1. 1. You see two primary aged children shoving another child against the wall. A fight
is obviously going to begin. Do you:
a) Ignore them because you don't know what has been going on
b) Go up to them and try to stop the fight before it starts
c) Tell an adult that you think a young child is about to get beaten up
2. Someone who doesn't speak English gets on the bus and tries to ask the bus driver if the bus goes to the hospital. The bus driver is impatient and can't be bothered to make the effort to understand. Do you:
a) Push past the person, show your pass and get on
b) Tell the bus driver that the person wants the hospital
c) Speak to the person and reassure them that this is the right bus for the hospital
3. An old person falls down in the street. Do you:
a) Pass by because you are in a hurry
b) Rush to help them
c) Slow down so that someone else will help them first
4. There is a bottle bank near where you live but no one in your family uses it. Do you:
a) Think nothing of it because one family’s bottles won't make any difference
b) Put a box in the kitchen and tell everyone to put the empty bottles in it
c) Tell your family that you'll take bottles to the bank each week in return for not doing the washing up
5. A beggar asks you for money outside the station. Do you:
a) Ignore them because you disapprove of begging
b) Apologise for having no change
c) Pass by because you are in a hurry
6. Your class is involved in raising money for a charity. Some class members openly
Take some of the money for themselves. Do you:
a) Do nothing
b) Try to persuade them to put it back
c) Tell an adult in the hope that it will be dealt with by them

2. An Inspector Calls

4. SOCIETY

5. COMMUNITY

6. Agree or disagree?? We don’t live alone, we live in a community.
We are all responsible for each other.
Everyone should put themselves first and look after ‘number one’.
We are all connected to one another and our actions affect other people’s lives.
Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and with respect whatever their class or social status.

7. We don’t live alone, we live in a community.
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Not sure
Disagree
We don’t live alone, we live in a community.
We are all responsible for each other.
Everyone should put themselves first and look after ‘number one’.
We are all connected to one another and our actions affect other people’s lives.
Everyone has the right to be treated fairly and with respect whatever their class or social status.

8. What Do We Learn from the Stage Directions?
Furniture
Props
Costume
Lighting
Characters

9. Arthur Birling
Finchley told me it is exactly the same port your father gets from him…

10. Sheila Birling

11. Character heartless contented polite prejudiced smug social climber
patronising
opinionated
hypocritical
honest
lacks confidence
self-centred
nervous
discreet
secretive
self-made
compassionate
uneasy
sympathetic
arrogant
spoilt
cold-hearted
aggressive
perceptive
traditionalist
unrepentant
remorseful
concerned
intelligent
unsympathetic
superior
indulgent
snob

12. Mr Birling
Sheila
Gerald Croft
Mrs Birling
Write one paragraph about each character’s involvement in Eva’s death.
Select 5 + quotes that illustrate something about the character.
How does the character change throughout the play (if at all)
On a scale of one to ten how responsible is each character for Eva’s death?

13. Phase 3 1. What is the mood when Sheila enters?
2. How does Sheila react to the Inspector’s news
3.The other four “exchange bewildered and perturbed glances”. How are each of the characters feeling?
4. Why does Sheila react so violently to the photograph?
5. What effect does the inspector have on Eric and Gerald when they are alone?
6. How should Sheila tell her story to the Inspector?
7. How do the other characters react to Sheila’s story?
8.How is Sheila affected by the realisation?
9. How will Gerald show he is startled by the name Daisy Renton?
10. What is Sheila thinking as she stares at Gerald?
11. What is the mood when the Inspector re-enters?
12. What do you think about what Sheila has done?

14. Phase 4 What is the mood in the dining room at the start of Act 2?
Why do Gerald and Sheila react “bitterly” to each other?
How has the Inspector affected Sheila?
Why does Sheila stare at the inspector “wonderingly and dubiously”?
How does Mrs Birling re-enter the dining room? Why does Sheila try to warn her?
What is Mrs Birling’s attitude towards Eva Smith?
What does Mrs Birling’s being “staggered” about Eric’s drinking reveal of the family’s relationships?
How should Gerald tell his story to the Inspector?
How should each of the other characters react to Gerald’s story?
Summarize Gerald’s story in your own words.
How had Daisy’s relationship with Gerald Affected her? How did she react when it ended?
Why is Gerald “upset by this business”? How should his upset be shown?
What is the state of Sheila and Gerald’s relationship now?

