Notesale: Turn your study into money

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Summary of Act One - An
Inspector Calls
• The play opens with the exposition, the reader is immediately told that the
Birlings are a fairly wealthy family living in ‘fairly large suburban house’ with
‘good solid furniture’
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In the exposition its
implied that Shiela and Eric are fairly immature and that all the Birlings are
very self-absorbed
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• Immediately Priestly’s use of stage directions imply tension between Shiela
and Gerald ‘(half serious, half playful)’
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Birling is Mr
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She is submissive
to the idea that men are better than women
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Birling is sneered at by those in the upper class
whom inherited their money and has an inferiority complex; because he
earned his own money he believes that he understands the world and sees
it for what it really is - this of course is very ironic
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Birling and from this
point on his pomposity almost seems comedic
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Birling is an extreme right-wing conservative capitalist, a contrast to
Inspector
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• The inspector tells the family about a young girl who had just been taken
into the infirmary after drinking strong disinfectant and killing herself
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Birling is more concerned over the intrusion than
what had happened to the girl
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• He addresses Mr
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Smith
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• Shiela enters later and upon hearing the news about Eva
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Birling’s reaction
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Smith
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Eva had found a job at Milwards after a flu epidemic had left it shirt of
staff
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Eva was fired without explanation, this was her last stable
job
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Birling
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The Inspector, Mr
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This created
great tension especially because Gerald tries to operate through detail,
silence and refusal of responsibility when questioned by Shiela
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