An Inspector Calls Activities 62635h
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Literature Unit 1: An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley Skills targeted: AO1 Respond to texts critically and imaginatively; select and evaluate relevant textual detail to illustrate and interpretations AO2 Explain how language, structure and form contribute to writers’ presentation of ideas, themes and settings.
Why study this text? A classic stage play and a script with plenty of twists and turns, An Inspector Calls has wide appeal. Written and first performed at the cusp of the modern, post-1945 period but set in 1912, the text presents opportunities to explore life before and since two World Wars, whilst its central idea of responsibility continues to engage all readers and audiences on a simple, empathic level. Recent productions have reinforced this play’s popularity and reinvigorated it for modern and youthful audiences. The apparently tightly-knit group of characters we find at the heart of An Inspector Calls is central to its accessibility and its clear representation of ideas and issues. A set of types is paraded and questioned, ing the development of character judgements. The series of dramatic revelations which ensues is complimented by cleverly deployed dramatic devices to hold the attention of the audience. The characters operate within a contained time-frame and recognisable social setting, which combines with the broad historical scope of the play to provide a meaty but manageable experience of modern drama. Both Higher and Foundation candidates will find the play rewarding: gifted and talented students will compare the current political climate with that reflected on stage, and enjoy hypothesising about the true nature of Inspector Goole. Those working at lower grades will nevertheless be able to identify some of the dramatic features of the text and its staging, and engage with some of the familiar detective-story and ‘whodunnit’ elements of the text. All will perceive similarities and differences between the older and younger generations presented, and can reflect on their own experiences in comparison. Questions of blame, guilt and social aspiration engage everyone.
Background and context An Inspector Calls was first performed in London in 1946, just after World War II. Priestley uses his knowledge of the reality of two world conflicts to cast shadows over the genteel house of the social-climbing Birlings in 1912, when the play is set. Other real historical events and ideas, such as the sinking of the Titanic, the General Strike of 1926, the rise of Fascism, technological advances and the debate over individual and social responsibility are referred to through the play and add an element of realism. On the other hand, the enigmatic character of Inspector Goole introduces a non-naturalistic quality to the play, and yet another context is provided in the way Priestley has drawn on the detective genre for added dramatic interest. John Boynton Priestley was born Yorkshire in 1894 and initially rejected academia to work in the local wool industry. After serving in World War I, gaining direct experience of the ‘fire and blood and anguish’ about which Inspector Goole warns the Birlings in the play, he studied at Cambridge University and gained fame first as a novelist (The Good Companions, 1929) and then as a dramatist. In both his fiction and plays he draws attention to human weakness and social injustice. Through the 1930s his political and social concerns influenced him more and more, and in 1942 he helped to set up a new political party with many socialist ideas at its heart. During the Second World War, he was the presenter of Postscripts, a weekly BBC radio programme listened to by up
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
to 40% of the population, but eventually taken off air because it was considered critical of the government. Later, Priestley contributed to the development of the Welfare State and was active in the early years of the United Nations. He helped to set up the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958. In of his strong moral and political views, one could argue that Priestley used Inspector Goole as a mouthpiece: in one of his broadcasts he said that we ‘must stop thinking in of property and power and begin thinking in of community and creation’ (Postscripts, July 1940).
Discussion points Social vs. individual responsibility ‘We don’t live alone. We are of one body.’ So states Inspector Goole in his final speech. His character can be seen as a device to voice Priestley’s views about social responsibility. To what extent do the other characters learn from their encounter with Goole, and how far do of the audience agree with him? Older vs. younger generations Why are Mr and Mrs Birling so much more concerned about the potential for “public scandal” than the consequences of their behaviour? Sheila and Eric Birling represent the future: surely there is still time for them to change and adapt to the new order? Can their relationships with the other characters, more entrenched in their views and social positions, survive? Staging Detailed stage directions are provided, but Priestley himself makes clear that “an ordinary realistic set” may not do the play justice. What staging decisions can enhance the drama and tension, and how can recent productions inform our understanding of the lasting significance of this play? Status and power At first, the main characters are united in their desire for social status. The arrival of Inspector Goole undermines the natural paths of authority within the household, so how does power shift as the action progresses? The place of women Represented by Sybil and Sheila Birling, the servant Edna and the invisible but omnipresent Eva/ Daisy, women are seen variously as innocents, social climbers, victims and suspects. How are issues of gender played out and do they enrich or detract from the moral and political messages? Genre A murder mystery, a ghost story or a parable? The deceptively simple play follows the ‘three unities’ (time, space and action) of Greek drama, but can be read in a number of ways.
