Form, structure and language - An Inspector Calls test questions - Edexcel

1

Read the extract and answer the following questions:

Birling
Glad you mentioned it, Eric. I'm coming to that. Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin talking nonsense, you'll hear some people say that war's inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks! The Germans don't want war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilized folks in the Balkans. And why? There's too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.
Eric
Yes, I know - but still -
Birling
Just let me finish, Eric. You've a lot to learn yet. And I'm talking as a hard headed, practical man of business. And I say there isn't a chance of war. The world's developing so fast that it'll make war impossible. Look at the progress we're making. In a year or two we'll have aeroplanes that will be able to go anywhere. And look at the way the auto-mobile's making headway - bigger and faster all the time. And then ships. Why, a friend of mine went over this new liner last week - the Titanic - she sails next week - forty-six thousand eight hundred tons - New York in five days - and every luxury - and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable. That's what you've got to keep your eye on, facts like that, progress like that - and not a few German officers talking nonsense and a few scaremongers here making a fuss about nothing.
Now you three young people, just listen to this - and remember what I'm telling you now. In twenty or thirty year's time - let's say, in 1940 - you may be giving a little party like this - your son or daughter might be getting engaged - and I tell you, by that time you'll be living in a world that'll have forgotten all these Capital versus Labour agitations and all these silly little war scares. There'll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere - except of course in Russia, which will always be behindhand naturally.
Act One

How does Priestley show that Mr Birling is self-assured in this extract?

2

What moral is Priestley trying to get across in this extract?

3

Why is the atmosphere of the opening of the play relaxed?

4

The audience know what the characters don't. What is this dramatic technique called?

5

Mr Birling interrupts Eric. What does this tell us about Eric at this stage?

6

Read the following extract and answer the following questions:

Mrs Birling
If you think you can bring any pressure to bear upon me, Inspector, you're quite mistaken. Unlike the other three, I did nothing I'm ashamed of or that won't bear investigation. The girl asked for assistance. We were asked to look carefully into the claims made upon us. I wasn't satisfied with the girl's claim - she seemed to me not a good case - and so I used my influence to have it refused. And in spite of what's happened to the girl since, I consider I did my duty. So if I prefer not to discuss it any further, you have no power to make me change my mind.
Inspector
Yes I have.
Mrs Birling
No you haven't. Simply because I've done nothing wrong - and you know it.
Inspector (very deliberately)
I think you did something terribly wrong - and that you're going to spend the rest of your life regretting it. I wish you'd been with me tonight in the infirmary. You'd have seen -
Sheila (bursting in)
No, no, please! Not that again. I've imagined it enough already.
Inspector (very deliberately)
Then the next time you imagine it, just remember that this girl was going to have a child.
Sheila (horrified)
No! Oh - horrible - horrible! How could she have wanted to kill herself?
Inspector
Because she'd been turned out and turned down too many times. This was the end.
Act Two

Sheila 'bursts in' during this extract, how does this stage direction add to the drama?

7

Mrs Birling speaks at length here, what does this tell us about her character?

8

How does Priestley make Mrs Birling's crime seem even worse in this extract?

9

Who remains to be investigated after Sybil Birling?

10

The story of Eva Smith happens before the events of the play, this is a feature of a….