The most-cited quotes in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls cluster around the play’s argument about social responsibility. The Inspector’s “We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other” is the thesis; Birling’s “a man has to mind his own business” is the position the play sets out to demolish. Below are the key quotes grouped by character, with the act each comes from, so you can find and use them in an essay. The play runs in three acts and is set in 1912.
Inspector Goole
The Inspector voices Priestley’s message. His central line, near the end of Act 3, is: “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.” His final warning follows: “And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.” Earlier he reminds Birling, “Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.” He also states the method behind his questioning: “One person and one line of inquiry at a time.” For quoting a play’s dialogue correctly, see how to quote a play.
Mr Birling
Birling represents the complacent capitalist Priestley criticizes, and his lines are laced with dramatic irony because the 1945 audience knows he is wrong. In Act 1 he insists, “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.” He dismisses collective responsibility as “community and all that nonsense.” His confident predictions are deliberately, visibly false to the audience: the Titanic is “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable,” and “the Germans don’t want war.” He also calls the evening “one of the happiest nights of my life” just before the Inspector arrives. These ironic boasts are useful for analyzing how Priestley undercuts him; our guide to how to analyze a quote in an essay covers building that kind of point.
Sheila Birling
Sheila changes most across the play and carries its hope for the younger generation. In Act 1, once she understands Eva Smith’s situation, she says, “But these girls aren’t cheap labour — they’re people.” As she grasps the Inspector’s method, she warns her mother, “you mustn’t try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl.” By Act 2 she recognizes the family’s collective guilt: “We all helped to kill her.” Her growing awareness makes her the moral counterweight to her parents.
Mrs Birling and the older generation
Sybil Birling refuses responsibility throughout. In Act 2 she claims, “I did nothing I’m ashamed of,” and insists the dead girl “had only herself to blame.” She unknowingly condemns her own son when she demands the father of Eva’s child be made “an example of,” before learning that father is Eric. Her lines show the older generation’s inability to accept the Inspector’s lesson, the fixed position Sheila and Eric move away from.
Eric Birling and Gerald Croft
Eric’s key line indicts his father’s coldness: “you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.” Like Sheila, he accepts guilt by the end, saying the family “did her in all right.” Gerald, by contrast, largely reverts to his old thinking once he suspects the Inspector was a hoax, which aligns him with the older generation despite his age. Pairing a changing character with an unchanging one is a common essay structure; for lines to build such comparisons, see our collection of essay quotes. The play sits alongside Macbeth quotes as a common set text.
Quotes by theme
For essays organized around ideas rather than characters, the key lines group into a few themes. Social responsibility: the Inspector’s “We are responsible for each other” against Birling’s “look after himself and his own.” Generational divide: Sheila’s and Eric’s acceptance of guilt against their parents’ refusal, useful for showing Priestley’s hope in the young. Gender and class in 1912: the men’s dismissal of Eva Smith as “cheap labour” and the way each character’s treatment of her reflects their power over her. Dramatic irony: Birling’s confident wrong predictions, which let Priestley discredit his worldview before the moral argument even begins. Grouping your evidence under two or three of these themes gives an essay a clearer spine than walking through the plot in order.
Using these quotes in an essay
Strong answers embed short quotes inside sentences and then analyze the specific words, rather than quoting a long passage and paraphrasing it. Pick a phrase, “fire and blood and anguish,” and unpack what Priestley’s word choice does: the violent, biblical language turns the Inspector’s warning into a prophecy the 1945 audience knows came true through two world wars. Two or three tightly analyzed quotes beat a dozen dropped in without comment. Leading into each one with a short signal phrase keeps the analysis flowing, as shown in how to introduce a quote.
FAQ
What is the most important quote in An Inspector Calls?
The Inspector’s “We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other,” from Act 3. It states the play’s central argument about collective responsibility.
What does Mr Birling say about responsibility?
He rejects it: “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own,” and dismisses collective duty as “community and all that nonsense.”
Which quotes show Sheila changing?
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour — they’re people” and “We all helped to kill her” show her moving from thoughtlessness to accepting responsibility.
How do you quote An Inspector Calls in an essay?
Introduce the line with the character and context, put the exact words in quotation marks, and note the act. Follow your course’s citation style for the edition you’re using.
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