15. Phase 5
How should the actress playing Mrs Birling look at the inspector’s photograph?
How should Mrs Birling tell her story to the inspector?
What is the name of the organisation which Eva applied for help?
What did Eva call herself when she applied to the committee?
What did Mrs Birling tell Eva to do when she was refused help?
What worried Arthur Birling when he heard how his wife’s committee had treated Eva?
How should each of the other characters react to her story?
How does the Inspector’s attitude start to change?
What makes Sheila suddenly aware of Eric’s involvement?
How did Eva Smith finally describe the father of her child to Mrs Birling?
Why does Mrs Birling react in a “frightened” way?
Why did she refuse to accept any more money from Eric Birling?
What is the mood in the dining room as Eric re-enters?

16. Phase 6 1. What is the mood at the start of Act 3?
2. What is Eric’s state of mind?
3. How can we tell that Eric is used to drinking?
4. How should Eric tell his story to the Inspector?
5. Summarize “his story”.
6. How do the others react?
7. How does Eric feel about his involvement?
8. Why does the Inspector end up “taking charge, masterfully”?
9. Find key quotes from the Inspector’s final speech.
10. How should each of the Birlings react to what the Inspector says?

17. Phase 7 1. Who does Mr Birling blame the most?
2. What rules does Mr Birling make about Eric’s future conduct?
3. Who is the first character on stage to doubt the authenticity of the Inspector?
4. Why does it “not much matter” to Sheila if the Inspector was not an Inspector?
5. Why does it matter “a devil of a lot” to Birling if he was not an Inspector?
6. How do each of the characters feel about Gerald’s news + after Gerald’s phone call?
8. Why does the phone ring when it does?
9. What effect does it have on the characters?
10. What do you think about this ending to the play?

18. Atmosphere The atmosphere in the room was…………….
There was a ……………………….atmosphere.
The atmosphere was………………………

19. Mood She was in a ……………………………..mood
He created a ………………………..mood in the room.
The mood was……..

20. POSITIVE WORDS NEGATIVE WORDS
Light hearted  Tense
Playful  Gloomy
Tender  Violent
Enlightened  Insidious
Optimistic  Pessimistic
Liberating  Confining
Warm  Cold
Hopeful  Hopeless
Nostalgic  Haunting
Peaceful  Nightmarish
Welcoming  Hostile
Harmonious  Suspenseful
Trustful  Foreboding
Vivacious  Painful
Confident  Threatening
Idyllic  Desolate
Sympathetic  Merciless
Joyous  Terrifying
Ecstatic  Vengeful
Empowered  Heartbroken
Inclusive lonely

21. (b) Imagine you are Gerald
(b) Imagine you are Gerald. At the end of the play you think back over its events. Write down
your thoughts and feelings.
You may wish to think about:
• what happened during the evening of the Inspector’s visit;
• your relationship with Sheila;
• your relationship with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton;
• the effect the evening’s events had on you. [20]

22. Gerald
He is described as "an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred man-about-town." He is self confident, polite, tactful and at ease with whoever he is talking with.
He is an aristocrat - the son of Lord and Lady Croft. We realise that they are not over-impressed by Gerald's engagement to Sheila because they declined the invitation to the dinner. His outlook on life is very similar to Arthur Birling, they agree on issues at the start of the play (eg/how business should be run)
Tries at first to conceal his involvement with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton He is not as willing as Sheila to admit his part in the girl's death to the Inspector and initially pretends that he never knew her. Is he a bit like Mr Birling, wanting to protect his own interests?
It becomes clear that Gerald helped Daisy at first out of genuine sympathy for her situation. He did have some genuine feeling for her, he is very moved when he hears of her death and shows genuine remorse. He tells Inspector Goole that he arranged for her to live in his friend's flat "because I was sorry for her;" she became his mistress because "She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful." Gerald did make Daisy“happy for a time”, which is clear from her own diary and her actions after the 'affair‘. He shows genuine remorse when involvement is clear, unlike Sybil and Arthur.
Despite this, in Act 3 he tries to come up with as much evidence as possible to prove that the Inspector is a fake - because that would get him off the hook. It is Gerald who confirms that the local force has no officer by the name of Goole, he who realises it may not have been the same girl and he who finds out from the infirmary that there has not been a suicide case in months. He seems to throw his energies into "protecting" himself rather than "changing" himself (unlike Sheila). Uses the situation at the end of the play to find a way out. Does he learn anything?
At the end of the play, he has not changed. He has not gained a new sense of social responsibility, which is why Sheila (who has) is unsure whether to take back the engagement ring.
He is possibly the most complex character in family as he bridges the old/young divide.

23. Guilty or Not Guilty? Elements of Responsibility
It can be seen, from the evidence in the play, that Gerald could be considered to be the least responsible for Eva's death, out of the 'family.‘
Consider the fact that he was sympathetic towards her and helped her out of an awkward situation. He gave her a comfortable place to live and insisted on giving her enough money to live on and save from.
However, consider whether he shows any genuine remorse or whether he has learnt anything at the very end of the play. What do his actions suggest? Consider the fact that at the end he believes that Sheila will accept the engagement ring again and asserts that all is well What does this behaviour suggest and how do the final lines confirm how foolish his assumption is?

