AN INSPECTOR CALLS

J. B. Priestley
English Literature Paper 2 Section A
Section A: Modern Drama

Name:
English Teacher:
CHARACTER QUOTATIONS
(This will help you remember that Eric and Sheila are not getting
married!)

You’re unlikely to remember whole paragraphs of text – like

this one! Don’t forget this: the shorter the quotation, the
easier it will be to remember in your exam. Highlight or
underline the key point in this paragraph to prove you know
what you’re doing before you start the next activity.

Top Revision Tip:

Please also remember to:

 Make sure your quotations are relevant.
 Use inverted commas to show it’s a quotation: like
‘this’.
 Always include page numbers (so you can find it later!).
 Copy each quotation exactly as it appears in your
book.
 What is Mr Birling’s role in the play? Try to include contextual factors.
Adjectives: Quotes:
During his
interrogatio
n, Arthur
Birling is
presented
as…

After the Adjectives: Quotes

Goole’s
departure
Arthur Birling
is presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
At the dinner
party Arthur
Birling is
presented
as…
Quotes

What is Mrs Birling’s role in the play? Try to include contextual factors.

After the Adjectives: Quotes

Goole’s
departure
Sybil Birling is
presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
At the dinner
party Sybil
Birling is
presented
as…
 Adjectives: Quotes:
During her
interrogatio
n, Sybil
Birling is
presented
as…
 What is Eric’s role in the play? Try to include contextual factors.

After the Adjectives: Quotes

Goole’s
departure
Eric Birling is
presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
At the dinner
party Eric
Birling is
presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
During his
interrogatio
n, Eric Birling
is presented
as…
 What is Sheila’s role in the play? Try to include contextual factors.

After the Adjectives: Quotes

Goole’s
departure
Sheila Birling
is presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
At the dinner
party Sheila
Birling is
presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
During her
interrogatio
n, Sheila
Birling is
presented
as…
 What is Gerald’s role in the play? Try to include contextual factors.
After the Adjectives: Quotes
Goole’s
departure
Gerald Croft
is presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
At the dinner
party Gerald
Croft is
presented
as…

Adjectives: Quotes:
During his
interrogatio
n Gerald
Croft is
presented
as…
 What is Inspector Goole’s role in the play? Try to include contextual
factors.

Method
Quotes:
:
How is the Inspector shown as…

Physically
strong?

Verbally
powerful?

Powerful
to others?

Characte
Quotes:
r:
How does the inspector feel about…?

Mr Birling

Mrs Birling

Eric

Gerald

Sheila
 THEMES
A theme is:
A central idea in a piece of writing:
“The theme of desperation is found throughout his novels.”

Can you match these key themes to the

images?
 Gender
 Age
 Social Class
 Deceit/Lies
 Social Responsibility
 Who is the Define the theme:
most socially
Why did Priestley care about it?
responsible?
Write the
characters in
order of most
to least.

Key Vocab ‘But the way some of these

E.g. Marginalised Social cranks talk and write now,
you’d think everybody has to
Responsibil look after everybody else as if
we’re all mixed up together
ity like bees in a hive…’

Act 1 (p168)

How does Priestley explore social How does Priestley explore social
responsibility through Gerald Croft? responsibility through Inspector Goole?

Evidence: Evidence:
 Who is
comfortable Define the theme:
with the idea
of deceit and Why did Priestley care about it?
lies?
Write the
characters in
order of most
to least.

SHEILA [half-serious, half-playful]:

Key Vocab Yes – except for all last summer,
E.g. Immoral when you never came near me,
Deceit and I wondered what had
happened to you.

and Lies GERALD: And I’ve told you – I was

awfully busy at the works all that
time.

Act 1 (p162/163)

How does Priestley explore the theme of How does Priestley explore the theme of
deceit through Eric Birling? deceit through Mrs Birling?

Evidence: Evidence:
Define the theme:

Why did Priestley care about it?

Key Vocab
E.g. Generation

Age
INSPECTOR: ‘…We are members
of one body. We are responsible
for each other. And I tell you that
the time will soon come when, if
men will not learn that lesson,
then they wull be taught in fire
and blood and anguish.’

Act 3 (p207)

How does age impact on the How does age impact on the How does age impact on the
beliefs and attitudes of Sheila beliefs and attitudes of Gerald beliefs and attitudes of Mr
Birling? Croft? Birling?

Evidence: Evidence: Evidence:

 Place each
character on Define the theme:
the
thermometer Why did Priestley care about it?
based on how
supportive
they are of the
concept
women being
inferior.

Key Vocab
E.g. discriminated “I hate those hard-
Gender eyed dough-faced women”
(p.189)

“Girls of that sort” (p.199)

“clothes mean something

quite different to a woman”
(p.168)

How does Priestley explore social How does Priestley explore social
responsibility through Sheila? responsibility through Sybil?

Evidence: Evidence:
 Place each
character on Define the theme:
the
thermometer Why did Priestley care about it?
based on how
important
social class is
to them!

“Girls of that sort” (p.199)

Key Vocab
E.g. hierarchy Social “very good chance of a
knighthood” (p.167)
Class (class “Surely you don’t mean
war) Alderman Meggarty”
(p.189)

How does Priestley explore social class How does Priestley explore social class
through Arthur? through Inspector Goole?

Evidence: Evidence:
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
(Stop booing – the more you practice, the easier it gets!)

