an inspector calls- characters

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Adjectives to describe Mr Birling:
selfish, unremorseful, exploitative, lust for power, highly respected business man, capitalist, humble beginnings, materialistic, upper class, naive, ignorant
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1) What device does Mr Birling act as?
- Priestley felt strongly about his political views in favour of socialism and these views are displayed prominently throughout An Inspector Calls.
Priestly used the character of Mr Birling to represent how the upper class frowned upon people below them i
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2) What device does Mr Birling act as?
- Priestley was concerned about the consequences of social inequality in Britain. He believed that what resulted from this were the very characteristics shown in Mr Birling.- Priestley wanted to encourage his audience to dislike Mr Birling and to see him
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3) What device does Mr Birling act as?
- there is a consequence for every action. Through Mr Birling's thoughtless actions of firing Eva Smith, his inability to admit his partial responsibility in Eva's death, and Birling wanting to cover up for Eric stealing money, the evil side of money and
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What progression does Mr Birling make as a character?
Mr Birling has not changed by the end of the play - he refuses to learn/take on board the Inspector's lesson. As a result, the play ends with another phone call and the announcement of a second visit - perhaps from a 'real' Inspector. Priestley may be war
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Adjectives to describe Mrs Birling:
unsympathetic, public influence (charity work), social superior, cold, lacks empathy, snobbish, narrow-minded, naive, unremorseful, hypocritical, lack of conscience
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1) What device does Mrs Birling act as?
- she represents the wealthier, privileged classes and their selfish attitudes.
- she sees the lower class as morally inferior - Priestley hated this kind of attitude and believed that people with these attitudes had to change if society was going to work
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2) What device does Mrs Birling act as?
- she makes us see just how awful life was for the lower classes at this time (1912) - the class divide was huge.
- she played her part in the death of Eva Smith - she turned her away (from her charity) when she needed help. The girl was penniless and pre
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What progression does Mrs Birling make as a character?
She does not change at the end of the play - perhaps this is why 'An Inspector Calls' again, to try and make her change.
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Adjectives to describe Sheila:
Act 1: young, pretty, excitable, satisfied, ignorant, exploitive, self-centred
Acts 2 & 3: mature, remorseful, kind, assertive, frustrated, intelligent
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What device does Sheila act as?
- she represents (with Eric) the younger generation - Priestley saw them as 'more impressionable' - after all, they were the future.
- she gives the audience hope that their society can improve if people make changes and take responsibility.
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What progression does Sheila make as a character?
She learns her lesson. She takes responsibility and changes; she also tries to encourage others to do the same. Her views slowly change from capitalist to socialist as the play progresses and she is influenced by the Inspector.
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Adjectives to describe Gerald:
untrustworthy, arrogant, kind, sly, capitalist, narrow minded, lacks empathy, selfish, heartless, unrepentant, sensitive
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What device does Gerald act as?
- he represents the selfish attitudes of the upper class.
- he played a key part in the 'chain of events', contributing to the death of Eva Smith.
- he lets the audience down; we had hope that he would change his attitudes, but he doesn't. It conveys how
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What progression does Gerald make as a character?
He played a key part in the 'chain of events', contributing to the death of Eva Smith, but he doesn't change his attitudes, conveying how ingrained these attitudes were in the upper class, and how difficult it was to change them.
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Adjectives to describe Eric:
alcoholic, young, awkward, naive, repentant, privileged, exploitive, aggressive, apologetic, broken, lonely
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What device does Eric act as?
- conveys how the upper class abused their power over the working class (treated Eva Smith 'as if she were an animal, a thing, not a person.')
- he represents (with Sheila) the younger generation - Priestley saw them as 'more impressionable' - after all,
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1) What progression does Eric make as a character?
- he was part of the 'chain of events', having a fling with Eva Smith and getting her pregnant. He treated her 'as if she were an animal, a thing, not a person.' At the start of the play, he was just like the others - abusing his power over a working clas
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2) What progression does Eric make as a character?
- however, he accepts responsibility, and like Sheila, feels very guilty about what he did. He is ashamed of his behaviour and shows that he is capable of changing for the better. 'The fact remains that I did what I did.' Therefore, the audience is more l
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Adjectives to describe the Inspector:
ominous, perhaps even supernatural, impressive, purposeful, un-nerving, omniscient, blunt, assertive, powerful, manipulative, careful,
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1) What device does the Inspector act as?
- He is Priestley's voice and he represents Priestley's strong moral views. His job is to make the characters change their attitudes, face up to what they have done and start taking responsibility for each other.
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2) What device does the Inspector act as?
- Priestley uses the Inspector to make the audience question their own behaviour. Morality and ensure they see and learn from his final message in the play.
- The issues the Inspector highlights are just as relevant to a modern day audience.
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What progression does the Inspector make as a character?
Inspector Goole's character doesn't change. He always remains assertive throughout the play. However, he seems to gain more control over the characters as the play progresses and some of the characters begin to change.
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Adjectives to describe the Eva Smith/Daisy Renton:
pretty, working-class, vulnerable, exploited, desperate, brave, sensitive, strong-willed,
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1) What device does Eva Smith/Daisy Renton act as?
- a character who does not appear onstage in the play, but who is the absent figure around which the action spins.
