Kelso High School
English Department
‘An Inspector Calls’
Learning Intentions – Act One
 Plot / Key incidents
 Setting
 Characterisation – The Birling Family / Arthur Birling / Sybil
Birling / / Sheila Birling / Eric Birling / Gerald Croft / Eva
Smith (Daisy Renton) / Inspector Goole
 Dramatic Techniques: Tension / Entrances / Exits /
Dramatic Irony
 Structure: Opening
 Stagecraft: One set / Lighting
 Themes : Social Class / Social Responsibility / Remorse
and Guilt / Reality versus Illusion
Plot / Key Incidents
 The Birlings are having an engagement party
when an Inspector arrives.
 He tells them that a young woman called Eva
Smith has killed herself.
 It is revealed that Arthur Birling sacked her from
his factory. This sets off the chain of events that
led to her suicide and all the Birlings are
eventually involved.
 Sheila Birling got her sacked from her new job in
a shop.
Setting
 Birlings’ dining room.
 In 1912 only rich families had a dining room – this
makes it a symbol of the middle class.
Characterisation:The Birling
Family
Characterisation: The Birling
Family
 Initially they appear like the perfect family:
 Arthur Birling is a successful businessman.
 Sybil Birling works hard to keep the family’s
reputation intact.
 Eric Birling works for Mr. Birling in the family
business.
 Sheila Birling is engaged to Gerald Croft, the son
of another successful businessman.
Characterisation: Arthur
Birling
Characterisation: Arthur
Birling – Act One
 Portrayed as a successful and ambitious
businessman. He:
 Treats his daughter’s marriage as a business deal
as he hopes that his company can join with
company owned by Gerald’s father to get
“lower costs and higher prices”.
 Considers himself to be successful, “a practical
man of business”.
 He is positive about the future, “I say there isn’t a
chance of war”. This shows how shortsighted he
is.
Characterisation: Arthur
Birling – Act One
 He likes to be respected. He is well known in
Brumley and likes to tell people he used to be the
Lord Mayor, “You see I was Lord Mayor here two
years ago when the Royal Family visited us”.
 He desperately wants Gerald’s family to like him
and wants Gerald to tell them about his
knighthood.
Characterisation: Arthur
Birling – Act One
 He is used to being in charge and the Inspector
says only twenty words before Birling shows
“impatience”.
 He does not care about other people. He doesn’t
believe in “community and all that nonsense”. He
sees working class people as “cheap labour”.
 He didn’t just refuse to give the workers better
wages – he fired the leaders of the strike.
 He would rather forget about Eva and protect his
reputation than face up to what he had done, “If
you don’t come down sharply on some of these
people, they’d soon be asking for the earth”.
Characterisation: Sybil Birling
Characterisation: Sybil Birling
 She is very traditional and stuck in her ways about
her social class.
 She is unfeeling and cold, “a rather cold woman”.
 She thinks that social position is very important and
tries to make her family follow the rules of proper
behaviour – e.g. telling Sheila off for using slang.
 She is Arthur Birling’s “social superior”.
 She tells her husband off for saying the food was
good in front of a guest, “Arthur, you’re not
supposed to say such things”.
Characterisation: Sheila
Birling
Characterisation: Sheila
Birling
 Initially portrayed as child-like:
The stage directions say she’s “very pleased”
and “excited”.
She uses language like “squiffy”… “I’m sorry
Daddy”.
She jokes with Gerald, but the stage directions
say she’s “half serious, half playful”. Is her
childishness a way to hide serious concerns about
her relationship with Gerald.
Characterisation: Sheila
Birling
 Her initial treatment of Eva / Daisy could be
because she is immature.
 She is initially portrayed as selfish as she used her
social position to get Eva / Daisy fired from the
shop.
 She admits she used her power to punish Eva/
Daisy, “but it didn’t seem to be anything very
terrible at the time”.
Characterisation: Sheila
Birling
 She does appear, even as early as Act One to
have morals:
“But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re
people”.
“At least I’m trying to tell the truth”.
“And if I could help her now, I would – “
“ I’ll never, never do it again to anybody”.
