AIC EXAM | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (VERIFIED) | LATEST UPDATE | GRADED A+

1 AIC EXAM | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (VERIFIED) | LATEST UPDATE | GRADED A+ "(miserably) So I'm really responsible" 'It was my own fault' 'Id been in a bad temper anyhow SHEILA Correct Answer: - Sheila feels guilty about how she may have affected Eva. - Different to Mr Birling, who just tries to defend himself and say that he was justified in what he did. - Character development - taking responsibility - Difference between generations 'ERIC suddenly guffaws' STAGE DIRECTIONS Correct Answer: Eric is immature and represents youth 'As you were saying, Dad, a man has to look after himself-' ERIC 2 Correct Answer: - When he doesn't know much about what he is talking about, he tends to be biased towards his father's ideologies. - His father has more power - Impressionable and doesn't really know what he believes, that he's just following his father blindly naivety when it comes to political ideologies - he isn't very exposed to beliefs that aren't of his families eg socialist views - Symbolises impressionability of youth 'Oh- how horrible! Was it an accident?' SHEILA ''Well don't tell me that's because I discharged her from my employment nearly two years ago' BIRLING Correct Answer: Sheila represents youth whereas Birling symbolises old beliefs 'But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people' SHEILA TO INSPECTOR Correct Answer: - Possible naivety of youth - New ideologies contrasting with Birling's - Social responsibility and morality Mr Birling reflects the typical patronising male view of woman in 1912 3 Correct Answer: "...not only something to make 'em look prettier - but - well, a sort of sign or token of their self-respect." Gerald makes sexist and superficial comments about the women in the bar he visits. Correct Answer: "I hate those hard-eyed dough-faced women." Mrs. Birling also shows that women of the time could be old-fashioned and cruel as men Correct Answer: "She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position." Turn taking theory applied to theme of gender roles Correct Answer: The male characters eg Mr Birling typically speak for longer periods of time and more frequently Proleptic Irony Correct Answer: When something is foreshadowed and comes to fruition at a later stage in the novel/play, etc. It is basically foreshadowing. This happens at the end of the play when the phone again rings to continue the cycle Economic Power Correct Answer: Disparity between men and women financially stems from this Proleptic Irony applied to gender roles 4 Correct Answer: Mr Birling represents the business male that has the ability to fire people and is made to appear stupid by his incorrect predictions about the war and the titanic which reverses the gender roles as men are supposed to be better equipped to work and being a leader according to the stereotypes of 1912. What are the main ways that Mrs Birling is presented? Correct Answer: -cold -upper-middle-class woman -old fashioned "She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position" Correct Answer: Shows Mrs Birling's hypocrisy. She accuses Eva of not being able to have scruples because she is in a lower class when Mrs Birling, in a higher class does not have scruples. "I think Sheila and I had better go into the drawing room and leave you men" Correct Answer: Brings up themes of misogyny and gender roles. 'What an expression Sheila! Really the things you girls pick up these days' Correct Answer: Also shows themes of misogyny and gender roles, as Mrs Birling wants her daughter to remain a respectable child. 'But I didn't know it was you - I never dreamt. Besides, you're not the type - you don't get drunk- ' 5 Correct Answer: Shows Mrs Birling's naivety, she doesn't know her own son. We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. Correct Answer: He predicts that the clash between individual and collective interests will produce need for reckoning through Europe and the West. His language is passionate and full of rhetorical flourishing.He creates an apocalyptic vision of the future without a sense of social cohesion. The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder. Correct Answer: The contrasting lighting is a juxtaposition presenting him as the foil to the Birlings. Pink and intimate metaphorically acts to imply that they are caught in their selfish bubble. Brighter and harder could show he will shine a light on the terrible actions of the family. He isn't going to be intimidated by the Birlings, and he will try to change the moral beliefs of the family. A chain of events Correct Answer: The circularity that the Inspector believes in echoes Priestley's own ideas on time. This reaffirms how he, by articulating the views of the playwright, will represent the moral centre of the piece. Indicates how everyone's involved. He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses. Correct Answer: He is selfless and uses forethought before he speaks. This directly juxtaposes the idol predictions of Mr Birling. The lexical field of size implies that his words carry deeper meaning and have the burden and affect the listener, as displayed by Sheila and Eric. 6 It is better to ask for the earth than to take it. Correct Answer: This is a metaphorical explanation of the Capitalist exploitation. The idea symbolically