gcse aqa english literature - an inspector calls

• The play emphasizes the idea that everyone has a moral duty to consider the welfare of others and work towards a more equitable society.
• Priestly explores different classes in 'An Inspector Calls', for example, using the Birling family as an upper class family who are careless for the lower classes.
• Eva Smith is used as an example of the lower class, exploring her timeline of work and being exploited by the upper classes, from being severely underpaid, fired for no reason, slept with multiple times, and refused care just because she slightly annoyed them in someway which inevitably led to her demise, which to her felt like the only way to end the torture of her life.
• Priestly explores the theme 'gender' in AIC, he uses the female characters to show the sexist attitude of the time period by showing Sheila is just as capable as anyone else. Contradicting this, the women are portrayed as delicate and are protected by men in the play.
• Priestly explores the theme of 'social responsibility' in AIC, he uses Goole as a mouth piece for his socialist ideology whilst using the Birlings, more specifically Mr B as the symbol for capitalism.
• 'Older vs Younger' - The older generations in the play find it hard to accept responsibility for evas death, and just blatantly ignore its happened, they only worry it may cause a public scandal. Whereas the younger generation, most specifically sheila, feel guilty for the death of Eva
• 'its better to ask for the earth then to take it' - inspector goole about the workers rebel, act 1
• 'you might be said to have been jealous of her' - the inspector about sheila, act 2
• 'Everything is all right now sheila. what about this ring?'- Gerald to sheila after she asked to call of the engagement, act 3
• 'These girls aren't cheap labour, they're people' sheila about mr b's comment - act 1
• 'as if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money' mrs B about Eva being pregnant out of wedlock. act 2
• “the way some of these cranks talk and write now- you’d think everybody has to look after somebody else, as if we’re all mixed up like bees in a hive.” - Mr B about social responsibility
• “if you don‘t come down sharply on some of these people, they‘ll be asking for the earth“ mr B about firing eva
• "I am not going to stand here any longer and listen to this kind of thing" - Sheila when Mr Birling tries to defend himself from his actions
• what does the pronoun ‘they’ suggest?

  working class are all the same, no point learning names, beneath him- except to discipline
• cyclical structure - the inspectors calls at the start and the end which shows how this happens everyday, a series of events over a series of time kills someone, and ruins someone life there is no end to this other then socialism (social responsibility)
• “A man has to make his own way, looking after himself and his family” - Mr B with his capitalist view. Pronoun embeds the idea he only cares about himself and his family.
• priestly was born in bradford in 1894 and lived through 2 world wars, fighting in ww1 and was dismissed on active service
• ´fire blood and anguish’
• AIC is a war protest play aswell as a play about political views
• ´give thousands- yes thousands’ mr b act 3 reform
• ‘careful! i’ll never let it go out of my sight for an instant‘ - sheila act 1
• ´but that wont bring eva smith back to life will it?’

  sheila- act 3. being in her families face about their actions
• ’fire blood and anguish’

  sheila repeating the inspectors words to insinuate and embed the idea of consequences and war coming out.
• ´i started it’ sheila act 3 - responsibility
• ‘i suppose we’re all nice people now’ - sheila act 3