Take a moment to really think about this…

Imagine you’re a musician, and you’ve studied sheet music

for hours and hours. You’ve copied the music perfectly into
your own notebook in six different colours. You turn up to the
concert that night, expecting your guitar solo to be
sensational. Guess what? It’s an absolute disaster.

Why
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

How could this embarrassing scenario be avoided in

future?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

How is this anecdote relevant to your revision?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Let’s start at the start…

We know what
happens when you
avoid something – or
someone – for months
on end, don’t we,
Gerald?
 How do I write an essay on An Inspector
Calls?
Unlike the other Lit. questions, there is no extract. Instead, you will be given two
questions to choose from: one on a character and one on a theme. You only need
to complete one.

Choose your question by asking yourself which one could you write most about, in
most detail.

This is essential knowledge.

This is learning how not to hold your guitar backwards.
Skip this part, and you’ll look foolish on stage.

Character questions could be phrased any of the following

ways:

 How is X presented?
 How and why does X change?
 What is the role of X in the play?

They all mean the same: what is the character like?

You should spend about five minutes planning in the exam:

 Step One: what is your answer? In other words, what will your conclusion say?

 Step Two: what happens in the play to support your opinion? Choose 3 main
ideas.

 Step Three: What are the key quotes from these scenes?

 Step Four: What (thematic, historical, biographical) contextual links can I make?

Theme questions could be phrased any of the following

ways:

 How important is the idea of…

 How does Priestley show the importance of …
You should spend about five minutes planning in the exam:

 Step One: which theme is being asked about? What is the definition of this theme?
This is your introduction.

 Step Two: choose two characters to write about. Remember, you should try to look
at both sides of the argument.

 Step Three: What are the key events and key quotes to write about for each
character?

 Step Four: Why did Priestley write about this theme? What biographical historical,
social and political importance did it have to him?

Learning Check: Read quick and answer with a tick!

✓ Let’s practise planning: What is Gerald’s role in An Inspector Calls?
1. How long should you spend on planning?
 Step One: what is your answer? In other words, what will your conclusion say?
□20 minutes □
5 minutes □
10 minutes
What is Gerald’s dramatic importance? What idea does Priestley explore through Gerald? What is
the audience supposed to think about Gerald?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many questions do you have to answer on An Inspector Calls?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
□ Four □ Two □ Zero
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. When planning, what should you always jot down for Step 3?
 Step Two: what happens in the play to result in you having this opinion? Choose three main ideas to
□
write
Yourabout.
name □
There are three stages
Keytoquotes □
the play – choose an idea to explore
Writer’s from each or (higher set
Intentions
pupils) try to track an idea across all three.

 Step Three: What are the key quotes from these scenes? Use your character pages to help you
choose at least two quotes per idea.

 Step Four: What (thematic, historical, biographical) contextual links can I make? Where can you refer
to context? Make sure you note this next to your ideas.
Idea: Evidence (2+): Contextual links:
 Let’s practise planning: How is the importance of gender shown in An

 Step One: which theme is being asked about? What is the definition of this theme? This is your
introduction.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

 Step Two: choose two characters to write about. Remember, you should try to look at both sides of the
argument.

 Step Three: What are the key ideas and key quotes to write about for each character?

Character: What do they show Key idea 1 and evidence: Key idea 2 and evidence:
about this theme?

 Step Four: Why did Priestley write about this theme? What biographical historical, social and political
importance did it have to him?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
 Inspector Calls?

We know how to hold the guitar of Literature.

Now let’s learn a few tunes…

1. You should write a brief introduction where you show your knowledge of
the whole play focusing on the character / theme you’re writing about.
For example,
Eric is the son of wealthy Arthur Birling and set to inherit the family’s misfortune. However,
he leads a hedonistic lifestyle and the play explores the result of this lack of responsibility and
heightened entitlement. Therefore, through the character of Eric, Priestley explores themes
of…

2. You should write a WEAR segment for each idea. Aim to explore a range
of quotes and track idea across the text. For example,
At the start of the play Eric shows a sense of compassion with the working classes….
However, we see him treat Eva with utter disregard… The reader however has to question his
motives for asking Eva to marry him... At the end of the play, we see that social class…

 At the end of each segment you should make a clear link back to the question!

3. Write your conclusion: sum up the points you have made and finally give
your opinion.

Take a look at this sample essay which received a level 4 from

AQA.
 Now choose one of the practice question you’ve planned and write a full
response.
You have 35 minutes to write and 5 minutes to SPAG check.
How confident do you feel about An Inspector Calls?
R A G When am I going to revise this?
Do I need to ask for help from somewhere?
The storyline: the key events of each act

The timeline of Eva Smith

Sheila Birling: who she is, what she does

to Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Eric Birling: who she is, what she does to
Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Arthur Birling: who she is, what she does
to Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Sybil Birling: who she is, what she does to
Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Gerald Croft: who she is, what she does to
Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Eva Smith: who she is, what she does to
Eva, how she feels about it, what she
represents
Inspector Goole: who she is, what she
does to Eva, how she feels about it, what
she represents
The theme of social responsibility and
how it’s explored

The theme of lies / deceit and how it’s

explored

The theme of gender and how it’s

explored

The theme of age and how it’s explored

The theme of social class and how it’s

explained

Historical context (the influence of its

Edwardian setting and the fact it was
written in 1945)
Priestley’s intentions: why he wrote the
play and what he wanted to achieve by it