This study notes covers Anchor Quote: Privilege and Duty within Theme: Responsibility & Social Class for GCSE English Literature. Revise Theme: Responsibility & Social Class in An Inspector Calls for GCSE English Literature with 12 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 8 of 16 in this topic. Use this study notes to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🗣️ Anchor Quote: Privilege and Duty
Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges.
Why this quote matters: Priestley uses the Inspector to articulate the play's central inversion: the higher your social position, the greater your responsibility, not the less. The phrase "as well as" is precise — it refuses to remove privilege, but demands that responsibility accompany it. This is the play's political argument in one sentence.
Use this quote when answering: class and responsibility; Priestley's political argument; the Inspector's role as moral voice; power and obligation.
Practice questions for Theme: Responsibility & Social Class
Which of the following is Mr Birling's view of responsibility in Act 1?
How does Priestley use structure to present the theme of responsibility in **An Inspector Calls**? (2 marks)
Quick recall flashcards
Mnemonic for the responsibility trajectory in An Inspector Calls
<strong>DENIAL → REVELATION → CHOICE</strong><br><br>D — Denial: 'A man has to mind his own business' (Birling holds power, acknowledges nothing)<br>R — Revelation: 'Public men have responsibilities as well as privileges' (Inspector shows the chain)<br>C — Choice: 'I burned my boats' (Sheila accepts; Birlings evade; audience decides)<br><br>The trajectory doesn't resolve — it repeats with the final phone call, extending the CHOICE to the audience.
Why does Eva Smith never appear on stage?
Priestley makes her absence structural. Eva Smith is invisible to the Birlings — she is working-class, and people like her do not exist in the Birlings' social world. Her physical absence from the stage enacts this invisibility while making her the moral centre the Inspector forces everyone to confront. She is the play's argument: those with power cannot afford to ignore those without it.