How to answer a question on An Inspector Calls
The first question you’ll answer on English Literature Paper 2 will be on An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley. You have 2 hours 15 minutes for his paper, so you should spend around 45 minutes on this question. Unlike the two questions in Paper 1, you will NOT be given an extract to analyse for this question. This gives you greater freedom in terms of which parts of the play you write about, but it makes analysing AO2 more difficult. We will discuss ways to overcome this difficulty in this guide.
Some ways to structure this essay
The structure for this essay is pretty straightforward because you’ve got no extract that you’re expected to start with. However, you do have some options for how to structure your argument in the analysis paragraphs:
Introduction: outline your thesis which summarises your overall argument
Either 2 or 3 analysis paragraphs – generally you’ll work chronologically, though some other options are available too (see below for more detail on this):
Beginning / Middle / End (5-paragraph structure)
At the start / At the end (4-paragraph structure)
On the one hand / On the other hand (4-paragraph structure)
This / And also this (4-paragraph structure)
Conclusion: summarise your thesis and provide clear links back to the context and Priestley’s purpose
The different argument structures
The essay structure outlined above includes 4 different possible ways to structure the argument in the middle of the essay. These can be understood in the following ways:
Beginning / Middle / End
This structure is useful for character questions, charting development across the whole play, but it works for all questions.
At the start / At the end
This is a simplified version of the Beginning / Middle / End structure, with 4 paragraphs instead of 4. It works for all questions.
On the one hand / On the other hand
This is a 4-paragraph structure that works well for evaluation questions (‘How far…’).
This / And also this
This structure is useful for theme questions, if you want to make different points about how that theme is presented.
Example essay plans
Below are a couple of example essay plans using the structure above. The first uses a 5-paragraph (Beginning / Middle / End) structure and the second a 4-paragraph (At the start / At the end) structure.
How does Priestley present a class-ridden and hypocritical society?
Thesis: Priestley uses the play to highlight how British society in 1912 was still highly stratified in terms of social class. He suggests that this led to the wealthier upper classes behaving selfishly and hypocritically, resulting in the unnecessary suffering of the working class.
Paragraph 1: Priestley introduces social class into the play during the first Act when he presents the Birlings as a family who are highly concerned with class.
Paragraph 2: Priestley shows the real difference between the social classes when the audience learn of the Birlings’ treatment of Eva Smith, the first working-class character in the play.
Paragraph 3: Priestley shows the hypocrisy of Edwardian society through the difference between the way the upper-middle class Birling family treat each other, and how they treat the working-class characters.
Conclusion: This part doesn’t need to be planned – just write it on the fly, providing you have time. Finish with Priestley’s purpose, though.
How does Priestley present Sheila as a character who learns important lessons about herself and society?
Thesis: More than any other character, Sheila is used to portray the idea that people can change. Priestley initially presents her as an entitled and self-satisfied middle-class young woman, but through the intervention of the Inspector, she learns about the suffering of the working class, including the suffering she herself has caused, and, ultimately, she becomes the mouthpiece for Priestley’s socialist views.
Paragraph 1: At the start of the play, Priestley establishes Sheila as a typical upper-middle class young woman of the Edwardian period, shallow, immature and pleased with herself.
Paragraph 2: By the end of the play, however, she has changed almost beyond recognition, becoming a compassionate and empowered young woman, who fights for social justice and stands up for her beliefs.
Conclusion: This part doesn’t need to be planned – just write it on the fly, providing you have time. Finish with Priestley’s purpose, though.
How to get marks for AO2
More than for any of the other English Literature texts, analysing methods can be tricky in this essay.
First, you don’t get given an extract to close-read, so the question isn’t geared around certain methods that the exam board want you to analyse
Second, with a few notable exceptions, the language is fairly naturalistic and lacking in juicy methods like metaphors and similes, unlike Macbeth or the poetry anthology
There are some things you can do, though. Ideally, you’ll want to do all three of these in your essay.
1. Write about Priestley a lot, focussing on how he crafts the play – treat all the characters and dialogue as constructions of the playwright. ‘Characterization’ is a useful term for this.
