Guilt Sarina, Habeebah, Jaskiran and Kira We are exploring the theme of....In An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley.

Introduction - Fill in the blanks Guilt is a key _______ in An inspector Calls and is displayed through the younger characters Sheila, Eric and Gerald. In Edwardian Britain, the _______ and ________ classes never met which means that the upper classes had no compassion for the lower classes. Due to the _______________ in the class system the rich could not empathise with the poor. The play was written in _______ after both _______ and Priestley wanted to show how society could change, he echoed this through the ____________ _______________ Eric, Sheila and Gerald. Mr and Mrs Birling have a 1912 ___________ and do not show any guilt. The Inspector tries to make every character ___________ themselves just as Priestley does to his audience, but only succeeds with Sheila, Gerald and Eric. The old ______________ that you can’t teach an old ______ new tricks displays that the Inspector couldn’t get through to Mr and Mrs Birling.

Introduction - Corrections. Guilt is a key theme in An inspector Calls and is displayed through the younger characters Sheila, Eric and Gerald. In Edwardian Britain, the upper and lower classes never met which means that the upper classes had no compassion for the lower classes. Due to the segregation in the class system the rich could not empathise with the poor. The play was written in 1945 after both wars and Priestley wanted to show how society could change, he echoed this through the younger characters Eric, Sheila and Gerald. Mr and Mrs Birling have a 1912 attitude and do not show any guilt. The Inspector tries to make every character question themselves just as Priestley does to his audience, but only succeeds with Sheila, Gerald and Eric. The old metaphor that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks displays that the Inspector couldn’t get through to Mr and Mrs Birling.

Quotes Inspector Goole Page 29 Act 2 - ‘if there’s nothing else we’ll have to share our guilt’ Mr Birling & Sheila Page 33 Act 2 - ‘I don’t propose to give you much rope...giving us the rope so that we’ll hang ourselves’ Mr Birling Page 57 Act 3 - ‘there’s every excuse for what both you mother and I did – it turned out unfortunately’ Sheila Page 24 Act 1- ‘I’ll never, never do it again to anybody’ Eric Page 65 Act 3 - ‘We all helped to kill her – and that’s what matters’ Sheila Page 23 Act 1 - ‘I feel a lot worse’ Gerald Page 35 Act 2 - ‘Well I’ve suddenly realized – take it in properly – that she’s dead’ Mrs Birling Page 44 Act 2 - ‘Simply because I’ve done nothing wrong – and you know it’ These are a few quotes in the play that we thought demonstrated the theme of guilt..

Analysis – quote 1 Inspector Goole Page 29 Act 2 - ‘if there’s nothing else we’ll have to share our guilt’ This state of nothing is referring to Eva’s situation – there is nothing left of her – she’s dead The use of the personal pronouns is because the Inspector trying to refer to the family as one. Maybe on of the Inspectors aims is to bring the family together. They need to be able to come together and get through what has happened like a family. The Inspector is unusual here because he includes himself in the ‘guilt’ by using we’ll and our instead of you, this could be because he is echoing one of his messages for post war Britain which is to come together and get rid of the class system - EQUALITY KIRA

Analysis – quote 2 Mr Birling Page 57 Act 3 - ‘there’s every excuse for what both your mother and I did – it turned out unfortunately’ HABEEBAH This refers to Eva’s death, he tries to disguise the death as something less serious, something that can be ignored. The word unfortunate takes away the importance of Eva’s death They try to shift the blame and justify the murder. They have no guilt or regret. They’re cold and heartless they excuse themselves from a tragic death. The parents are irresponsible and try to blame their children instead, just to make themselves look good.

Analysis – quote 3 Eric Page 65 Act 3 - ‘We all helped to kill her – and that’s what matters SARINA He knows that the whole family is to blame. He could also be referring to the audience. This is showing Priestley's ideas that the audience has to understand that what is happening isn’t good and needs to change Eric feels guilty and the vulgar use of the word ‘kill’ shows how he feels and reflects how Priestley wants the audience to fell guilty with Eric At the end of the play after the Inspector has left. This means that Eric has realised his mistakes but he is still irresponsible as he doesn’t solely take blame he includes his family – ‘we’

Analysis – quote 4 Gerald Page 35 Act 2 – (distressed)‘Well I’ve suddenly realized – take it in properly – that she’s dead JAS Gerald genuinely feels guilty for Eva’s death and he’s suffering. The hyphens represent the pauses in Gerald’s statement and this shows how he is struggling to come to terms with Eva’s death. His feelings for Eva were true and that’s why he’s upset and feels guilty. He is the most emotionally involved with her and so it is partly his fault and so should feel guilty. The fact that Gerald is able to admit that he feels guilty shows that he has courage and is not afraid to look bad in front of his in laws. He is a genuine character who doesn’t care about social class or how he is perceived, to him her death is more important than his reputation

Writers intentions – Fill in the blanks An Inspector Calls is a ___________ play and Priestley tries to demonstrate the need for _________ in society. In a time where lower and upper classes never _____, Priestley went completely against the rules of _________ and presented a play where upper classes should be made to feel ________ for their actions towards the lower classes. Priestley tries to introduce __________ into post war Britain. He tries to make the country realise that change is ___________. He does this through the portrayal of the ___________.

Writers intentions - Corrections An Inspector Calls is a morality play and Priestley tries to demonstrate the need for change in society. In a time where lower and upper classes never met, Priestley went completely against the rules of society and presented a play where upper classes should be made to feel guilty for their actions towards the lower classes. Priestley tries to introduce equality into post war Britain. He tries to make the country realise that change is necessary. He does this through the portrayal of the Inspector.

Thanks for paying attention, we hope you understood. We have made a crossword on the back of your sheet so feel free to fill it in whenever you want as part of revision.