By the end of these series of lessons you will have:
•Re-read most of the play.
• Looked in detail reactions to the Inspector’s
interrogation.
• Completed mini – tasks that will prepare you for you
forthcoming exam.
Individual
writing task
• Completed quote searching tasks that will improve your
response in the exam.
Homework task
• Completed an essay question on Who is to blame for Eva's
death?
• Had an opportunity to work on your own, as a pair and in a
group in order to develop your speaking and listening skills.
Paired activity
Group activity
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How much
can you
remember of
the play?
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It is a spring evening in 1912 at
the Brumley home of the
Birlings, a prosperous industrial
family in the North Midlands.
The family is enjoying a dinner
party celebrating the
engagement of their daughter to
a man who is heir to the most
successful family business in the
North -- but they are about to
be interrupted by the persistent
Police Inspector, Inspector
Goole.
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THE PLOT
In brief, the plot is as follows.
• Arthur Birling, a wealthy businessman, and his family are
celebrating the engagement of his daughter Sheila.
• The play begins with the idea that all is well at the Birling
household.
•They receive a visit from an Inspector, Inspector Goole,
who has come to inform them that a young working class girl
called Eva Smith has been found dead and that he is there
to investigate her sudden suicide.
• The family are, in turn, interrogated by the Inspector, and
evident cracks appear in their relationships with one
another.
• Under the pressure of the Inspector’s interrogation,
every member of the family turn out to have a shameful
secret linking them with Eva’s death.
• The Inspector leaves the house, the phone then rings,
informing the family that a Police Inspector is to visit them
that evening.
The curtain falls.
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Key events in Eva’s life.
Year and month
What happens
September 1910
Eva sacked by Birling & Co.
December 1910
Eva employed by Milwards.
Late January 1911
Eva sacked by Milwards.
March 1911
Eva becomes Gerald's
mistress.
Early September 1911
Gerald breaks off the
affair.
Eva leaves Brumley for two months.
November 1911
Eric meets Eva.
December 1911/January
1912
Eva finds she is pregnant.
Late March 1912
Mrs. Birling turns down
Eva's application for help.
Early April 1912
Eva's suicide/the
Inspector calls*
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THINK!
Who is to blame for the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton?
Who is to blame for Eva's death?
Think carefully how each of the Birlings and Gerald Croft influence
what happens to Eva.
Name
Who is to blame
work sheet.
What role does
the character play
in Eva’s death?
How prepared is
the character to
accept blame?
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
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On your own, look again at the play as a whole and find
quotes to support your findings on the Who is to blame
worksheet.
By the next lesson: Re-read Act 1 of the play looking closely at Mr
Birling’s character, Sheila’s character and that of the Inspector.
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Defensive –
behaving in a
way so as to
protect
yourself.
Moralistic –
Being very
aware of
what is right
or wrong,
good or bad.
Find 3 other
comments
by both
characters.
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In Act 1 Sheila Birling is also interrogated by the
Inspector. Look at what she says in response to the
Inspector’s questioning and how the Inspector behaves
again in a moralistic manner.
Sheila Birling
Inspector Goole
SHEILA (rather distressed) Sorry! It’s just
that I can’t help thinking about this girl…
INSPECTOR She wasn’t pretty when I
saw her today…
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Extended question: How does Mr Birling’s reaction to the
Inspector’s interrogation differ to that of his daughter, Sheila?
Think and find in the
dictionary as many adjectives
as you can to describe Mr
Birling and to describe Sheila.
Think!
Record these on your mini
white boards.
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self-righteous self-satisfied
arrogant
pompous
boastful
condescending
patronising
domineering
ostentatious
discriminatory
unscrupulous
unfair
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ashamed
crestfallen
guilty
regretful
enlightened
affluent
greedy
jealous
selfish
resentful
naïve
shallow
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Make your point, give an example then explain its effect.
Example – The audience can see that Sheila is jealous when, while at Milwards, she is
rude towards Eva Smith. In the play the inspector asks her ‘ you might be said to
have been jealous of her’ and Sheila replies with ‘Yes, I suppose so.’ This has a
positive effect on the audience’s attitude towards Sheila as they see she is willing to
admit how she felt.
NOW complete the task by finding quotes to support your
adjectives for both characters.
By the next lesson: Finish the quote search task in your work books.
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Study closely both character’s relationship with Mr Birling.
Consider what is said and how it is said and how each
character reacts to one another. Use the boxes below for
your notes.
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Think of Eric’s relationship with his father. Now find quotes that show how
they feel for one another. Do they like each other? Explain your answer.
Eric
Mr Birling
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Think of Gerald’s relationship with Mr Birling. Now find quotes that show
how they behave with one another. Do they like each other? Explain your
answer.
Gerald
Mr Birling
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Mrs Birling is described at the beginning of the play as "about fifty, a
rather cold woman and her husband's social superior”.
Consider how Mrs Birling behaves towards the Inspector and his
interrogation.
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The older generation and the younger generation take the Inspector's message
in different ways.
While Sheila and Eric accept their part in Eva's death and feel huge guilt about
it, their parents are unable to admit that they did anything wrong.
Look at these contrasting ideas:
Mr and Mrs Birling
Sheila and Eric
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Now look at the table below and search for quotes to support the
findings. Two quotes have already been found.
The Old (Mr and Mrs Birling)
The Young (Sheila and Eric)
The old are set in their ways. They are
utterly confident that they are right and
they see the young as foolish.
The young are open to new ideas. This is
first seen early in Act 1 when both Eric
and Sheila express sympathy for the
strikers - an idea which horrifies Birling,
who can only think of production costs
and ignores the human side of the issue.
The old will do anything to protect
themselves: Mrs Birling lies to the
Inspector when he first shows her the
photograph; Mr Birling wants to cover up
a potential scandal.
The young are honest and admit their
faults. Eric refuses to try to cover his
part up, saying, "the fact remains that
I did what I did.
They have never been forced to examine
their consciences before and find they
cannot do it now - as the saying goes,
'you can't teach an old dog new tricks'
Sheila and Eric see the human side of
Eva's story and are very troubled by
their part in it. They do examine their
consciences.
Mr and Mrs Birling have much to fear
from the visit of the 'real' inspector
because they know they will lose
everything.
Sheila and Eric have nothing to fear from
the visit of the 'real' inspector because
they have already admitted what they
have done wrong, and will change.
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Where does
Gerald fit in.
Young or old?
Consider where Gerald fits into
the theme of The generation
gap.
In what ways is his reaction
similar to that of Mr and Mrs
Birling?
In what ways is his reaction similar
to that of Eric and Sheila?
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Consider where Gerald fits into the theme of The Generation Gap.
You may begin like this.
After reading An Inspector Calls it is clear to the audience that Gerald
Croft represents the________ as regards the theme of The
Generation Gap…..
• Mention what you have found out about the other
characters and how he is similar to the or different
• Discuss the way he behaves toward the Inspector
and towards the other characters in the play.
• Use quotes to support your findings ( PEE)
• Write about a page and a half.
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Who is to blame for the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton?
With reference to the work completed in this unit, plan your essay.
•Beginning - Background
•Mention essay title
• Look at each character in turn – quotes
• Conclusion.
By the next lesson: Complete the planning of your essay.
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