- Eva/Daisy is a representation of the girls that Arthur, Sybil, Sheila, Eric, and Gerald have wronged, either separately or together.
- Pri
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2) What device does Eva Smith/Daisy Renton act as?
- Eva/Daisy is the lesson each character must learn individually.
- Eva is similar to Eve, the first woman created by God in the bible, and Smith is the most common English surname. Therefore Eva Smith could represent every woman of her class
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1) What progression does Eva Smith/Daisy Renton make as a character?
After being sacked by Mr Birling for asking for a pay rise and unemployed for 2 months, she got a job at Millwards. Sheila got her fired from this job out of jealousy.
She then changes name to Daisy Renton (her name suggests a fresh start and growth or th
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2) What progression does Eva Smith/Daisy Renton make as a character?
She meets Eric Birling and they become lovers.
Gets pregnant, refuses stolen money from Eric, is denied help from Mrs Birling's Women's Charity Organisation
She then commits suicide by drinking strong disinfectant (symbolic of how the upper class wanted s
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How is the fact that Eva has no lines relevant?
It shows that she is powerless, silent and invisible
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The Birlings' maid, Edna, may seem insignificant but her role is important. Why?
She serves as a reminder of the Birlings' wealth and the presence of the lower classes. She also introduces the Inspector and provides insight into the life of Eva Smith since they come from a similar background.
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There are main, secondary and minor characters in An Inspector Calls. Who are they?
Main characters:
-Mr Arthur Birling, Mrs Sybil Birling, Sheila Birling, Eric Birling, Gerald Croft, Inspector Goole
Secondary characters:
-Eva Smith/Daisy Renton
Minor characters:
- Edna (the Birlings' maid)
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Who is Mr Birling?
1) Mr Birling is the head of the Birling household. He has made himself very wealthy by being a 'hard-headed' business man. At the start of the play he comes across as being arrogant, making long speeches about his predictions for the future. He also mak
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Who is Mr Birling?
2) It is at this exact moment that the Inspector arrives. Sybil, his wife, is his 'social superior' and it is hinted that he is self-conscious about being from a more working-class background. He is materialistic and possessive and also has old fashioned
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How does Mr Birling respond to the investigation?
Mr Birling is shaken by the investigation and is shocked by the behaviour of his son Eric. However, he doesn't learn any lessons during the course of the play. When it seems that the Inspector might have been an imposter he is overjoyed and mocks the othe
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How is Mr Birling presented as arrogant?
He makes long speeches at dinner about things that the audience would know were incorrect. For example, he claims war will never happen and that the Titanic is unsinkable.
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How is Mr Birling presented as having patronising views about women?
Mr Birling makes some old-fashioned and patronising points about women and how they view clothes and appearance.
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How is Mr Birling presented as a capitalist?
Mr Birling is a business man whose main concern is making money. This is what is most important to him and he comes across as being greedy.
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How is Mr Birling presented as possessive?
On a number of occasions Mr Birling refers to things and people as being 'his'.
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Who is Mrs Birling?
Mrs Sybil Birling is Arthur Birling's wife and right from the opening of the play she is cold-hearted and snobbish despite being a prominent member of local women's charity. Throughout dinner she tells Sheila and Eric off for things that she considers imp
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What is Mrs Birling's downfall in the play?
Her cold, uncaring nature leads to her downfall as the Inspector forces her to unknowingly condemn her own son.
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How is Mrs Birling presented as cold?
Mrs Birling is very unsympathetic when describing Eva Smith's position. Sybil assumes instantly that because Eva is pregnant and single she is a bad person.
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How is Mrs Birling presented as ignorant?
When the Inspector suggests that Eric is used to drinking, Mrs Birling jumps quickly to Eric's defence.
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How is Mrs Birling presented as snobbish?
Sybil shows that she is snobbish when she criticises members of her family for their behaviour.
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Who is Sheila Birling?
Sheila Birling is Arthur and Sybil's daughter and is in her early twenties. At the start of the play she is celebrating her engagement to Gerald Croft and she is a giddy, naïve and childish young lady. The Inspector arrives and she is very shocked by the
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How does the investigation impact Sheila?
1)As the play continues, she matures, admiring Gerald's honesty, even though he cheated on her. She shows an assertive side by standing up to her mother and father and she also shows that she is insightful and intelligent - she can see where the Inspector
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How does the investigation impact Sheila?
2) By the end of the play she has grown up and has realised that her actions can have grave consequences.
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How is Sheila presented as naive?
At the opening of the play she appears to be a little immature and easily led. Her behaviour is childish and she very much does what her parents tell her.
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How is Sheila presented as assertive?
At the opening of the play she appears to be a little immature and easily led. Her behaviour is childish and she very much does what her parents tell her.
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How is Sheila presented as insightful?
At a number of points, Sheila shows that she can see things that the other characters cannot.
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Who is Eric Birling? Describe some of his actions:
1) Eric is the Birlings' son and is in his early twenties, he is described as being 'not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive'. In other words, he lacks confidence. At points he tries to stand up to his father but is talked down. It becomes clear that
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Who is Eric Birling? Describe some of his actions:
2) It turns out that Eric had an affair with Eva Smith and that she was pregnant with Eric's baby when she committed suicide. Eric stole money from his father's business to help Eva. In the final act Eric makes an emotional attack on his parents and their
