Exemplar AQA An Inspector Calls Essays

AQA English Literature - An Inspector Calls Essays

Model An Inspector Calls Essays - AQA English Literature Exams

Browse the range of free An Inspector Calls (AQA) poetry essays.  These GCSE poetry essays are based upon the AQA English Literature exam format.  Each of the An Inspector Calls​ essays are top band responses (Grade 9).  More AQA An Inspector Calls​ essays will be added soon.

How does Priestley use the character of the Inspector to suggest ways that society could be improved? Write about:
• what society is shown to be like in the play and how it might be improved
• how Priestley presents society through what the Inspector says and does.  ​

In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley depicts society in 1912 as capitalist-ruled, segregated and unfair, using the Birling family as a symbol for all upper-class aristocrats.  The character, Inspector Goole, acts as Priestley’s social mouthpiece to portray the idea that socialism is the future.  The Inspector could be the technique that Priestley uses to convey his own ideas and opinions, because in 1944-1945 (when the play was written) Priestley was a figure who campaigned for a social welfare state and a more ‘moral’ system.  It is plausible that Priestley wrote the play, set in 1912, to convey the contrast between the pre and post-war societies (1945).
 
At the start of the play, stage directions indicate to us that the Birlings are having an engagement meal in celebration of Sheila and Gerald’s pending marriage.  When Birling, the head of the house, and possibly the most passionate capitalist, says “a man has to make his own way” in life, the doorbell rings – signalling the entrance of the Inspector.  This stage direction indicates to us that the Inspector will turn the Birlings’ artificial world upside down, sobering them to the harsh realities of the life for the poor.

READ COMPLETE AQA aN INSPECTOR CALLS ESSAY - SOCIETY IMPROVED

How does Priestley present selfishness and its effects in An Inspector Calls?
Write about:
• examples of selfish behaviour in the play
• how Priestley presents selfishness and its effects

Priestley presents the importance of social class through the naivety of the upper class, by exploring the authority and rights one’s social class bestows.  This is conducted through the Inspector, who is a proxy for Priestley’s social and political views.
 
Initially, Priestley depicts the “comfortable” life of the upper class Birling family.  In the play’s opening stage directions, Sheila is described as being “very pleased with life”, which acts as a stark contrast to the “fire and blood and anguish” which the Inspector suggests society will become if people do not change their ways and take some “responsibility”.  The adjective “very” emphasises Sheila’s contentedness and implies a satisfied, safe and secure way of life.  Symbolically, however, it depicts a metaphorical bubble in which the upper classes live, unaware of the “anguish” just outside their door, completely alienating the lower classes and creating a callous, frugal and emotionally detached society.

READ COMPLETE AQA AN INSPECTOR CALLS ESSAY - IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CLASS

How does Priestley present selfishness and its effects in An Inspector Calls?
Write about:
• examples of selfish behaviour in the play
• how Priestley presents selfishness and its effects

In ‘An Inspector Calls’ Priestley presents selfishness as a pernicious and harmful quality, that has disastrous consequences for everyone.
 
One instance of selfishness is with the Birling family, who appear to live in their own “comfortable” bubble of wealth and avarice, which inhibits and warps their views of the world.  For instance, the stage directions describe the “suburban” Birling family home as “pink and intimate”.  The use of the adjective “pink” connotes ‘rose tinted spectacles’; the sense that the Birling family has a nostalgic, anachronistic and out-of-touch perception of the world, implying they are detached from the realities of modern Britain.  This feeling is further augmented when the Inspector arrives and shatters their rapacious ignorance.  The lighting changes drastically, going to “brighter and harder”.  The implication of such a change is that the Inspector is shining a light (as though in a police interrogation) on areas the Birlings had never previously seen (because of the ignorance afforded to them by their greed and selfishness).  The word “harder” connotes that the process of exposing the woes of the poor and the Birlings’ transgressions was actually physically gruelling for the family; perhaps as a result of the years of self-imposed myopia they underwent.  Moreover, the Birlings’ detachment as a result of their selfishness and wealth has led to a degree of inhumanity, with Eva Smith being described as a “wretched girl”.  The word “wretched” implies pity, not sympathy, and the word “girl” is demeaning to an adult woman who had recently died.

READ COMPLETE AQA AN INSPECTOR CALLS ESSAY - SELFISHNESS AND EFFECTS

AQA Power and Conflict Poems - Analysed In Detail

Explore the 15 AQA Power and Conflict poems which students are required to analyse for the GCSE English Literature poetry exam (AQA English Literature Paper 2). AQA emphasises that students should study all 15 poems in their chosen cluster and be prepared to write about any of them in the examination.

The AQA Power and Conflict cluster of poems have been analysed in detail. If you need help analysing the collection of AQA Power and Conflict poems please look at the videos below. Each of the Power and Conflict poems have been concisely annotated to support your analysis and interpretation. The annotation prompts are a supportive tool, intended to encourage further analysis and interpretation. ​ ​

AQA Power and conflict Poems Analysed