1. Act Plot Character Vocabulary Key Skills Themes Mr Arthur Birling
The Birling family are holding a dinner party to celebrate the engagement of Sheila to Gerald Croft, the son and heir of Mr Birling's rival in business. Although there are a few signs that not everything is perfect (Mr Birling is a bit too anxious to impress Gerald, Eric seems rather nervous and Sheila playfully rebukes Gerald for not having come near her the previous summer) there is a happy, light-hearted atmosphere.
When the ladies leave the men to their port, Mr Birling has a 'man to man' chat with Gerald and Eric, advising them that a man needs to look after himself and his own family and not worry about the wider community. As he is telling them this, the door bell rings. Inspector Goole enters, an impressive, serious man whom none of them has heard of. 1b
Inspector Goole announces that he has come to investigate the suicide of a young working-class girl who died that afternoon. Her name was Eva Smith. After seeing a photograph of her, Birling admits that she used to be one of his employees: he discharged her when she became one of the ring-leaders of a strike asking for slightly higher wages. Birling justifies sacking her by saying he paid his workers the usual rates; he cannot see that he has any responsibility for what happened to her afterwards. 1c
When Sheila enters, the Inspector reveals that he would also like to question her about Eva Smith's death. He tells Sheila that Eva's next job was at a big shop called Milwards, but that she was sacked after a customer complained about her. When she too is shown a photograph of the girl, Sheila is very affected. She admits that it was her fault that Eva was sacked: when Sheila had gone in to try on a dress that didn't suit her, she had caught Eva smirking to another shop assistant - in her anger, Sheila had told the manager that if Eva wasn't fired, Mrs Birling would close their account. Sheila is hugely guilty and feels responsible for Eva's death.
When the Inspector then states that Eva, in despair, changed her name to Daisy Renton, Gerald Croft's involuntary reaction reveals that he knew her too. When the act ends, the audience is poised to find out what part Gerald had to play in her death
Character
Mr Arthur Birling
A manufacturer .
Mrs Sybil Birling
Wife of Birling – a higher social class than her husband.
Shelia Birling
The daughter of the Birlings, engaged to Gerald, she is at first spoiled but quickly is aware of her social responsibility.
Eric Birling
The son of the Birlings, a drinker, he is
Gerald Croft
Inspector Goole
Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton
The woman at the heart of the investigation of the play but who is not in the drama.
Edna
The servant of the Birlings.
Vocabulary
Key Skills
Use and presentation of quotations
Memorise three quotations each fortnight.
Choose quotations which relate to the themes and the characters. Choose quotations which allow detailed analysis.
Introduce – colon – quotation marks
Language analysis
Explore the connotations of words and phrases. Find links between words and phrases. Explain effect on reader. Relate analysis to the question and the wider meaning of the sentence/text.
Analysis of form and structure of text
Structure: consider the order that the reader learns information.
Form: first person/third person. Split narrative. Epistolary narrative.
Using a critical and academic style
Use formal, standard English at all times. Avoid repetition.
Plan your response: try to have a clear line of argument.
Interpreting ideas and themes
Know all the key themes. Relate your analysis of language, structure, form and character to these themes. Make links between different characters and different parts of the novel related to a particular theme.
Producing a personal response
What themes or ideas do you think are most relevant or interesting in the novel?
Can you make links between ideas in the novel or to other ideas from your studies?
(Part b of the question only)
Close analysis of an extract
Be focused and detailed: say a lot about a little. Explain the effects of words and phrases on the reader: link this to the themes. Mention language, form and structure: try to link them together.
Using subject specific terminology
Use if you understand: metaphor, simile, symbolism, pathetic fallacy, first person, third person, irony, foreshadowing
Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun
Themes

2. The duality of human nature - hypocrisy
Character
Dr Henry Jekyll
A doctor and experimental scientist who is both wealthy and respectable.
Mr Edward Hyde
A small, violent and unpleasant-looking man; an unrepentant criminal.
Gabriel Utterson
A calm and rational lawyer and friend of Jekyll.
Dr Hastie Lanyon
A conventional and respectable doctor and former friend of Jekyll.
Richard Enfield
A distant relative of Utterson and well-known man about town.
Poole
Jekyll’s manservant.
Sir Danvers Carew
A distinguished gentlemen who is beaten to death by Hyde.
Mr Guest
Utterson’s secretary and handwriting expert.
Vocabulary
aberration
abhorrent
allegory
allusion
anxiety
atavism
consciousness
debased
degenerate
depraved
duality
duplicity
epistolary
ethics
eugenics
feral
genre
metamorphosis
perversion
professional
respectability
restraint
savage
subconscious
suppression
supernatural
unorthodox
Victorian
Key Skills
Use and presentation of quotations
Memorise three quotations each fortnight.
Choose quotations which relate to the themes and the characters. Choose quotations which allow detailed analysis.
Introduce – colon – quotation marks
Language analysis
Explore the connotations of words and phrases. Find links between words and phrases. Explain effect on reader. Relate analysis to the question and the wider meaning of the sentence/text.
Analysis of form and structure of text
Structure: consider the order that the reader learns information.
Form: first person/third person. Split narrative. Epistolary narrative.
Using a critical and academic style
Use formal, standard English at all times. Avoid repetition.
Plan your response: try to have a clear line of argument.
Interpreting ideas and themes
Know all the key themes. Relate your analysis of language, structure, form and character to these themes. Make links between different characters and different parts of the novel related to a particular theme.
Producing a personal response
What themes or ideas do you think are most relevant or interesting in the novel?
Can you make links between ideas in the novel or to other ideas from your studies?
(Part b of the question only)
Close analysis of an extract
Be focused and detailed: say a lot about a little. Explain the effects of words and phrases on the reader: link this to the themes. Mention language, form and structure: try to link them together.
Using subject specific terminology
Use if you understand: metaphor, simile, symbolism, pathetic fallacy, first person, third person, irony, foreshadowing
Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun
Themes
The duality of human nature - hypocrisy
Science and the unexplained
The supernatural
Reputation - villainy
Rationality
Settings – urban terror – Victorian England
Secrecy and silence