24. It started off as the happiest day of my life, as I was engaged to Sheila and I can’t believe that she won’t take the ring back. We were celebrating the happiest moment of my life. Why did the inspector have to ruin it? He made me feel like dirt, but I also felt unbelievably guilty. Daisy Renton was dead and I contributed to her death although I had it easier than some of the others especially Mr. Birling. But I remember looking at him and feeling as though he wasn’t the usual type to be an inspector, but he had a way of staring at you which made you break down your barriers and tell him everything you knew - as if he was hypnotising you.
That night spoiled everything Sheila and I ever had. I wish I had never met Daisy Renton or Eva Smith or whatever her name was. But I remember her being different, the first time we met. She seemed special, she wasn’t as demanding as Sheila, she was more delicate and kind. And I can’t believe that she is dead. Or is she? With another inspector on his way we’re about to find out. But I don’t think that I will ever be the same man again. Sheila is the one for me and I will never go off with another woman for as long as I live, being caught out was no fun whatsoever.
I was so glad when I discovered that there was no Inspector under the name Goole and that there was no dead girl in the infirmary and I was starting to believe that everything was back to normal. But I still don’t understand who the inspector was, and who is on their way over now! I hope things will improve between Sheila and I, but who’s to say?

25. Dear Mother,
I must say, it has been a most excitable evening at the Birlings! I must begin, however, by informing you that I was forced to dissolve my highly profitable engagement to Miss Sheila Birling.
The evening began well, and the family endeavoured to make me feel most welcome - Arthur Birling in particular; indeed he said himself that he was “just trying to make me feel like one of the family.” He proceeded to give one of his rather rambling lectures; the poor fellow talked openly about his hope that we can “look forward to a time when Birlings and Crofts are no longer competing, but working together.” When the others retired, he voiced his concern that you feel that Sheila is too far our social inferior to make a worthwhile match. He did, however, seem mollified by my reassurances, and I’m glad to inform you that there is a good chance of his being on the next Honours List! So no more talk of my “being able to do better for myself socially” followed that!
Anyhow, when Eric Birling entered, Arthur gave us yet more advice (and I couldn’t help but agree with Eric when he said “you’ve piled it on a bit tonight, Father”) He was just telling us of the importance of a man looking “after himself” when a police inspector intruded on our cosy little scene. We later found out that he was a hoaxer, but imagine our consternation when the man (he claimed his name was “Goole”, although I feel now that it must have been an all too appropriate pseudonym) announced that a girl had just died in the infirmary (“suicide of course”)!
Upon interrogation, it was revealed that Arthur had dismissed the girl for stirring up trouble in the works some two years previously (I assured him that we would have done the same), and that Sheila had had the girl turned out of her next employment over some trivial matter! I must say, I was surprised and disappointed in her, although she began to redeem herself, (in my eyes at least) through her obvious upset at the news.
It is now my turn to make a confession now, however, Mother - last summer, I kept a girl by the name of Daisy Renton. I know you will be most aggrieved by this news, but I assure you, I was only seeking to help her - she was in a truly pitiable state. So, when the Inspector announced that the girl had changed her name to Daisy Renton after she had been dismissed because of Sheila..... well, you can imagine my shock. Of course, my reaction gave it away, and it all came out then! I won’t go into details, but I left as soon as I could - not before Sheila had dissolved our engagement, however. I was truly disappointed, and I left immediately afterwards.
Naturally, I don’t know what happened after I left, but I later gathered that the girl had been pregnant, and that Eric had supplied her with stolen money, for he was responsible for her condition! Most scandalous!
Anyhow, when I was out, I discovered from a policeman that I bumped into that there was no Inspector Goole on the force! Of course, I rushed back, but to no avail as he’d already left. Mr. and Mrs. Birling were most relieved that he was a fake, however, and they (myself included) felt that that was an end to the matter. Not so with Sheila and Eric however, who insisted that “it makes no difference.”
I don’t know if our engagement can be salvaged, though I do so hope so, as it was most profitable and I do care for her. We will talk more on your return, mother.
Yours,
Gerald.

26. “I must say, we are learning something tonight”
“…look forward to a time when Crofts and Birlings are …working together”
“she was young and pretty and warm hearted – and intensely grateful”
“Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of …….I consider I did my duty.”
“but she was very pretty and looked like she could look after herself”
“Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility.”
“I’ll never, never do it again to anybody”
“Because you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble “
“she wasn’t the usual sort”
“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, …We are responsible for each other.”
“I wasn’t in love with her or anything”
‘You and I aren’t the same people who sat down to dinner here.’
“Except for last summer when you never came near me”
“I must say , Gerald, you’ve argued this very cleverly”
Who, What, Why, When..?