Characterisation: Sheila
Birling
 She has good instincts:
“You gave yourself away as soon as he
mentioned her name”.
 She realises there is no point in lying to the
Inspector:
“Why – you fool – he knows. Of course he knows.
And I hate to think how much he knows that we
don’t know yet. You’ll see. You’ll see”.
Characterisation: Eric Birling
Characterisation: Eric Birling
 Hints are dropped that Eric is not quite as he
appears:
Stage directions say he is, “Not quite at ease”.
He is described as “half shy”.
Characterisation: Eric Birling
 When Gerald jokes that the Inspector might be
calling because “Eric’s been up to something”,
Eric acts suspiciously (who is uneasy, sharply) and
says that he doesn’t think the joke is “very funny”.
 This suggests that he is feeling guilty about
something, even though we don’t know what he
has done until much later.
 Priestley uses Eric’s strange behaviour to hint that
he is hiding secrets that will damage the Birling
family’s reputation.
Characterisation: Gerald Croft
Characterisation: Gerald Croft
 Seems like a good catch. He gets on well with Mr
Birling and impresses Sybil Birling.
 He is portrayed as respectable, “well-bred young
man about town”
 He is portrayed as upper class, “from an old
country family”.
 He is socially superior to the Birlings.
Characterisation: Gerald Croft
 He is a younger version of Arthur Birling:
He agrees with Mr Birling about politics, women
and laughs at his jokes.
He is completely business-minded and supports
Arthur’s sacking of Eva Smith, “You couldn’t have
done anything else”… “We’d have done the same
thing”.
He shows that young people are just as selfcentred as the older generation
Characterisation: Gerald Croft
 He is also a liar as he had an affair with Eva Smith
the previous summer, but told Sheila he was just
busy with work, “It was all over and done with last
summer. I hadn’t set eyes on the girl for at least
six months. I don’t come into this suicide
business”.
Characterisation: Eva Smith
Characterisation: Eva Smith
 An ordinary working class girl
Eva = similar to Eve the first woman in the Bible –
she could represent all women.
Smith = a very common last name. Could also
signify someone who works with their hands e.g. a
blacksmith, a locksmith.
Her name could mean that she represents all
ordinary, working class women.
She represents all vulnerable working class people
who need the support of a more caring society.
Characterisation: Eva Smith
 Eva Smith is a silent character who represents the
powerless members of society.
 The Birlings take away her earnings:
 Act 1 – She is sacked from her job as a factory
worker at Birling and Company. She was a good
worker but sacked for speaking out.
 Act 1 – She is sacked from her job as a shop
assistant at Milwards. She is also good at this job,
but Sheila gets her sacked out of jealousy.
Characterisation: Inspector Goole
 He is charge, “Be quiet for a moment and listen to
me”.
He arrives near the beginning of the play and
says he wants to find out the truth of what
happened to Eva / Daisy.
 He is not bothered about impressing the Birlings
so is not worried about how he treats them.
 He is a strong character and gives an impression
of “massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”.
Characterisation: Inspector Goole
 He does not behave like the Birlings:
He does not play golf and he’s not impressed by
Birling being a former Lord Mayor.
 He interrupts, repeats and pauses in unusual
ways. He does not behave in the way that the
middle classes would have expected
Characterisation: Inspector Goole
 He is responsible for making the audience feel
sorry for Eva:
“pretty” / “lively”
 Sympathy is increased by the harsh description of
her death, “burnt-out inside”.
 He controls the play’s actions dealing with one
character at a time. The other characters get
confused – he never does.
Characterisation: Inspector Goole
 He is an outsider who takes Eva / Daisy’s side.
 Priestley uses the Inspector to present his own
views. He is Priestley’s voice in the play.
Dramatic Techniques - Tension
 The Inspector increases the tension by only
releasing information bit by bit – e.g. showing the
photograph to only one person at a time, (Both
Gerald and Eric rise to have a look at the
photograph, but the Inspector interposes himself
between them and the photograph).
 Priestley freezes the action between scenes to
create tension – Act One ends with the Inspector
asking, “Well?” which suggests that he knows
Gerald has something to confess.