here is that Capitalism is ruining the earth, but also shows the idea that the Birlings are incredibly greedy. he looks at Gerald, then at Eric, then at Sheila Correct Answer: Shows omniscient power. Knows what each character has done. However, there is an undertone of an assumption here. All upper class citizens will or have exploited the poor. if men will not learn that lesson, then they will taught it in fire and blood and anguish Correct Answer: Metaphor referring to war, The ruling class didn't learn their lesson from ww1 and therefore there was a ww2. Parallels the death of Eva at the start of the play and at the end. Referring to hell and eternal punishment. It's my duty to ask questions Correct Answer: He has high morals and standards, revealing that the other characters have not. He takes his responsibilities very seriously. We hear a sharp ring of a front doorbell Correct Answer: He makes his authority established before he enters. The bell interrupts Birling from bloviating his capitalist views to the audience. Reinforces the idea of Priestley's frustration with a Capitalist society. His authority is able to cut through the ill conceived ideas that Birling has put forward. 7 she'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out. Correct Answer: Detailed, grotesque imagery. Could symbolise the contamination of society, and how the upper classes make the lower and working class vulnerable. She cleanses herself of all the wrong in society. And why did you do that? Correct Answer: He is omniscient and he knows the story. He is not looking for answers, but acceptance. He unravels secrets until everyone is bare. cutting through, massively Correct Answer: The Inspector's interruptions and his indifference to the nicer points of polite behaviour make him stand apart from the others. The Inspector assumes control, which is a disturbing shift for Birling and he immediately tries to regain it. The Inspector interrupts Birling. Remember that. Never forget. Correct Answer: When he begins to reveal who is responsible for the death of Eva Smith, his words are quite emphatic and he makes great use of two short sentences in the imperative there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us Correct Answer: To convey to the Birlings how widespread their actions are, the Inspector uses the extended metaphor of 'millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths' to 8 represent the number of working class men and women who were exploited on a daily basis by the greed of capitalism. I've had that notion Correct Answer: In response to Sheila's 'But these girls aren't cheap labour- they're people.' • Sarcasm ('notion') used to show that what Sheila thinks is how their morals should be. This sense of morality is dawning on Sheila and Mr and Mrs Birling are still oblivious to it, but it is obvious to the Inspector, Priestly and the audience that Birling's reactions are morally wrong. Sometimes there isn't as much difference as you think Correct Answer: In response to Gerald's 'We're respectable citizens and not criminals.'. The Inspector is hinting at what he knows with regards to Eva Smith's case. This knowledge, without giving too much away, creates a sense of unease. It also shows the Inspector disputing Gerald's idea that there are two types of people in society morally, and these are separated by class. As we progress through the play, we realise just how correct the Inspector is. we often do on the young ones. They're more impressionable Correct Answer: 'impressionable' stresses how important it is that we teach the new generation the right way, the importance of social responsibility. Mr and Mrs Birling spend so much of the play telling Eric and Sheila what to do, but are the children wiser as they understand the Inspector's (and Priestly's) message. 'I know we'd have done the same thing' (act 1) 9 Correct Answer: - Aligned with capitalist views, similar to Birling even though he is younger. - Old vs young - Social responsibility 'We're respectable citizens and not criminals' (act 1) Correct Answer: - Foreshadowing - Inspector believes everything they've done is considered criminal "Everything's all right now" (act 3) Correct Answer: - Audience loses sympathy for Gerald - His main concern was getting caught not his actions - Moral dilemma How is Gerald different from the other young characters? Correct Answer: His perspective is more similar to the older characters, due to his high social standing and the amount of power he holds. Why is Gerald guilty? Correct Answer: Had Eva as a mistress "she'd better let me take her out of there" (act 2) 10 Correct Answer: - Acting as a heroic male - Relates to the role of men and women in society How does The Inspector control Gerald? Correct Answer: Exposes and weakens him, forcing him to confess and accept the blame "You've said your piece, and you're obviously going to hate this, so why on earth don't you leave us to it?" Correct Answer: Shows the character of Gerald and how petty/childish he can act "Goole" Correct Answer: Act One: This could mean ghost, was IG real or a hoax or an omniscient being? 