English

• Example Plan


  • Before the Inspector arrives
  • Extract Point One
  • Extract Point Two
  • Extract Point Three
  • After the Inspector has left
  • While the Inspector is there
• polemic


  a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something
• Synonyms of polemic


  • Criticism
  • diatribe
• Antonyms of polemic


  • Compliment
  • support
• polemic


  • A Christmas Carol is a polemic, attacking the upper class for their ignorance of the disenfranchised.
• didactic


  intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive
• Synonyms of didactic


  • Moral
  • Advisory
  • Instructive
  • pedagogic
• Changes in society


  1. Society was still very divided

  2. The Industrial Revolution and rise in mass production of goods in factories meant that the middle class began to be able to acquire more wealth through owning private businesses

  3. Owning more money and the desire to ape the social ladder, meant that the social hierarchies became slightly more fluid

  4. Men like Mr Birling, who we will read about in 'An Inspector Calls', desired to climb the ladder and became part of an emerging upper middle class

  5. Gerald Croft, on the other hand, had inherited wealth from his parents, making him part of the upper class
• Priestley's negativity towards the class system


  Seen almost immediately in the play
• The house is described not as a home but appears to be a place to 'show off' their wealth highlighting the materialistic and falseness of the class construct
• Mr. Birling is keen to highlight the port and where it comes from emphasising that even though he is a very successful man with a family of his own, he is still keen to impress Gerald simply because he is of a higher class than him
• After the Inspector arrives

  The Birlings are keen to assert their superiority to him
• This is because it is the only power they have at the time. With Gerald in the room, they are the lowest class, even if Mr. Birling gets his knighthood
• The Corruption of Power

  1. Sheila uses her power and influence to have Eva sacked

  2. The Birlings try to intimidate the Inspector

  3. Gerald uses his power to get Daisy a meal at the hotel

  4. Mrs Birling refuses charity to a clearly desperate Eva/Daisy because of her anger at her family name being used by someone of the lower classes
• The older generation are angered at being held accountable for their actions rather than the actions themselves and the damage they have caused highlighting that those of a higher class had begun to dehumanise those in the lower classes
• Eva and Edna are the representatives of the lower classes and have no control over what happens to them as they are the mercy of the higher class characters
• The Inspector is Priestley's mouthpiece. He exposes the corruption of each character and the consequences of their selfish actions and exposes the absurdity of the power someone wields simply because of their birth
• Sheila has Eva sacked because she didn't like the fact that she was pretty
• Mr. Birling sacked Eva despite her being good at her job
• The Inspector's final warning: "Millions and millions"
• The repetition highlights that the lower lasses out number the upper classes and forces them to consider the impact of their own behaviour
• The ringing of the telephone at the end of the play after the older generation have done every thing they can to avoid taking responsibility is a clear warning that responsibility cannot be escaped
• Priestley criticises the upper classes throughout the play and repeats the quotation: "will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish."
• This quotation highlights the fact that if the upper classes continue to refuse to take care of the lower classes like they promised after the 1st and 2nd World Wars, where class did not matter on the battlefields and they found themselves reliant on the goodwill, loyalty and expertise of those lower down the social class system, then in the event of a further war they may find that the lower classes do not come to their defence