GCSE English Literature

Paper 2

Section A: An Inspector Calls

Paper 2 =

There will be two questions and you have to choose one.

One is usually about one of the characters and the other is usually about one of the themes.

Which Question?

Which question is the character question?

Which theme is this question about?

Underline the key words in the question.

Which question would you choose?

Underline the keywords in the question.

Mrs. Birling: Plan an answer1. INTRO: how does the character in the question fit into society and who they represent / how does the theme in the question presented in the play overall?

Typical middle class wife. Wife of Arthur Birling. President of a committee and she’s the mother of Sheila and Eric.

2. How is the character/theme presented in the first stage directions?

‘a rather cold woman’, ‘her husband’s social superior’.

3. What are the first impressions for the audience of the character/theme in Act 1?

‘(reproachfully) Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things’

4. How does the character/theme develop throughout the rest of the play?

‘As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money’.

5. What is the final presentation of this character/theme and the writer’s message to the audience?

‘They’re over-tired. In the morning they’ll be as amused as we are’.

Turning your Plan into an Essay

Use your plan to write one analytical paragraph per section.

If you are feeling more confident or if time allows you might want to write more than one paragraph on some sections, particularly section 4 on how characters develop.

In Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” Mrs. Birling is perhaps

the character who the audience least likes. She is a

typical middle class wife of the wealthy Arthur Birling and

is the mother of Sheila and Eric. She is the President of a

committee, which she is able to do because she doesn’t

need to work for a living.

1. Introduction

For the introduction use the words you have underlined in the exam question to write your first sentence.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character?

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions. She is described by Priestley as being ‘a rather cold woman’.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions. She is described by Priestley as being ‘a rather cold woman’. The word ‘cold’ represents the fact that she is possibly emotionless, unfeeling and detached.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions. She is described by Priestley as being ‘a rather cold woman’. The word ‘cold’ represents the fact that she is possibly emotionless, unfeeling and detached. Furthermore, she is also described as being ‘her husband’s social superior’. Her being ‘superior’ to her wealthy husband suggests that she belittles many people around her, including her husband.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

You need to include 3 comments from the green sections.

I still haven’t used this second quote from my plan.

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions. She is described by Priestley as being ‘a rather cold woman’. The word ‘cold’ represents the fact that she is possibly emotionless, unfeeling and detached. Furthermore, she is also described as being ‘her husband’s social superior’. Her being ‘superior’ to her wealthy husband suggests that she belittles many people around her, including her husband. Contextually, this would be an unusual arrangement in 1912 because the husband would normally be the superior to his wife in every sense.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

You need to include 3 comments from the green sections.

Mrs Birling is presented as an unlikeable character even at the beginning of the play in the stage directions. She is described by Priestley as being ‘a rather cold woman’. The word ‘cold’ represents the fact that she is possibly emotionless, unfeeling and detached. Furthermore, she is also described as being ‘her husband’s social superior’. Her being ‘superior’ to her wealthy husband suggests that she belittles many people around her, including her husband. Contextually, this would be an unusual arrangement in 1912 because the husband would normally be the superior to his wife in every sense. The writer’s intention is that the audience immediately dislikes Mrs. Birling. The reason for this is probably because Priestley was a well known socialist and Mrs. Birling is a capitalist.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character??

You need to include 3 comments from the green sections.

In the exam you then write an analytical paragraph for each section of your essay plan.

How is Mrs. Birling presented as an unlikeable character?

Choose one of these sections and write an analytical paragraph for it.

Plenary: what has been blanked out?

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