How do I write about Priestley's message in An Inspector Calls?
Priestley wrote the play in 1945 but set it in 1912 for a deliberate purpose: the audience knows that the Edwardian confidence of Mr Birling ('the Titanic — she sails next week... absolutely unsinkable') is misplaced — two world wars and massive social upheaval followed. Priestley uses dramatic irony to undermine Birling's capitalist certainty and promote his own socialist message. When writing about Priestley's message, always link the text to his intentions: he wanted to persuade a 1945 audience (who had just lived through the war) to build a more equal, socially responsible post-war society — not return to the selfish individualism of the Edwardian era.
Do I need to know the full plot of An Inspector Calls?
You need to know the plot well enough to reference specific moments and trace character development, but the exam does not ask you to retell it. Focus on understanding the structure: how each character's confession is revealed, the order of interrogation and why it matters, the dramatic turning points (Sheila returning the ring, Eric's revelation, Gerald's phone call), and the ending's ambiguity. Priestley structures the play so that each revelation increases the moral pressure — understanding this structure is more valuable than memorising every plot detail.
What is the difference between the Inspector and Mr Birling?
They are deliberate foils. Birling represents capitalist individualism — 'a man has to mind his own business'. The Inspector represents social responsibility — 'We are members of one body'. Birling is confident, self-important, and wrong about everything (the Titanic, no war coming, labour unrest settling down). The Inspector is calm, authoritative, and morally certain. Priestley uses their opposition to present two competing visions of society and leaves no ambiguity about which he endorses. The strongest essays explore how Priestley uses both characters as mouthpieces for political ideas rather than simply as realistic individuals.