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Revision Guide

englishdotnet.files.wordpress.com  · Web viewInspector Goole arrives and announces a woman called Eva Smith has killed herself. Sybil tells Inspector Goole that the young man who

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Revision Guide

Put the plot in order

1. The Birlings are having a family dinner

2. Gerald admits to keeping Daisy Renton as his mistress, who he met at the Palace Bar.

3. Arthur Birling reveals he sacked Eva Smith for being involved in the workers wanting

to go on strike.

4. Arthur Birling, Eric and Gerald are discussing how people should look after

themselves and their family; Mr Birling reveals he is expecting a knighthood.

5. There is a phone call to say a policeman is on his way to question the Birlings about

the suicide of a young girl.

6. Gerald and Sheila announce their engagement

7. Arthur Birling rings the Chief Constable who confirms there is no Inspector Goole.

8. Sheila admits to having Eva Smith sacked from Milwards.

9. Inspector Goole arrives and announces a woman called Eva Smith has killed herself.

10.Sybil tells Inspector Goole that the young man who got Eva Smith pregnant should be

responsible for her death.

11.Sybil Birling admits that she denied helping Eva Smith when she had asked for

support from the charity.

12.Eric admits to stealing from his father and getting Eva Smith pregnant.

13.Sheila gives Gerald her reengagement ring back.

Themes

For each theme make notes about how the theme drives the plot, shapes the story or has an impact on the characters.

Look at the example to help you:

Responsibility

Mr Birling:

Refuses to accept responsibility or acknowledge his part in Eva Smith’s death.

Is responsible for his family; believes 'A man has to make his own way'

In Act one, the Inspector introduces the idea of responsibility to the family when questioning Mr Birling about why he fired Eva Smith. This is structurally the foundation of the play.

Responsibility is what causes all the characters to evaluate their part in Eva Smith’s suicide.

Responsibility

Gender

If you can, add quotes to support your ideas.

Age

Social class

The subject of time was a fascination for Priestley. He wrote a number of plays that included this concept such as I have been Here Before, Time and the Conways and An Inspector Calls.

Having read P.D. Ouspensky’s A New Model of the Universe, Priestley used what he learnt in writing An Inspector Calls. Ouspensky put forward the idea that when we die we are reborn to the same parents and the same circumstances. He suggested that our lives repeat exactly as before time and again, unless we achieve some sort of spiritual enlightenment in our lives which allows us to scape this cycle of repetition and enter a new life, where we do not make the same errors.

Dunne’s theory of time also influenced Priestley. This was based on the idea that our past, present and future exist at the same time, but we only experience one of these – the present – at any given moment. According to Dunne, when we dream we are able to move across these times and are therefore able to see how our past actions have led to our current situation and how they will lead to future consequences.

Think of three different ways we can see how Priestley has been inspired by these theories in An Inspector Calls.

Time

Time

Characters:

For each character, make notes about their appearance, personality and attitudes. Think about their role in the play, what is important to them and how much change they go through as a result of the Inspector’s visit.

Make sure you add quotes to support your ideas.

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Appearance:

Personality:

Attitude:

Role in play:

What is important to them?

Changes?

Which of the seven deadly sins would you assign to each character? Can you find a quote to support your theory?

Which Act?

Look at the following statements. What act does it come from?

The act Sybil Birling explains that Eva Smith had approached her charity for financial

help but she refused her that help.

The act we discover that Eric likes to have a drink.

The act where Sheila gives a speech which sums up the whole play.

The act we discover Gerald is familiar with Eva Smith.

The act that Eric admits to stealing from Arthur Birling’s business.

The act in which Arthur Birling describes the Titanic as ‘unsinkable’ and says that

England would not go to war with Germany.

The act that Inspector Goole arrives.

The act Gerald explains how he met and entered into a relationship with Daisy

Renton.

The act Eric says he didn’t feel comfortable talking to his father about his problems.

The act where the family receive a phone call informing of the suicide of a young girl.

Which Act?