Example task Consider the dramatic impact of the end of Act Two (s students in their response to language, structure and form for grade C or better). Read/re-read the end of Act Two, from where Inspector Goole says: “So he’s the chief culprit anyhow”. As preparation, ‘home’ groups of students identify words, actions or sounds (allocated by the teacher) in this excerpt that would increase the sense of drama for the audience. They share these ideas in different groupings in a jigsaw exercise and then report back to home groups. The task then requires them to respond to the question: How does Priestley create drama and tension at the end of Act Two? Prompts are provided to students’ investigation of the text, in particular to help them select and evaluate relevant ing detail (AO1) and explain how language, structure and from contribute to the impact on the audience (AO2).
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
Analytical approaches/Creative approaches Priestley’s use of character to engage the audience Whole class creates a ‘conscience corridor’ for Eric, voicing the thoughts – criticisms, doubts, anxieties, anger – of the other characters towards him at the end Act Two. Students then use evidence from the text to justify the position taken. This activity should help move students towards independent and convincing interpretation of ideas, as required at the highest grades. Text analysis to explore how language reinforces conflict Find examples of different sentence types being used in the text, for example: imperatives, declarations, exclamations, questions. Investigate the link between characters and any sentence type associated with them. Consider how Priestley uses language to present character and confrontation. Such close analysis of language will students aiming for A and A* grades. An exploration of entrances and exits to investigate dramatic techniques Chart all the entrances and exits in the play, allocating them a level of dramatic impact from 1 to 10. Annotate the chart / graph with appropriate textual reference. Choose three exits and entrances and write director’s notes to the characters involved to explain how these moments can be dramatically enhanced for the audience. Considering the dramatic use of time Create a timeline for the play, using symbols and icons to represent characters and their key actions, and including action which occurs both on and off stage. Compare the timescale of Eva/Daisy’s story compared to that of the other characters. As well as helping all students explore the use of time in the play, the most able can be prompted to independently evaluate how Priestley uses time in different ways, and to what effect?
Key issues for improving grades Answers should: • be relevant – you don’t need to write everything you know about the text, only the things that relate to the question • be sufficiently detailed- it is better to give a lot of detail about a small part of the text than trying to cover lots of different points • be well structured- with a clear introduction which addresses the question and a clear conclusion that returns to the question • se effective vocabulary- including literary where relevant • use well chosen evidence/quotations to points. C grade candidates respond personally to the text, and will typically: • explain the effects of writers’ uses of language, structure and form, e.g. ‘The Inspector is powerful, which is shown by the way he uses language to give commands but usually in a controlled, calm way’. • use well-chosen quotations succinctly to their points. • make appropriate comments on ideas/themes/settings, e.g. ‘Mr and Mrs Birling show how snobbish and uncaring society could be at that time’. To gain a top grade, candidates should show an enthusiastic, critical and evaluative response. The best candidates concentrate on comment, not content, and the author’s methods and achievements. A*/A responses are analytical and exploratory. This means that candidates ‘write a lot about a little’, considering the impact of individual words and sounds and often thinking about possible alternative interpretations. For example:
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
‘Gerald is presented as a character who wants to align himself with Mr Birling – perhaps he is just on his best behaviour, or perhaps he is trying to show his similarities to Mr Birling, the successful business-man and head of the family? There is one moment when what Gerald says provides a hint of past conflict between him and Sheila: “And I’ve told you - I was awfully busy at the works”. The use of “and” at the beginning of this statement suggests that this is not the first time he has had this disagreement with Sheila. Gerald is being presented as a character who is trying to fit in with the Birlings, but may have secrets that will come out. This establishes a sense of drama to be unfolded for the audience.’