27. Mr Birling Self centred, unrepentant, pompous, unsophisticated, bully?
A "heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties but rather provincial in his speech."
He has worked his way up in the world and is proud of his achievements. He boasts about having been Mayor and tries (and fails) to impress “Chief Constable Roberts…we play golf together”
He is aware of people who are his social superiors, "it's exactly the same port your father gets." He is proud that he is likely to be knighted.
He claims the party "is one of the happiest nights of my life." This is not only because Sheila will be happy, but because a merger with Crofts Limited will be good for his business.
He is optimistic for the future, “The Titanic…unsinkable” and confident that there will not be a war, “the Germans don’t want war”. As the audience knows there will be a war, we begin to doubt Mr Birling's judgement. (If he is wrong about the war, what else will he be wrong about?)
He is extremely selfish:
He wants to protect himself and his family. He believes that socialist ideas that stress the importance of the community are "nonsense" and that “a man has to mind his own business and look after his own”, “ If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody…it would be very awkward”.
He wants to protect Birling and Co. He cannot see that he did anything wrong when he fired Eva Smith - he was just looking after his business interests, “wretched girl’s suicide”, “keep labour costs down”
He wants to protect his reputation. As the Inspector's investigations continue, his selfishness gets the better of him: he is worried about how the press will view the story in Act II, and accuses Sheila of disloyalty at the start of Act III. He wants to hide the fact that Eric stole money: "I've got to cover this up as soon as I can."
At the end of the play, he knows he has lost the chance of his knighthood, his reputation in Brumley and the chance of Birling and Co. merging with their rivals. Yet he hasn't learnt the lesson of the play, “They can’t even take a joke”. He is unable to admit his responsibility for his part in Eva's death.

28. Mrs Birling
Owing to her coldness and lack of conscience, Mrs Birling is seen as being unsympathetic and out of touch with reality.
“Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things” she more concerned with the rules of polite society than what is really important.
It is this lack of understanding that leads to her making several snobbish comments, “girls of that class”. She is unwilling to accept what the girl says “gross impertinance”, “ Go and look for the father of the child. It’s his responsibility”
She is unaware of her own son’s heavy drinking, “ But I didn’t know it was you…you’re not that type – you don’t get drunk…”
She is described as a ‘rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior’. She remains untouched by the Inspector’s questioning and refuses to belive she is responsible for the girl’s death.
However, she shows signs of weakening when she realises that her actions had resulted in the death of her own grandchild, Once the inspector leaves though, she quickly recovers her old self, emphasizing her harsh and uncaring nature, “In the morning you’ll be as amused as we are.
In what way is she a HYPOCRITE?

29. Sheila
The Birling’s daughter. Engaged to be married to Gerald Croft. She is in her early twenties and is described as ‘pretty’. The attention surrounding her important engagement gives her great pleasure, showing her to be somewhat self-centred. She starts the play as someone whom the audience would regard as superficial however, this changes once she
hears of the girl’s death and her potential part in it and becomes more caring and sensitive. She shows genuine remorse about the fact that it was her who caused the girl to lose her job at the shop.
* at the start of the play she is 'very pleased with life'. She is young, attractive and has just become engaged
* her happiness is soon to be destroyed as is her faith in her family
* her response to the tragedy is one of the few encouraging things to come out of the play. She is genuinely upset when
she hears of Eva's death and learns from her own behaviour
* she is very distressed by the girl's suicide and thinks that her father's behaviour was unacceptable. She readily agrees
that she behaved very badly and insists that she never meant the girl any harm.
* the Inspector says that she is only partly responsible and later on, when he is about to question Gerald, he encourages
her to stay and listen to what he has to say so that she doesn't feel entirely responsible
* not only is she prepared to admit her faults, she also appears keen and anxious to change her behaviour in the future,
'I'll never, never do it again'
* she is aware of the mystery surrounding the Inspector, yet realises that there is no point in trying to hide the facts from him
* she is mature about the breaking up of her engagement and remains calm. She won't be rushed into accepting the ring back once the Inspector has left
* she is unable to accept her parents attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven't learned anything from the episode. Although the Inspector might be a hoax, the family have still behaved in an entirely unsuitable manner
* she learns of her responsibilities to others less fortunate than herself (the idea of the community) and is sensitive. Her readiness to learn from experience is in great contrast to her parents

