Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 1 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring 1912 The Engagement Party The Birling family are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. The Birlings are pleased with the engagement, however it is clear that the Croft family feel Gerald could have done better. I have an idea that your mother - Lady Croft - while she doesn’t object to my girl - feels you might have done better for yourself socially.P. 8 The reason why the Croft’s are unhappy is because they are an old family with a name and a business far bigger than Birlings’ P. 8 For the Birlings to have a marriage/alliance with the Croft’s is very significant. The Croft’s are not so pleased and that is the reason they are abroad at the time of the party.P. 4

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 2 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring 1912 The Engagement Party Arthur Birling is a very satisfied person. i. His daughter has made a good marriage. ii. He is no longer competing with Crofts iii. He has been informed he may well be Knighted. P He is also very complacent about society. Just before Inspector Goole enters he makes the following comments. The way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive. P. 10

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 3 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring 1912 The Engagement Party A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own P. 10 The connection between Arthur Birling’s callous comments and the entrance of the Inspector is deliberate. Inspector Goole has come to report the death of a young girl. i. Two hours ago a young girl died in the Infirmary ii. She’d been taken there that afternoon iii. She had swallowed large amount of disinfectant iv. Her death was suicide v. She had left a diary vi. Her name was Eva Smith and she was 24 years old. P

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 4 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Autumn Eva Smith and Arthur Birling From reading Eva’s diary the Inspector has come to know all that happened to Eva and her connections with the Birling and Croft families. Eva’s problems started with Arthur Birling and so it is with him that the Inspector starts. She worked in his factory during the autumn of 1910 She was a good worker and the foreman was going to promote her. She was in charge of a group of girls After the summer holidays all the girls were restless and demanded more pay. They wanted 2/6 {12p} more per week. Birling said that if he paid that it would cost him 12% on costs

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 5 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Autumn Eva Smith and Arthur Birling The workers were all broke after their holidays so the strike ended very quickly. Others were taken back, but Eva and others were not. Arthur Birling clearly uses the strike to get rid of Eva and other people he felt were causing him trouble. P About Eva:- She’d a lot to say - far too much - so she had to go P. 14 How to deal with people like Eva:- If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d be asking for the earth P. 14

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 6 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Autumn Eva Smith and Arthur Birling The Inspector appears to sympathise with Eva’s demand for more wages. When the Inspector asks why it was wrong for Eva to ask for more Arthur Birling gets very angry and tries to bully him. Arthur Birling and Inspector Goole:- …it’s better to ask for the earth than to take itP. 14 Birling:- What did you say your name was, Inspector? How do you get on with our Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts? P. 14/15

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 7 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Autumn Eva Smith after Birlings Between September 1910 and October 1910 Eva was out of a job. Both her parents were dead so she could not go home. While she was at Birlings the pay had been so low she had not been able to save much. During these months she was alone; no income or money coming in; had very few friends; living in lodgings and getting desperate. The Inspector points out that the story of Eva Smith is not unusual, because of poor conditions and low wages there are many Eva Smiths.

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 8 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- January Eva Smith and Shelia Birling In December 1910 Eva got another job, as an assistant at Millwards. Millwards is clearly an important shop in Brumley. When Shelia hears she got a job there she is surprised...She was lucky to get taken on at Millwards P. 20 Millwards is also the shop that the Birlings’ used: they had an account there. From December 1910, when Eva Smith got a jot there until the end of January 1911, when Shelia Birling went to shop there, Eva did well. Eva enjoyed working there and felt that she was making a fresh start in life. There was Flu about and many of Millwards staff had become ill. They took on new staff, including Eva Smith.

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 9 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- January Eva Smith and Shelia Birling Shelia is clearly shocked by the story of Eva’s death, even before the Inspector comes to question her. She has not been able to put the image of her death out of her mind...I can’t help thinking about this girl - destroying herself so horribly - and I’ve been so happy tonight. P. 17 She is a spirited girl who likes to have her own way. When she is denied that she becomes determined to have her own way. When Shelia arrived, with her mother at Millwards at the end of January 1911, she was in a bad mood

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 10 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- January Eva Smith and Shelia Birling She had seen a dress she thought would suit her. Mrs Birling said it would not suit her and so Shelia was determined that it would and that she would prove her mother wrong. Her mother and the assistant told her that this dress was not right for her. Eva was asked to demonstrate the dress and it suited her. This made Shelia more angry and determined. When she tried it on she looked silly and at that point Shelia noticed that Eva was smiling at the sight Shelia looked. Shelia lost her temper and shouted at both the assistant and Eva. She then went to the owner and informed them that Eva had been rude to her and she was either sacked or Birlings would close their account. P. 23/24

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 11 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- January Eva Smith and Shelia Birling Millwards decide to fire Eva rather than loose the Birling account. Eva is never told the truth…..she is just fired out of the blue later. All she knew was - that a customer complained about her - and so she had to go. P. 20. Why Shelia had a go at Eva:- 1. She was jealous that the dress fitted her and not Shelia. You might be said to be kind of jealous of her ……. Yes I suppose so P She knew Eva was pretty and she felt she could take care of herself. She was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. P. 24

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 12 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- January Eva Smith and Shelia Birling 3. She knew that Millwards would not keep Eva if they were also to loose the Birling account. She knew she could get Eva fired. You used the power you had ……. to punish the girl just because she made you feel like that. P. 24 Birling’s staff have never forgotten the incident. A year later they still are careful around Shelia Birling. I’ve noticed them giving me a sort of look sometimes at Millwards…..I noticed it even this afternoon. P. 24/25

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 13 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring Themes and Act 1 At the end of Act 1 two important themes have been introduced:- i. Community and the Individual ii. Respectability and Hypocrisy 1. The way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive….community and all that nonsense. [Arthur Birling] P. 10 The Inspector symbolises a new kind of attitude that is being born in the country. Until this point in time people, like the Birlings, considered that the “Individual” was the more important. These people are only concerned with themselves and what they can gain from society.

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 14 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring Themes and Act 1 Just as this concept, of being concerned for others, is new to Britain so the Inspector has just arrived in “Brumley”: he is new to “Brumley”. He represents the introduction of this concept into the community. As the play progresses the characters begin to spilt with regard to their view on this subject. However, even in Act 1 Sheila is already showing concern for others and, and in particular Eva Smith. “It’s the only time I’ve ever done anything like that, and I’ll never, never do it again to anybody.” [Sheila Birling] P. 24

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 15 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring Themes and Act 1 2. “…we’re respectable citizens and not criminals” [Gerald Croft] P. 22 To this class of people respectability was of great importance. To be able to maintain it often meant having dual standards. In this society women were not meant to be experienced in sex before marriage. However men were expected to be experienced. In order to maintain such a dual standard society simply turned a blind eye to what happened in the background. When Sheila complains that Gerald was away during the previous summer she is reprimanded by Mrs. Birling.

Standard Grade:- Drama Slide:- 16 An Inspector Calls:- Act 1:- Spring Themes and Act 1 “When you’re married you’ll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You’ll just have to get used to that, just as I had.” [Mrs Birling] P. 3 As the play progresses the characters again split on how they view this concept and theme. It is clear from Sheila’s reply that she will be even less tolerant to such behaviour that her mother was. “I don’t believe I will. (Half playful, half serious, to Gerald) So you be careful. [Sheila Birling] P. 3