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  4. An Inspector Calls: the plot

An Inspector Calls: the plot

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J. B. Priestley's play takes place in one evening, in one room. An inspector arrives and shows how every member of a wealthy family helped ruin one young woman's life. No quotations are used here because the play is still in copyright.

The set-up

Spring 1912, in the fictional industrial town of Brumley. The Birling family celebrate Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft.
Inspector Goole arrives. A young woman, Eva Smith, has died in the infirmary after drinking disinfectant.

The chain of events

One by one, the Inspector reveals each character's part.

The twist

After the Inspector leaves, they discover there is no Inspector Goole on the police force, and no girl has died at the infirmary that day.
The older Birlings and Gerald relax. Then the phone rings: a girl has just died, and a police inspector is on his way.
Worked example

Why is the ending so powerful?

  1. The older characters think they have escaped, because the Inspector seems fake.
  2. The final phone call suggests the events are about to repeat.
  3. They are given another chance to learn, and the audience is left questioning who the Inspector was.

Answer: It denies the family an easy escape and forces the audience to think about responsibility.

Key idea

Set in 1912. Each Birling, and Gerald, played a part in Eva Smith's decline. The fake-inspector twist and the final phone call show that they cannot escape responsibility.

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