30. (b) Sheila is the character that changes most as a result of the inspector's visit.
In the beginning, she was a pathetic, selfish and quite babyish girl who did anything to please her mother and father.
After the inspector has turned on her, she realises how she's been behaving, and grows up suddenly.
She starts telling the rest of her family to grow up and realise what they've done.
"Sheila:...I still remember, how he looked, what he said, and how he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish."
She also begins to think about her relationship with Gerald, and whether or not she's marrying him to make Mr Birling happy.
"Gerald: So how about this ring back then, Sheila? Sheila: No not yet, it's too soon. I must think."
Before the inspector came, she wouldn't dream of shouting at her parents, but she begins to do that after he's left. She says they haven't learnt anything.
"Sheila: You're just going to go on pretending everything's just as it was! Eric: I'm not Sheila: No, but these others are."
She comes to terms that between them they all killed a poor innocent girl. Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald don't believe the inspector, thinking it was all made up to make them look stupid.
"Gerald: ...She's dead – Inspector: (harshly) Yes, she's dead. Sheila: And probably between us we killed her."

31. Eric Eric, unlike his sister, is awkward and ‘not quite at ease’.
His father does not approve of him, he is not told about his father’s possible knighthood, and when he needed help he felt that his father was “not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble”
Eris drinks too much, his mother is not aware of this and cannot see his faults, “you’re squiffy”, “Familiarity with quick, heavy drinking”, “I was rather far gone by the time we had to go”.
He forced his way into Eva’s home, “ I insisted”, made her pregnant and stole money from his father’s company to support her.
Like his sister, however, he feels both a strong sense of guilt and real sympathy towards Eva Smith as soon as he hears how Birling sacked her, “well I think it was a damn shame”. When he has to admit his role in Eva’s life he has a strong sense of guilt, especially because the consequences were so devastating. He turn violently on his mother when he learns how she refused to help the girl and accuses her of killing them both, “then you killed her- and …my child – your own grandchild”
He was rude to his father and this increases as he continues to drink, “in that state a chap easily turns nasty”.
He is immature, he regarded Eva as a “good sport” and she treated him “as if (he) were a kid”.
He has been impressed by the Inspector and wants his parents to admit their mistakes, “I’m ashamed…of both of you” He is not a particularly pleasant character but he has learnt a lesson and is sincerely ashamed of his behavior.

32. The Inspector
The Inspector, named ‘Goole’, is described as creating ‘an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’.
His role grows as the play unfolds and the story of each character is revealed. Whilst they are broken down he remains solid and despite attempts from the others to distract him from his purpose he stays this way throughout. He is the one who makes things happen in the play. Were it not for him none of the secrets that the others have would be revealed and it is he who demonstrates how people are responsible for the affect they have on the lives of others.
His sombre appearance in the play is in direct contrast to the Birling family. There is an air of celebration in the room until he enters bringing with him the news of the dead girl. From then on it is he who controls everything.

33. Eva Smith Eva Smith/Daisy Renton
We never see her but the play revolves around her. She is linked to all the other
characters, except for the inspector and Edna, who all seemed to have played a part in her downfall. Her existence and death are in direct contrast with the wealthy lives of the Birlings and Gerald Croft.

34. Theme
Responsibilty
Age
Sex
Class

35. Responsibilty
Each of the characters has a different attitude to responsibility:
Birling – His responsibility is to make a success of his business eg/ make a profit no matter what. He is also responsible for providing for his family.
Mrs Birling – responsibility as chairwoman of WCO but only sees a responsibility to help those she thinks are deserving
Sheila – recognises she was responsible for the sacking of Eva (due to her power as a wealthy customer)
Eric – little sense of responsibility – he drinks too much, forced a girl into a relationship and stole from his father. He does accept responsibility for his actions.
Gerald – showed a sense of responsibility when he “rescued” Daisy. Yet he gave into his own desire for personal pleasure and abandoned the girl. He accepts responsibility for this, but this is quickly forgotten once the Inspector is revealed as a fake.
The Inspector wanted each member of the family to share the responsibility of Eva's death: he tells them, "each of you helped to kill her." However, his final speech is aimed not only at the characters on stage, but at the audience too:
“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”
The Inspector is talking about a collective responsibility, everyone is society is linked, in the same way that the characters are linked to Eva Smith. Everyone is a part of "one body", the Inspector sees society as more important than individual interests. He adds a clear warning about what could happen if, like some members of the family, we ignore our responsibility:
“And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, when they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”
(c) Inspector Goole says “We are responsible for each other.” How does J.B. Priestley present this theme in An Inspector Calls? [20]

36. Class
Apart from Edna the maid, the cast of the play does not include any lower class characters. We see only the rich, upwardly mobile Birlings and the upper class Gerald Croft. Yet we learn a lot about the lower class as we hear of each stage in Eva's life and we see the attitude the Birlings had for them.
Priestley is trying to show that the upper classes are unaware that the easy lives they lead rest upon hard work of the lower classes.