Nelson Thornes resources to this unit Interactive resources to a selection of the set texts will be available via Nelson Thornes’ online learning space, kerboodle! The resources will text comprehension, exam practice and revision. The texts covered are: Mister Pip Romeo & Juliet Martyn Pig Of Mice & Men An Inspector Calls Lord of the Flies
Author: Jane Branson
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
Why study this text? A classic stage play and a script with plenty of twists and turns, An Inspector Calls has wide appeal. Written and first performed at the cusp of the modern, post-1945 period but set in 1912, the text presents opportunities to explore life before and since two World Wars, whilst its central idea of responsibility continues to engage all readers and audiences on a simple, empathic level. Recent productions have reinforced this play’s popularity and reinvigorated it for modern and youthful audiences. The apparently tightly-knit group of characters we find at the heart of An Inspector Calls is central to its accessibility and its clear representation of ideas and issues. A set of types is paraded and questioned, ing the development of character judgements. The series of dramatic revelations which ensues is complimented by cleverly deployed dramatic devices to hold the attention of the audience. The characters operate within a contained time-frame and recognisable social setting, which combines with the broad historical scope of the play to provide a meaty but manageable experience of modern drama. Both Higher and Foundation candidates will find the play rewarding: gifted and talented students will compare the current political climate with that reflected on stage, and enjoy hypothesising about the true nature of Inspector Goole. Those working at lower grades will nevertheless be able to identify some of the dramatic features of the text and its staging, and engage with some of the familiar detective-story and ‘whodunnit’ elements of the text. All will perceive similarities and differences between the older and younger generations presented, and can reflect on their own experiences in comparison. Questions of blame, guilt and social aspiration engage everyone.
Background and context An Inspector Calls was first performed in London in 1946, just after World War II. Priestley uses his knowledge of the reality of two world conflicts to cast shadows over the genteel house of the social-climbing Birlings in 1912, when the play is set. Other real historical events and ideas, such as the sinking of the Titanic, the General Strike of 1926, the rise of Fascism, technological advances and the debate over individual and social responsibility are referred to through the play and add an element of realism. On the other hand, the enigmatic character of Inspector Goole introduces a non-naturalistic quality to the play, and yet another context is provided in the way Priestley has drawn on the detective genre for added dramatic interest. John Boynton Priestley was born Yorkshire in 1894 and initially rejected academia to work in the local wool industry. After serving in World War I, gaining direct experience of the ‘fire and blood and anguish’ about which Inspector Goole warns the Birlings in the play, he studied at Cambridge University and gained fame first as a novelist (The Good Companions, 1929) and then as a dramatist. In both his fiction and plays he draws attention to human weakness and social injustice. Through the 1930s his political and social concerns influenced him more and more, and in 1942 he helped to set up a new political party with many socialist ideas at its heart. During the Second World War, he was the presenter of Postscripts, a weekly BBC radio programme listened to by up
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
to 40% of the population, but eventually taken off air because it was considered critical of the government. Later, Priestley contributed to the development of the Welfare State and was active in the early years of the United Nations. He helped to set up the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in 1958. In of his strong moral and political views, one could argue that Priestley used Inspector Goole as a mouthpiece: in one of his broadcasts he said that we ‘must stop thinking in of property and power and begin thinking in of community and creation’ (Postscripts, July 1940).
Discussion points Social vs. individual responsibility ‘We don’t live alone. We are of one body.’ So states Inspector Goole in his final speech. His character can be seen as a device to voice Priestley’s views about social responsibility. To what extent do the other characters learn from their encounter with Goole, and how far do of the audience agree with him? Older vs. younger generations Why are Mr and Mrs Birling so much more concerned about the potential for “public scandal” than the consequences of their behaviour? Sheila and Eric Birling represent the future: surely there is still time for them to change and adapt to the new order? Can their relationships with the other characters, more entrenched in their views and social positions, survive? Staging Detailed stage directions are provided, but Priestley himself makes clear that “an ordinary realistic set” may not do the play justice. What staging decisions can enhance the drama and tension, and how can recent productions inform our understanding of the lasting significance of this play? Status and power At first, the main characters are united in their desire for social status. The arrival of Inspector Goole undermines the natural paths of authority within the household, so how does power shift as the action progresses? The place of women Represented by Sybil and Sheila Birling, the servant Edna and the invisible but omnipresent Eva/ Daisy, women are seen variously as innocents, social climbers, victims and suspects. How are issues of gender played out and do they enrich or detract from the moral and political messages? Genre A murder mystery, a ghost story or a parable? The deceptively simple play follows the ‘three unities’ (time, space and action) of Greek drama, but can be read in a number of ways.
