Grade 8/9

• Karl Marx

  Eva Smith represents the proletariat, who has been exploited by the bourgeoisie - the Birlings, as part of the capitalist ruling class abuse this for their own profit/benefits.

  ...The Inspector hints at social revolution when he speaks of "fire and blood and anguish" if the bourgeoisie do not change their self-serving behaviour. 

  While three of the five characters do not change their hearts or minds, the audience takes some comfort in the fact that Eric and Sheila do for, as members of the younger generation, they represent hope for the future of British society
• The Inspector takes on a 'father' role for Eva

  He protects her and attempts to keep her safe from the Birlings by keeping her photograph in his pocket and defending her
• Mr Birling is also 'the father'

  He is controlling, stern and powerful, conflicts with Inspector
• Mr and Mrs Birling

  The cruel 'villains' whose behaviour exploits and hurts others for their own benefit
• Sheila


  The 'regular girl' who the audience identifies with and accompanies her on her journey of enlightenment
• Gerald


  Aiming to be 'the hero' as he seeks to save Daisy Renton at first and also tries to rescue her
• The Inspector


  The 'rebel' as he seeks to overturn the social order
• Eva/Daisy


  • Victim of a patriarchal society
  • Suffers because of restrictive gender norms
• Mr Birling enforces the patriarchy


  Inspector aims to subvert it
• Sheila starts to rebel against her father


  Supports the inspector's socialist agenda
• Mr Birling: 'Clothes are a "token of their self respect"'
• Mr Birling: 'Refers to the women who work for him as "girls", believing that they would not have the resolve to keep their strike'
• Gerald and Eric


  Express a mixture of disdain and attraction to the prostitutes who work in the bar, and objectify them in their descriptions of the older women
• Gerald keeps Eva in his friends "rooms"


  He treats Eva as if she is a commodity, dismissing her when it is no longer easy for him to do so
• The Birlings' selfish nature


  Representative of the id
• The Inspector


  Acts as the superego, acting as a conscience for the family
• Eric's character experiences

  1. Id (initial treatment of Eva to satisfy sexual urges)

  2. Ego (uses logic to steal from father to resolve problems)

  3. Superego (experiences deep and sincere guilt)
• The tragic hero of An Inspector Calls is not an easy one to identify, as Eva has not displayed morally good behaviour, does not display excessive pride, and it is arguably the mistakes of others that she pays the price for
• There is a great deal of pathos for Eva, even though she never appears on stage, her story is told through the accounts of those who hurt her, adding to the impact of the pathos
• Mrs. Birling suffers from excessive pride and her epiphanic moment (anagnorisis) is arguably the most painful – and yet, the most satisfying for the audience – when she realises that the "father of the child" she insists should be "made an example of" is, in fact, her own son Eric
• Either naively or stubbornly, she remarks: "I don't believe it … I won't believe it," despite the fact it is true
• Nietzsche


  German philosopher
• Absence of god


  No moral guidelines for Eric to follow
• Eric's adoption of nihilism


  Direct rejection of his father's expectations and the oppressive rules of etiquette in Edwardian society
• Nihilism


  Rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless
• The Inspector


  Rails against Eric's nihilistic behaviour
• The Inspector's use of religious imagery


  Reminds the Birlings of their moral obligations to the poor
• Ubermensch


  A superior individual who creates their own values and purpose in life
• The Inspector's use of religious imagery

  Not a threat of hell, but a clear warning of the suffering and pain that is to come in WWI and WWII
• Young set against the old

  Eric and Sheila embrace socialist beliefs, whereas their parents and Gerald retain their capitalist beliefs
• Priestley could be suggesting to his audience that for some, change will be impossible, but that the young, will be able to change the world
• Binary opposition

  The juxtaposition of two contrasting or opposing elements
• Priestley generates conflict through the binary opposition of capitalist and socialist views in the play
• Birling and the Inspector

  • They struggle for power
• The inspector seeks to overthrow the established hierarchy, where capitalists have more power in society
• John Locke

  Theorised that nurture has a more significant influence on human behaviour than inherent nature
• Sheila and Eric's egotistical outlook


  Can be directly attributed to their upbringing and the role models their parents offered
• The Inspector provides them with an alternative

  They are capable of change
• Sheila and Eric

  Resolve to be better people, shedding their old values
• Their poor behaviour is not innate to them as people but is simply one that is the product of their upbringing by materialistic, selfish parents