Act Three “Each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it. But then I don't think you ever will.”

Act Three Stage Directions Eric Birling Inspector Goole Sybil Birling Sheila Birling Arthur Birling Gerald Croft

Locate the quotations from Act Three: Eva Smith Locate the quotations from Act Three: Who says each quotation? What do the quotations tell you about? The speaker? Edwardian attitudes to working class women? Eva’s position in society and the possibilities open to her?

Accepts no responsibility Accepts full responsibility Act Three By the end of the play, which characters have accepted responsibility for their part in Eva Smith’s life and death? Accepts no responsibility Accepts full responsibility

Comprehension Questions What is the mood in the dining room at the start of Act Three? Why does the Inspector end up ‘taking charge, masterfully’? (pg. 55) Why does it ‘not much matter’ (pg 58) to Sheila if the Inspector was not a policeman? Why does it matter ‘a devil of a lot’ to Birling if he was not a policeman? How does the news that he is not a policeman make each character feel about their part in Eva Smith’s life? Why does the telephone ring when it does? What is the effect of the final telephone call upon the characters? How should the final telephone call affect the audience?

What are the main differences between the characters who accept responsibility for their actions and those who don’t?

An Inspector Calls has been called a play of contrasts An Inspector Calls has been called a play of contrasts. What contrasts are presented in the play?