Look at the following statements. What act does it come from?

The act Sybil Birling explains that Eva Smith had approached her charity for financial

help but she refused her that help.

The act we discover that Eric likes to have a drink.

The act where Sheila gives a speech which sums up the whole play.

The act we discover Gerald is familiar with Eva Smith.

The act that Eric admits to stealing from Arthur Birling’s business.

The act in which Arthur Birling describes the Titanic as ‘unsinkable’ and says that

England would not go to war with Germany.

The act that Inspector Goole arrives.

The act Gerald explains how he met and entered into a relationship with Daisy

Renton.

The act Eric says he didn’t feel comfortable talking to his father about his problems.

The act where the family receive a phone call informing of the suicide of a young girl.

Literary and stage devices

Find the examples of literary and stage devices you can analyse.

Write a definition for each of the devices.

g o n o m a t o p o e i a k p n e n r s i b i l a n c e e e i n k o e x i t d y a e r l l w t z d i p u j l s l s j i i o r h z i t e k g o o k h b m d a b c z c a t b n v k i r i a n o i t c e r i d e g a t s h c v i q l e f e t l k o p y s e v t p b i j d t i y k s e e e s i y c n e s t i o v h p r s r h a b r e v d a l n i x o t u t z a s y d c y v l z h f l i m s i m e h p u e n a r g o d r a m a t i c i r o n y n o i t i s o p a t x u j w n

adjective stage direction

adverb triple

alliteration repetition

dramatic irony simile

entrance sibilance

euphemism

exit

foreshadowing

hyberbole

juxtaposition

onomatopoeia

personification

Literary devices

For each of the quotations, identify who said what. Label each quote with

devices used.

'Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable'

'Heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties but rather

provincial in his speech'

'The whole story's just a lot of moonshine'

'One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and

millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their

lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness,

all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do.'

'It's my duty to ask questions'

"Eric is in his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half

assertive."

"Eric (miserably ) Could I have a drink first?"

A man of 'massiveness, solidity and purposefulness'.

'It's my duty to ask questions.'

'One person and one line of enquiry at a time. Otherwise there's a

muddle.'

‘I blame the young man. He ought to be dealt with very severely.’

‘Girls of that class.’

“a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather

excited”.

“between us we killed her”.

Form and structure

Remember to analyse the form Priestley has chosen to create his play in.

How could An Inspector Calls be described as:

1. A well-made play?

2. A morality play?

3. A crime thriller?

Structure:

The play is structured in three acts, with a clear opening, each of which unfolds the plot’s mystery. The play is cyclical: it ends as it begins as a mystery where the family will have to face the questions of an Inspector who is investigating the death of a girl who swallowed poison. Each phase in the plot provides a clear focus upon one of the characters and their responsibility.

Mark on the diagram the order of event. Make sure you note the use of dramatic entrances, exits, and ‘climatic curtains’ at the end of acts to raise tension.

Act one: At home with the Birlings…

Context

What did Priestley do for a living?

What role did he have in WW1?

What role did he have in WW2?

What were his political views?

How can we see his influences in the play?

For each contextual factor, write in the box a character, or part of the play where it can be seen.

An Inspector Calls is set in 1912

An Inspector Calls was written in 1945.

Images

The First World War would start in two years. Birling's optimistic view that there would not be a war is completely wrong.

The Second World War ended in Europe on 8 May 1945. People were recovering from nearly six years of warfare, danger and uncertainty.

There were strong distinctions between the upper and lower classes.

Class distinctions had been greatly reduced as a result of two world wars.

Women were subservient to men. All a well off women could do was get married; a poor woman was seen as cheap labour.

As a result of the wars, women had earned a more valued place in society.

An Inspector Calls is set in 1912

An Inspector Calls was written in 1945.

Images

The ruling classes saw no need to change the status quo.

There was a great desire for social change. Immediately after The Second World War, Clement Attlee's Labour Party won a landslide victory over Winston Churchill and the Conservatives.