Dramatic Techniques –Entrances
 The Inspector arrives just as Birling says, “a man
has to mind his own business. It is as though the
Inspector has been sent to prove the exact
opposite.
Dramatic Techniques – Exits
 When the characters exit they are ususally
escaping someone or something – e.g. Sheila
runs off the stage when she realises that getting
Eva / Daisy sacked might have led to her suicide,
(Gives a half-stifled sob, and then runs out).
 The Inspector uses exits to get information out of
the other characters – e.g. leaves Sheila and
Gerald alone together to discuss his affair with
Daisy Renton, “Eric take the Inspector along to
the drawing room”.
Dramatic Techniques – Dramatic Irony
 When the audience know something that the
characters on stage don’t.
 Birling thinks the future is bright:
1. He says the problems between workers and
bosses aren’t serious, BUT there was a General
Strike in 1926. Millions of people stopped working
for nine days.
2. He says that the Titanic is “unsinkable”, BUT it
sank on its first journey.
Dramatic Techniques – Dramatic Irony
3. He says that there definitely won’t be a war with
Germany, BUT World War One was about to start.
PRIESTLEY USES DRAMATIC IRONY TO MAKE THE
AUDIENCE THINK THAT BIRLING MIGHT BE WRONG
ABOUT LOTS OF OTHER THINGS, FOR EXAMPLE,
THINKING THAT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS
“NONSENSE”.
In the play it seems as though the Inspector knows
everything, Priestley gives a similar power to the
audience.
Structure - Opening
Exposition – introduces us to:
1. Characters
2. Background
3. Context
4. Themes
Structure: Opening
 Idea that even before the Inspector arrives it is
clear that there are problems.
 Sheila is “half-serious, half-playful” with Gerald.
She already has doubts about him.
 Eric appears to be half- drunk as he toasts Gerald
and Sheila “rather noisily” – this hints at his
drinking problem.
Stagecraft - Set
 The set is cramped (one room) which increases
the tension and makes the whole atmosphere of
the play seem more intense.
 The small set shows how self-centred the Birlings
are and how unwelcome an outsider (the
Inspector) is.
Stagecraft - Lighting
 “Pink” at start to reflect the warm and lovely
atmosphere.
 It becomes “brighter and harder” when the
Inspector arrives, symbolising a spotlight being
turned on their world.
Theme: Social Class
 Birling is a rich businessman, but the Crofts are
socially “superior” because they inherited land
and money.
 Eva Smith lost both her jobs because she was
abused by more powerful people. They felt more
important than Eva because of their social class.
 Priestley thinks the class system is unfair for
working class people – Eva Smith could represent
any working class member of society.
Theme: Social Responsibility
 Arthur Birling believes that looking after himself and
his family is all that matters, “If we were all
responsible for everything that happened to
everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would
be very awkward, wouldn’t it?”
 He wants to pay his workers as little as possible. He
doesn’t care about them – he just wants to make
more money.
 He refuses to take responsibility for the impact he
had on Eva’s life.
 He laughs at the idea of Social Responsibility and
calls people like the Inspector, “cranks”.
Theme: Social Responsibility
 Eva represents all the vulnerable working class
people who need the support of a more caring
society.
 Shelia realises that getting Eva sacked wasn’t
very responsible, but she didn’t do anything
about it at the time, “It didn’t seem to be
anything very terrible at the time….If I could help
her now, I would - …”
Theme: Guilt and Remorse
 Sheila begins to change her attitude even as
early as Act One:
“I’ll never, never do it again to anybody”.
“I behaved badly too. I know I did. I’m ashamed
of it”.
Theme: Illusion versus Reality
 They might appear to an outsider like the perfect
family, but even as early as Act One…
Success Criteria
 Plot / Key incidents
 Setting
 Characterisation – The Birling Family / Arthur Birling /
Sybil Birling / / Sheila Birling / Eric Birling / Gerald Croft /
Eva Smith (Daisy Renton) / Inspector Goole
 Dramatic Techniques: Tension / Entrances / Exits /
Dramatic Irony
 Structure: Opening
 Stagecraft: One set / Lighting
 Themes : Social Class / Social Responsibility / Remorse
and Guilt / Reality versus Illusion
Well done!!