8/9er Grice's maxims - brevity Correct Answer: IG uses direct language and interrogative sentences with stage directions such as 'Cutting in, massively' "Quite so" "It might be, you know" "No, sir. I can't agree there" Greek Chorus Correct Answer: IG teaches the audience a lesson about morality and the suffering of the lower class as a result of the capitalist system and patriarchal society on pg 207 "But just remember this. One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions...." 11 How does IG heighten drama? Correct Answer: Entrances and exits are well-timed to build maximum tension Assertive tone Correct Answer: Inspector Goole's character doesn't change. He always remains assertive throughout the play. However, he seems to gain more control over the characters as the play progresses. Greek Chorus Correct Answer: 'You turned the girl out of one job, and I had her turned out of another' Contradicting quietness which was associated with women at the time Correct Answer: '(Bitterly) I suppose we're all nice people now' Feminist - suffragete Correct Answer: She opposes Birling's traditional attitudes towards gender roles as well as being assertive in a predominantly male society Her role in the play is.... Correct Answer: A young women being welcomed to high society Character is altered by the inspector 12 Correct Answer: ' Makes me feel a bit less ashamed of us' - Fragileness of women - Presufferagete - Men's role to take care of women Correct Answer: "There isn't the slightest reason why my daughter should be dragged into...' - Old vs new - Socialist ideologies - Altering roles of women in society Correct Answer: ' But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people' exposed to stressful situations which they were seen as being unable to handle Correct Answer: ' He means that I'm getting hysterical now' - Morality - Altering due to the presents of the inspector - Dashes make her seems panicked and hysterical Correct Answer: 'I'm to blame - and i'm desperately sorry- but I can't believe - I won't believe - it's simply my fault' "You know don't you?" 13 Correct Answer: First line in act 3. He doesn't act innocent compared to Gerald and almost seems to accept his past being exposed. "well, i was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty - and i threatened to make a row." Correct Answer: His class made him feel entitled and gender roles are expressed here as he has the power in the relationship. His use of threats shows a more sinister side to the story, emphasising the nature of it being a morality play/crime thriller. "Yes. And that's when it happened. And i didn't even remember - that's the hellish thing. Oh - my God! - how stupid it all is!" Correct Answer: Varied punctuation e.g exclamation marks and dashes. Short sentence structure used. These devices convey the fragmented nature of Eric's thoughts and reaction to what he did as he processes the event. Highlighted "that's the hellish things" because an action that he can't even remember was a major factor into Eva's suicide. "she treated me - as if i were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was." Correct Answer: Resentment towards what he believed was patronising from Eva, and contextually throughout the play, it suggests that this wasn't a new feeling and that Eric has built up this bitterness towards being condescended by family etc. "She hadn't a job - ... - and she'd no money left - so i insisted on giving her enough money to keep her going - until she refused to take any more-" Correct Answer: Excessive use of dashes suggests his reasoning and rush to explain himself and that he wasn't completely villainous. Also shows how he believed money 14 could solve everything and how it was easy it was for him to offer it to her because he is considerably more well off. "you stole the money?" Mr. B "Not really." ... "Eric! You stole money!?" Mrs. B "No, not really. I intended to pay it back." Correct Answer: Eric still claims innocence, and the repetition of the vague answer "not really" shows that he doesn't claim responsibility for his actions, and doesn't understand the value of money. "(nearly at breaking point) Then - you killed her. She came to you to protect me - and you turned her away - yes, and you killed her- and the child she'd have had too - my child - your own grandchild - you killed them both - damn you, damn you-" Correct Answer: Many dashes used to isolate the minor phrases highlights the emotional tone Eric is performed with and his fractured state. Emotive language and the repetition of "you killed..." is used to guilt his mother. The ending repetition of "damn you" presents another, more pained side to Eric that is finally shown. (almost threatening her) You don't understand any-thing. You never did. You never even tried - you -" Correct Answer: The stage direction indicated that Eric has reached his limit, and the short sentences express how he has no patience left for his mother's pride. 15 8/9ers Correct Answer: - ouspensky's theory - greek chorus - 7 deadly sins "And probably between us we killed her." "You wait, Mother" Correct Answer: Example of how the Inspector has (supernaturally) influenced Sheila and the personal pronouns emphasises the family's faults. Ouspensky's theory of time Correct Answer: "We will keep reliving our life identically over and over in a seemingly endless cycle until we make significant spiritual improvements and manage to change". The idea that the scenario will repeat until the Birlings learn their lesson after they are quick to find fault with the Inspector after he leaves. Phonetics - the Inspector Correct Answer: (Inspector) Goole sounds like Ghoul which is a supernatural creature.