An Inspector Calls – Boys Will Be Boys

WILF  Insightful exploratory response to task  Insightful exploratory response to text  Close analysis of detail to support interpretation  Evaluation on the writer’s use of language and/or structure and effect on audience  Convincing/imaginative interpretation of ideas/themes

Intervention Opportunity  Mr. Frammingham (characters) & Mrs. Griffifths (themes) will be offering further support on AIC on Tuesdays

Intervention Opportunity  Mr. Gooda will be offering an early introduction to Wikispaces on Wednesday after school (Wikispace Wednesday in E1). I’ll be putting all resources and a selection of past exams on Wikispaces leading up to the exam. I feel this will be valuable

Intervention Opportunity  I’ll also be offering drop in sessions every day from here to the literature exams for anyone who would like extra support from 3:00-4:30  Please let me know if you’re planning on taking advantage of these sessions  Avoid This Feeling on the Exam(s)

Intervention Opportunity  Everything we discuss today (and in subsequent lessons) will be available for your revision needs in the Wikispace  It’s more important that you jot down the most important information but do not feel the need to write everything down  It’s better to follow the discussion rather than fill your sheets with notes

Gerald Croft  Gerald Croft is an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well- bred young-man-about-town  Key Question ◦ If old is bad and young is good – how do we reconcile Gerald?

Gerald – Birling’s True Son  Agrees with almost everything that Birling says ◦ What does this suggest about him?  Has an affair with Daisy Renton ◦ Was considered socially acceptable, although not really publicized ◦ Tells Sheila that it’s ‘over and done with last summer.’  Suggests finality  Suggests scandal if it got out

The Daisy Renton Fallout  Tries to usher Sheila out of the room to ‘protect’ her from the news of Daisy (as does Mrs. B and Mr. B), really just to protect himself ◦ Hypocrisy ◦ IG points out that he took advantage of an unprotected Daisy Renton  Admits he “adored” being loved by Daisy ◦ Another form of cheap labour?  Daisy fell in love with Gerald out of gratitude and dependency ◦ She loved being taken care of (not in a selfish way) ◦ Highlights the inequity between the genders in 1910s society ◦ Gerald could discard her and move on, but for Daisy “there’d never be anything as good again”  Never in a superlative, suggests finality, also foreshadows her ultimate fate

 Gerald’s likely the most complex character ◦ Goole is pretty easy on him relatively speaking ◦ Is it because he made Eva happy?  He’s a more polished version of Eric ◦ He doesn’t go to the same moral depths of Eric ◦ He’s also able to keep it all a secret  He’s an outsider

Where Do We Leave Gerald?  “Everything’s all right now, Sheila.” ◦ He’s learned very little once the Inspector’s identity is called into question ◦ Offers Sheila the ring back ◦ He’s the lost character who saw the light and then stepped back

Eric Birling  In his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive ◦ (Does this again foreshadow Eric’s turn?)

Eric – Running Man  Embarrassed and awkward ◦ SD – Eric suddenly guffaws  Always running away ◦ Out of the Dining room in Act I ◦ Out of the house in Act II ◦ Running away from problems and expectations  Hard drinker ◦ Another way of running away

Eric the Socialist  Much like Sheila, argues for higher wages – shows a moral compass ◦ “Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? ◦ Points out the hypocrisy of the Birlings wanting higher prices (and profits) while sacking those looking to improve their condition (higher wages)  Provides an emotional response to the death of Eva Smith (unlike Sybil and Arthur)  Feels guilt and frustration with himself over the relationship with the girl ◦ “Oh – my God! – how stupid it all is!”

Eric – Better Father Than Arthur?  Sense of responsibility ◦ Chooses loyalty over honesty but to his unborn child, not his father ◦ Is Eric socially aware or is he actually acutely selfish?  Provides but by giving money that’s not his  Socialist act but it’s theft  Birling yells at Eric but Eric retorts “I don’t give a damn now.” ◦ NOW is the key word ◦ Signifies a change

Eric the Complex  Is very much the opposite of his father – Mr. B can’t stop making speeches but Eric is rather short with his words ◦ You know, don’t you?  Abuses his position to get Eva/Daisy to sleep with him ◦ He’ll cause a row if she doesn’t let him in  Regrets his actions but his language shows immaturity ◦ Refers to her as “a good sport” and “pretty”  His actions are come down on harder than Gerald’s – why? ◦ Gerald was able to have an affair without creating a scandal ◦ Gerald’s affair doesn’t relate directly to them ◦ Eric’s fathered a child

Eric the Complex  Eric’s behaviour at dinner interrupts the polite conversation going on – this foreshadows the way his reckless behaviour will disrupt the illusion of their family dynamic ◦ His delivery mirrors/foreshadows the revelations yet to come in the play  “The fact remains that I did what I did” ◦ Although he has the lowest morals of the piece, he then regrets his mistakes and learns from them ◦ We do see him as sympathetic towards the end

Where Do We Leave Eric?  EOP – Fully aware of his social responsibility and realises the importance of the dead girl (albeit pregnant with his child) ◦ “We did her in all right”  Not quite the harbinger of change that Sheila is but still represents the hope for progress in the younger generation

Themes We Could Talk About  Gender ◦ Sybil, Eva/Daisy, Sheila (role of women) ◦ Mr. Birling & Gerald vs. Mrs. Birling/Sheila (men vs. women) ◦ Separate spheres (business & social), different strokes for different folks (extra-marital affairs), Upsetting the system (The Sheila factor)  Class ◦ Sybil & Arthur, Eva, Eric & Sheila (Rich, Poor, Hybrid)  Social Responsibility ◦ Public Men & Women, The Helpless, The Social Conscience  Honesty vs. Loyalty vs. Duty

WILF  Insightful exploratory response to task  Insightful exploratory response to text  Close analysis of detail to support interpretation  Evaluation on the writer’s use of language and/or structure and effect on audience  Convincing/imaginative interpretation of ideas/themes