Example task Consider the dramatic impact of the end of Act Two (s students in their response to language, structure and form for grade C or better). Read/re-read the end of Act Two, from where Inspector Goole says: “So he’s the chief culprit anyhow”. As preparation, ‘home’ groups of students identify words, actions or sounds (allocated by the teacher) in this excerpt that would increase the sense of drama for the audience. They share these ideas in different groupings in a jigsaw exercise and then report back to home groups. The task then requires them to respond to the question: How does Priestley create drama and tension at the end of Act Two? Prompts are provided to students’ investigation of the text, in particular to help them select and evaluate relevant ing detail (AO1) and explain how language, structure and from contribute to the impact on the audience (AO2).
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
Analytical approaches/Creative approaches Priestley’s use of character to engage the audience Whole class creates a ‘conscience corridor’ for Eric, voicing the thoughts – criticisms, doubts, anxieties, anger – of the other characters towards him at the end Act Two. Students then use evidence from the text to justify the position taken. This activity should help move students towards independent and convincing interpretation of ideas, as required at the highest grades. Text analysis to explore how language reinforces conflict Find examples of different sentence types being used in the text, for example: imperatives, declarations, exclamations, questions. Investigate the link between characters and any sentence type associated with them. Consider how Priestley uses language to present character and confrontation. Such close analysis of language will students aiming for A and A* grades. An exploration of entrances and exits to investigate dramatic techniques Chart all the entrances and exits in the play, allocating them a level of dramatic impact from 1 to 10. Annotate the chart / graph with appropriate textual reference. Choose three exits and entrances and write director’s notes to the characters involved to explain how these moments can be dramatically enhanced for the audience. Considering the dramatic use of time Create a timeline for the play, using symbols and icons to represent characters and their key actions, and including action which occurs both on and off stage. Compare the timescale of Eva/Daisy’s story compared to that of the other characters. As well as helping all students explore the use of time in the play, the most able can be prompted to independently evaluate how Priestley uses time in different ways, and to what effect?
Key issues for improving grades Answers should: • be relevant – you don’t need to write everything you know about the text, only the things that relate to the question • be sufficiently detailed- it is better to give a lot of detail about a small part of the text than trying to cover lots of different points • be well structured- with a clear introduction which addresses the question and a clear conclusion that returns to the question • se effective vocabulary- including literary where relevant • use well chosen evidence/quotations to points. C grade candidates respond personally to the text, and will typically: • explain the effects of writers’ uses of language, structure and form, e.g. ‘The Inspector is powerful, which is shown by the way he uses language to give commands but usually in a controlled, calm way’. • use well-chosen quotations succinctly to their points. • make appropriate comments on ideas/themes/settings, e.g. ‘Mr and Mrs Birling show how snobbish and uncaring society could be at that time’. To gain a top grade, candidates should show an enthusiastic, critical and evaluative response. The best candidates concentrate on comment, not content, and the author’s methods and achievements. A*/A responses are analytical and exploratory. This means that candidates ‘write a lot about a little’, considering the impact of individual words and sounds and often thinking about possible alternative interpretations. For example:
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
‘Gerald is presented as a character who wants to align himself with Mr Birling – perhaps he is just on his best behaviour, or perhaps he is trying to show his similarities to Mr Birling, the successful business-man and head of the family? There is one moment when what Gerald says provides a hint of past conflict between him and Sheila: “And I’ve told you - I was awfully busy at the works”. The use of “and” at the beginning of this statement suggests that this is not the first time he has had this disagreement with Sheila. Gerald is being presented as a character who is trying to fit in with the Birlings, but may have secrets that will come out. This establishes a sense of drama to be unfolded for the audience.’
Nelson Thornes resources to this unit Interactive resources to a selection of the set texts will be available via Nelson Thornes’ online learning space, kerboodle! The resources will text comprehension, exam practice and revision. The texts covered are: Mister Pip Romeo & Juliet Martyn Pig Of Mice & Men An Inspector Calls Lord of the Flies
Author: Jane Branson
© Nelson Thornes Ltd and AQA, 2010. All rights reserved. All quotations from the GCSE specification © AQA 2009. Please refer to the current version of the specification on the AQA website at www.aqa.org.uk/aqa-english-resource-zone
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