37. 2004 Either,
(b) Imagine you are Mr Birling. At the end of the play you think back over what has happened.
Write down your thoughts and feelings. Remember how Mr Birling would speak when you
write your answer. [20]
(c) Of all the secrets the Inspector reveals about the Birling family and Gerald Croft during his
visit, which do you think would be the most shocking for an audience, and why?
2005
(b)Which character changes the most as a result of the Inspector’s visit, in your opinion? Show
how this change is presented to an audience. [20]
(c) Give advice to the actor playing Mr Birling on how he should present the character to an
audience.
2006
(b) Imagine you are Sheila. At the end of the play you think back over what has happened.
Write down your thoughts and feelings. Remember how Sheila would speak when you write
your answer. [20]
(c) Show how J.B. Priestley creates and maintains tension throughout the play. [20]
2007
(b)Give advice to the actor playing Mrs. Birling on how she should present the character to an
audience. [20]
(c)How is the character of Inspector Goole important to the play as a whole? [20]
2008
(b)Imagine you are Gerald. At the end of the play you think back over its events. Write down
your thoughts and feelings. Remember how Gerald would speak when you write your
answer. [20]
(c)Inspector Goole says “We are responsible for each other.” How does J.B. Priestley present
this theme in An Inspector Calls? [20]

38. BIRLING (triumphantly) There you are. Proof positive
BIRLING (triumphantly) There you are! Proof positive. The whole story’s just a lot of moonshine.
Nothing but an elaborate sell! (He produces a huge sigh of relief.) Nobody likes to be sold
as badly as that – but – for all that—(he smiles at them all) Gerald, have a drink.
GERALD (smiling) Thanks, I think I could just do with one now.
BIRLING (going to sideboard) So could I.
MRS B. (smiling) And I must say, Gerald, you’ve argued this very cleverly, and I’m most grateful.
GERALD (going for his drink) Well, you see, while I was out of the house I’d time to cool off and
think things out a little.
BIRLING (giving him a drink) Yes, he didn’t keep you on the run as he did the rest of us. I’ll admit
now he gave me a bit of a scare at the time. But I’d a special reason for not wanting any
public scandal just now. (Has his drink now, and raises his glass.) Well, here’s to us.
Come on, Sheila, don’t look like that. All over now.
SHEILA The worse part is. But you’re forgetting one thing I still can’t forget. Everything we said
had happened really had happened. If it didn’t end tragically, then that’s lucky for us. But
it might have done.
BIRLING (jovially) But the whole thing’s different now. Come, come, you can see that, can’t you?
(Imitating INSPECTOR in his final speech.) You all helped to kill her. (Pointing at SHEILA
and ERIC, and laughing.) And I wish you could have seen the look on your faces when he
said that.
SHEILA moves towards door.
Going to bed, young woman?
SHEILA (tensely) I want to get out of this. It frightens me the way you talk.
BIRLING (heartily) Nonsense! You’ll have a good laugh over it yet. Look, you’d better ask Gerald
for that ring you gave back to him, hadn’t you? Then you’ll feel better.
SHEILA (passionately) You’re pretending everything’s just as it was before.
ERIC I’m not!
SHEILA No, but these others are.
BIRLING Well, isn’t it? We’ve been had, that’s all.
SHEILA So nothing really happened. So there’s nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all
go on behaving just as we did.
MRS B. Well, why shouldn’t we?
SHEILA I tell you – whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You
began to learn something. And now you’ve stopped. You’re ready to go on in the same old
way.
BIRLING (amused) And you’re not, eh?
SHEILA No, because I remember what he said, how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and
blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk, and I can’t listen to any more of
it.
ERIC And I agree with Sheila. It frightens me too.
BIRLING Well, go to bed then, and don’t stand there being hysterical.
MRS B. They’re over-tired. In the morning they’ll be as amused as we are.
GERALD Everything’s all right now, Sheila (Holds up the ring.) What about this ring?
SHEILA No, not yet. It’s too soon. I must think.
BIRLING (pointing to ERIC and SHEILA) Now look at the pair of them – the famous younger
generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke—
The telephone rings sharply. There is a moment’s complete silence. BIRLING goes to
answer it.
Yes? Mr Birling speaking What? – here—
But obviously the other person has rung off. He puts the telephone down slowly and looks
in a panic-stricken fashion at the others.
BIRLING That was the police. A girl has just died – on her way to the Infirmary – after swallowing
some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions –
As they stare guiltily and dumbfounded, the curtain falls.
(153-01)