For example
The characterization of Birling as foolish – used to convey the idea that individualism, which Birling stands for, is also foolish
The idea that the characters are used to represent certain types of people and attitudes
The structure of the Birling’s stories – used to create dramatic irony and show the myopia and hypocrisy of the upper classes
2. Write about stage directions, including lighting, speech modifiers and character descriptions
For example:
“pink and intimate … brighter and harder”
“he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”
“(rather impatiently) Yes, yes. Horrid business.”
3. Memorise quotations for each character and each theme that do have clear methods; then include whichever is relevant to the question so you can zoom into it and analyse the language
For example
Sybil: “deserving cases” [both words worth zooming into]
Inspector: “fire and blood and anguish” [polysyndeton, triad, war/Hell imagery]
Birling: “lower costs and higher prices” [antithesis]
We have created a list of useful quotations to learn for this purpose, which you can find here.
How to get marks for AO3 by writing about Priestley’s purpose
While An Inspector Calls can be tricky to analyse for AO2, it is an absolute gift for AO3. Not only are there two different contexts to write about (1912 and 1946), but the play is highly didactic, with a simple and easy to understand message that can be linked back to any question. Essentially all roads lead here:
Priestley’s didactic message, in a nutshell
Priestley wants to show his post-war audience that, though they may have fond memories of life before the horrors of WW1 and WW2 in the ‘good old days’ of the Edwardian Era, life was not, in fact, better back then, especially for the working class. With the war over, Britain does not need to return to these ‘good old days’ but rather to move forward with the socially progressive policies promised by Clement Attlee’s Labour government. These, Priestley believes, will usher in a fairer and more compassionate future, founded on the collectivist principals of socialism, rather than the individualist principals of the pre-war period.
Consider the following questions, which can all easily be linked back to this over-arching message.
Why does Priestley present Birling as an avid capitalist?
Because capitalism is the opposing ideology to socialism. Priestley wants to show his audience an avid capitalist who they might initially admire, before exposing his foolishness and the terrible consequences of his views. We don’t want to go back to those days, surely? We don’t want more of those people.
Why does Priestley make the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation so corrupt?
Because in the Edwardian period the welfare system was facilitated by upper-class charity. Priestley does not want this kind of individualistic altruism in the future; he wants a collectivist Welfare State. Therefore, he implies that these charities were malign, corrupt institutions, and not benign, helpful ones.
Why doesn’t Priestley make Gerald more of a villain? Why does he have the Inspector defend him in his final speech?
Because he wants his audience to see that, even if there were somewhat kindly and charitable upper-class people in the ‘good old days’, this didn’t help, at least not in the long term. We don’t need individualistic posh people trying to be nice, Priestley tells us; we need a proper collectivist Welfare State.
Why does Priestley present remorse as such a powerful agent of change?
Because he wants his audience to feel remorse for their old actions, or at least for their old opinions and their tacit support of the actions of others. Rather than returning to their attitudes from the ‘good old days’, the audience can change, like Sheila, and see that the future is, in fact, brighter than the past.
We could play this game all day – and perhaps you should in your revision. But the crucial thing to remember is that, at various points in your essay, especially in your conclusion, you must link your argument back to this broader purpose that Priestley has, and you need to do so in specific and concrete ways, mentioning people like Clement Attlee, as well as the specific years and historical periods. You need to sound authoritative.
Frequently asked questions
How long should my essay be?
Approximately 3 sides of A4 (average sized handwriting) – 4 sides in the answer booklet
Can I achieve a Level 6 in just 3 sides of A4, or do I have to write more?
Examiners find that very long essays coast at the same level and lack the necessary depth expected in top level responses. So the answer is no, you don’t have to write a really long essay to get top marks. In fact, examiners prefer a 3 page essay where you explore ideas in greater depth, but this requires you to be able to express yourself concisely and precisely, without lots of waffle.
The question says ‘Starting with this extract’, so does this mean I have to start my essay with a focus on the extract?
No, you do not have to start with the extract. The examiners have said that ‘Starting with this extract’ means that you should use the extract to start you off with ideas. It is a thinking prompt. Basically, it’s provided to get ideas rolling. It’s also handy to use for evidence and close analysis. The examiner doesn’t expect your essay to begin with the extract, but you can if you want to.