An Inspector Calls Flashcards
6 cards from real GCSE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 An Inspector Calls flashcards as text
Who is engaged to Sheila Birling at the start of the play?
Answer: Gerald Croft
Sheila and Gerald Croft's engagement is being celebrated at the family dinner when the Inspector arrives.
Which theme is most strongly conveyed by the Inspector's final speech about 'millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths'?
Answer: Collective social responsibility
The Inspector's closing speech argues that everyone is responsible for one another's wellbeing in society.
Which Birling sibling shows the clearest change and accepts responsibility by the end of the play?
Answer: Sheila
Sheila is deeply affected by the Inspector's investigation and comes to accept her share of responsibility for Eva Smith's death.
What structural technique does Priestley use at the very end of the play, when a phone call announces a real inspector is on his way?
Answer: Cyclical structure
The play ends as it began, with news of an inspector arriving, creating a cyclical structure.
In what year did J.B. Priestley write An Inspector Calls?
Answer: 1945
Priestley wrote the play in 1945, just after the end of the Second World War.
What does Mr Birling do when Eva Smith and other workers ask for a pay rise?
Answer: He dismisses (sacks) the ringleaders, including Eva Smith
Mr Birling refuses the pay rise and sacks the workers who organised the request, including Eva Smith.