39. INSPECTOR: (coolly) At the end of January, last year, this girl Eva Smith had to leave Milwards,
because Miss Birling compelled them to discharge her, and then she stopped being Eva
Smith, looking for a job and became Daisy Renton, with other ideas.
(Sharply turning on him.) Mr Croft, when did you first get to know her?
An exclamation of surprise from BIRLING and MRS BIRLING.
GERALD: Where did you get the idea that I did know her?
SHEILA: It’s no use, Gerald. You’re wasting time.
INSPECTOR: As soon as I mentioned the name Daisy Renton, it was obvious you’d known her. You
gave yourself away at once.
SHEILA: (bitterly) Of course he did.
INSPECTOR: And anyhow I knew already. When and where did you first meet her?
GERALD: All right, if you must have it. I met her first, sometime in March last year, in the stalls
bar at the Palace. I mean the Palace music hall here in Brumley –
SHEILA: Well, we didn’t think you meant Buckingham Palace.
GERALD: (to SHEILA) Thanks. You’re going to be a great help, I can see. You’ve said your piece,
and you’re obviously going to hate this, so why on earth don’t you leave us to it?
SHEILA: Nothing would induce me. I want to understand exactly what happens when a man says
he’s so busy at the works that he can hardly ever find time to come and see the girl he’s
supposed to be in love with. I wouldn’t miss it for worlds–
INSPECTOR: (with authority) Yes, Mr Croft – in the stalls bar at the Palace Variety Theatre . . .
GERALD: I happened to look in, one night, after a long dull day, and as the show wasn’t very
bright, I went down into the bar for a drink. It’s a favourite haunt of women of the
town–
MRS B.: Women of the town?
BIRLING: Yes, yes. But I see no point in mentioning the subject – especially – (indicating SHEILA.)
MRS B.: It would be much better if Sheila didn’t listen to this story at all.
SHEILA: But you’re forgetting I’m supposed to be engaged to the hero of it. Go on, Gerald. You
went down into the bar, which is a favourite haunt of women of the town.
GERALD: I’m glad I amuse you –
INSPECTOR: (sharply) Come along, Mr Croft. What happened?
GERALD: I didn’t propose to stay long down there. I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women.
But then I noticed a girl who looked quite different. She was very pretty – soft brown
hair and big dark eyes – (breaks off.) My God!
INSPECTOR: What’s the matter?
GERALD: (distressed) Sorry – I – well. I’ve suddenly realised – taken it in properly – that’s she’s
dead –
INSPECTOR: (harshly) Yes, she’s dead.
SHEILA: And probably between us we killed her.

40. SHEILA No, but you haven’t finished asking questions – have you?
INSPECTOR No.
SHEILA (to GERALD) You see? (To INSPECTOR.) Then I’m staying.
GERALD Why should you? It’s bound to be unpleasant and disturbing.
INSPECTOR And you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing
things?
GERALD If possible – yes.
INSPECTOR Well, we know one young woman who wasn’t, don’t we?
GERALD I suppose I asked for that.
SHEILA Be careful you don’t ask for any more, Gerald.
GERALD I only meant to say to you – Why stay when you’ll hate it?
SHEILA It can’t be any worse for me than it has been. And it might be better.
GERALD (bitterly) I see.
SHEILA What do you see?
GERALD You’ve been through it – and now you want to see somebody else put through it.
SHEILA (bitterly) So that’s what you think I’m really like. I’m glad I realized it in time, Gerald.
GERALD No, no, I didn’t mean –
SHEILA (cutting in) Yes, you did. And if you’d really loved me, you couldn’t have said that. You
listened to that nice story about me. I got that girl sacked from Milwards. And now
you’ve made up your mind I must obviously be a selfish, vindictive creature.
GERALD I neither said that nor even suggested it.
SHEILA Then why say I want to see somebody else put through it? That’s not what I meant at
all.
GERALD All right then, I’m sorry.
SHEILA Yes, but you don’t believe me. And this is just the wrong time not to believe me.
INSPECTOR (massively taking charge) Allow me, Miss Birling. (To GERALD.) I can tell you why
Miss Birling wants to stay on and why she says it might be better for her if she did. A
girl died tonight. A pretty, lively sort of girl, who never did anybody any harm. But she
died in misery and agony – hating life –
SHEILA (distressed) Don’t please – I know, I know – and I can’t stop thinking about it –
INSPECTOR (ignoring this) Now Miss Birling has just been made to understand what she did to this
girl. She feels responsible. And if she leaves us now, and doesn’t hear any more, then
she’ll feel she’s entirely to blame, she’ll be alone with her responsibility, the rest of
tonight, all tomorrow, all the next night –
SHEILA (eagerly) Yes, that’s it. And I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry – but I
can’t believe – I won’t believe – it’s simply my fault that in the end she – she committed
suicide. That would be too horrible –
INSPECTOR (sternly to them both) You see, we have to share something. If there’s nothing else, we’ll
have to share our guilt.
SHEILA (staring at him) Yes. That’s true. You know. (She goes close to him, wonderingly.) I
don’t understand about you.
INSPECTOR (calmly) There’s no reason why you should.
He regards her calmly while she stares at him wonderingly and dubiously.