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How is Eric presented as lacking confidence?
At the start of the play Eric is very unsure of himself. He tries to speak up but is often talked down by his father. His behaviour is awkward and stilted.
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How is Eric presented as assertive?
Like Sheila he can be assertive as well. Even early on in the play he tries to stand up to his father.
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How is Eric presented as emotional?
Eric's experience with the Inspector causes him great emotional turmoil, unlike some of the other characters.
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Who is Gerald Croft?
Gerald is described as 'an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town'. Mr Birling is very pleased that Gerald is getting engaged to Sheila because his family are upper-class business
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Throughout the play how is Gerald presented? Are the audience made to like or dislike him?
1) At the beginning of the play, Gerald comes across as being confident and charming. This changes after his affair with Eva Smith is revealed. Gerald gives himself away when he hears that Eva changed her name to Daisy Renton.
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Throughout the play how is Gerald presented? Are the audience made to like or dislike him?
2) He initially is evasive and tries not to talk too much about it but redeems himself in the eyes of the audience by being more open and honest about it as he talks to Sheila. He lets himself down in the final act by trying to get the family out of troub
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How is Gerald presented as confident?
At the start of the play he seems very comfortable - making himself at home and behaving like a member of the Birling family he even makes fun of Eric.
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How is Gerald presented as evasive?
At first, when the truth comes out about his affair with Eva Smith he tries to avoid the subject.
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How is Gerald presented as honest?
Eventually Gerald gains some respect from Sheila and the audience for being honest about his affair.
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Who is Inspector Goole?
The Inspector arrives whilst the Birling family are celebrating the engagement of Sheila and Gerald. The stage directions state that he 'need not be a big man' but that he must create an 'impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness'. The Inspec
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How does the Inspector drive forward the drama?
He drives forward the drama, with his questions creating shocking moments and gripping cliff-hangers for the audience.
Also, his entrances and exits are well timed in order to create maximum tension (e.g. at the end of Act 1 when he walks in on Gerald and
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By the end of the play it is revealed that Goole isn't actually an Inspector. It is not entirely clear who he is, Priestley leaves it up to the audience to decide.
What does his name suggest?
His name 'Goole' suggests a supernatural or ghost like element, and he seems to know what the characters will say before they do - is he the conscience of the audience? Is he the voice of Priestley? Either way he delivers a frightening message when he lea
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How is the Inspector presented as imposing?
The stage directions that describe the Inspector give the impression that he is an imposing figure. His tendency to interrupt and control the conversation adds to this impression too.
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How is the Inspector presented as emotive?
When he tells the others about Eva Smith's death he leaves in the gruesome details.
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How is the Inspector presented as prophetic?
As the Inspector delivers his closing speech, he prophesises s a terrible future.
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We never meet Eva Smith during the course of the play, but she is a very important character. It is her death that is the cause of the Inspector's investigation which in turn drives the drama.
How does the audience learn about her? What was she like?
1)The audience learns about Eva through the Inspector, who has read a letter and a diary she kept. They also learn about her through the characters she came into contact with. A lot of the information about her is inferred - from the incident at Mr Birlin
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We never meet Eva Smith during the course of the play, but she is a very important character. It is her death that is the cause of the Inspector's investigation which in turn drives the drama.
How does the audience learn about her? What was she like?
2) Her relationship with Gerald, when she changed her name to Daisy Renton, reveals her sensitivity. By the time she reaches Eric and Sybil, Eva is desperate and resourceful in trying to get herself help.
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We never meet Eva Smith during the course of the play, but she is a very important character. It is her death that is the cause of the Inspector's investigation which in turn drives the drama.
How does the audience learn about her? What was she like?
3) Eva is always referred to in a positive light by the characters that met her but the Inspector never lets the audience or the Birlings and Gerald forget her gruesome death. The Inspector's final speech reveals Priestley's lesson that there are millions
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How is Eva presented as strong willed?
Eva Smith shows that she is strong willed when she organises a strike for higher wages. This shows that she is not afraid to stand up to 'hard-headed' business men like Mr Birling.
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How is Eva presented as having a sense of humour?
Eva shows that she has a sense of humour when she smiles as Sheila tries on a dress that doesn't suit her. The audience warm to Eva and see her as human.
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How is Eva presented as being sensitive?
The diary Eva kept after her affair with Gerald ended shows that she felt emotions very deeply and the audience empathises with her as a result.
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1) What device does Mr Birling act as?

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- Priestley felt strongly about his political views in favour of socialism and these views are displayed prominently throughout An Inspector Calls.
Priestly used the character of Mr Birling to represent how the upper class frowned upon people below them i

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2) What device does Mr Birling act as?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

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3) What device does Mr Birling act as?

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What progression does Mr Birling make as a character?

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