41. INSPECTOR: (cutting in) And my trouble is – that I haven’t much time
INSPECTOR: (cutting in) And my trouble is – that I haven’t much time. You’ll be able to divide the
responsibility between you when I’ve gone. (To ERIC.) Just one last question, that’s all.
The girl discovered that this money you were giving her was stolen, didn’t she?
ERIC: (miserably) Yes. That was the worst of all. She wouldn’t take any more, and she didn’t
want to see me again. (Suddenly startled tone.) Here, but how did you know that? Did
she tell you?
INSPECTOR: No. She told me nothing. I never spoke to her.
SHEILA: She told mother.
MRS B.: (alarmed) Sheila!
SHEILA: Well, he has to know.
ERIC: (to MRS BIRLING) She told you? Did she come here – but then she couldn’t have done,
she didn’t even know I lived here. What happened?
MRS BIRLING, distressed, shakes her head but does not reply.
Come on, don’t just look like that. Tell me – tell me – what happened?
INSPECTOR: (with calm authority) I’ll tell you. She went to your mother’s committee for help, after
she’d done with you. Your mother refused that help.
ERIC: (nearly at breaking point) Then – you killed her. She came to you to protect me – and
you turned her away – yes, and you killed her – and the child she’d have had too – my
child – your own grandchild – you killed them both – damn you, damn you –
MRS B.: (very distressed now) No – Eric – please – I didn’t know – I didn’t understand –
ERIC: (almost threatening her) You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even
tried – you–
SHEILA: (frightened) Eric, don’t – don’t –
BIRLING: (furious, intervening) Why, you hysterical young fool – get back – or I’ll –
INSPECTOR: (taking charge, masterfully) Stop!
They are suddenly quiet, staring at him.
And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don’t need to know any more. Neither do
you. This girl killed herself – and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill
her. Remember that. Never forget it. (He looks from one to the other of them carefully.)
But then I don’t think you ever will. Remember what you did, Mrs Birling. You turned
her away when she most needed help. You refused her even the pitiable little bit of
organized charity you had in your power to grant her. Remember what you did –
ERIC: (unhappily) My God – I’m not likely to forget.
INSPECTOR: Just used her for the end of a stupid drunken evening, as if she was an animal, a thing,
not a person. No, you won’t forget. (He looks at SHEILA.)
SHEILA: (bitterly) I know. I had her turned out of a job. I started it.
INSPECTOR: You helped – but didn’t start it. (Rather savagely, to BIRLING.) You started it. She
wanted twenty-five shillings a week instead of twenty-two and sixpence. You made her
pay a heavy price for that. And now she’ll make you pay a heavier price still.
BIRLING: (unhappily) Look, Inspector – I’d give thousands – yes, thousands –
INSPECTOR: You’re offering the money at the wrong time. Mr Birling. (He makes a move as if
concluding the session, possibly shutting up notebook, etc. Then surveys them
sardonically.) No, I don’t think any of you will forget. Nor that young man, Croft,
though he at least had some affection for her and made her happy for a time. Well, Eva
Smith’s gone. You can’t do her any more harm. And you can’t do her any good now,
either. You can’t even say ‘I’m sorry, Eva Smith’.
SHEILA: (who is crying quietly) That’s the worst of it.
INSPECTOR: But just remember this. 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. We don’t live alone. 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 will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.
Good night.
He walks straight out, leaving them staring, subdued and wondering.

42. MARKING CRITERIA - THE REDUCED VERSION
G - Very short, or lots copied out, with major parts missing or wrong.
F - Still general with no real detail.
E - Clearer focus on the question, with more selection of key parts.
D - Some awareness and some discussion, of characters, themes, mood and atmosphere, and subtext.
C - Selecting and highlighting detail in a thorough and systematic way.
B - Really thorough and thoughtful discussion, well supported with evidence.
A - Analysis of stylistic details. Appreciation of structure. Sensitivity. Overview. Evaluation.
A* - Every word a gem!

43. What makes a successful script........?
Clear focus (throughout)
Detailed (but relevant) reference to the texts (may or may not include quotation)
Development of points
Evidence of some independent thought (to an extent!)
Focus on words (but not feature spotting)
Balance of time