AN INSPECTOR CALLS PARAGRAPH
PLANS
Mr Birling (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Starts as ignorant and foolish
- "I'm talking as a hard-headed practical man of business. And I say
there isn't a chance of war."
- Refers himself by his professional status rather than emotional, shows
his priorities
- dramatic irony shows ignorance and arrogance, could be in denial as
war could affect his business
- self-importance
- "The Titanic is unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
- Dramatic irony
- Repetition of 'unsinkable' and use of 'absolutely' shows Mr Birling's
ignorance
Mr Birling (Paragraph 2) - ANSWER Capitalist Views
- "You're the kind of son-in-law I always wanted." "Low costs and higher
prices"
- Show the little pay the workers got
- 'Kind' - abstract noun shows he wanted a son-in-law in the upper class
- Gerald is a financial benefit rather than part of the family
- "A man has to make his own way... we're not together like bees in a
hive."
- Similie - dismissive nature to socialist ideology
- 'Own' - Possessive of his route to power, shows he takes no care for
others
Mr Birling (Paragraph 3) - ANSWER Lack of responsibility for Eva's
death
- "If we were all responsible for everything... it would be very awkward
wouldn't it?"
- Shows he is unfamiliar of feeling responsibility for anyone else
- "Who here will suffer more than I will?"
- The verb 'suffer' shows hypocrisy, makes Eva suffer more than he ever
will
, - Shows his concerns and priorities are his image and potential
knighthood
Sheila (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Shown as childish and materialistic:
- "Now I really feel engaged." And "Is it the one you wanted me to have."
- adverb shows materialism
- Sheila had no choice on the ring she wanted, Gerald shows it for her
- 'Mummy' and 'daddy'
- Pronouns are associated with young children, not adults
- Shows lack of awareness, infantilised by her parents
She could be seen here as the stereotypical rich young woman - without
a mind of her own due to her gender
Sheila (Paragraph 2) - ANSWER Takes a lot of social responsibility,
genuinely sorry
- "If I could help her now, I would."
- Modal auxiliaries show genuine regret
- Personal pronoun 'I' shows she's taking individual responsibility
- "I know, I know... I'll never, never do it again to anybody."
- Repetitions emphasise her genuine regret and guilt
- Shows contrast in behaviour to parents, shows the younger generation
bringing hope and new ideas to society
Sheila (Paragraph 3) - ANSWER Instant change of tone, she starts
turning against her parents and the rest of her family
- "These girls aren't cheap labour - they're people."
- Metaphor - shows Sheila being unable to understand how they can be
treated like this
- She reverses the generational gap, though moments before she was
calling him 'daddy', shows maturity change
- "I suppose we're all nice people now."
- Sheila believes that she is responsible socially if the example of Eva is
true or not
- She contrasts the beliefs of her father, who is mostly concerned about
the media finding out about the Birling's being involved in this suicide
Power (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Between class
PLANS
Mr Birling (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Starts as ignorant and foolish
- "I'm talking as a hard-headed practical man of business. And I say
there isn't a chance of war."
- Refers himself by his professional status rather than emotional, shows
his priorities
- dramatic irony shows ignorance and arrogance, could be in denial as
war could affect his business
- self-importance
- "The Titanic is unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
- Dramatic irony
- Repetition of 'unsinkable' and use of 'absolutely' shows Mr Birling's
ignorance
Mr Birling (Paragraph 2) - ANSWER Capitalist Views
- "You're the kind of son-in-law I always wanted." "Low costs and higher
prices"
- Show the little pay the workers got
- 'Kind' - abstract noun shows he wanted a son-in-law in the upper class
- Gerald is a financial benefit rather than part of the family
- "A man has to make his own way... we're not together like bees in a
hive."
- Similie - dismissive nature to socialist ideology
- 'Own' - Possessive of his route to power, shows he takes no care for
others
Mr Birling (Paragraph 3) - ANSWER Lack of responsibility for Eva's
death
- "If we were all responsible for everything... it would be very awkward
wouldn't it?"
- Shows he is unfamiliar of feeling responsibility for anyone else
- "Who here will suffer more than I will?"
- The verb 'suffer' shows hypocrisy, makes Eva suffer more than he ever
will
, - Shows his concerns and priorities are his image and potential
knighthood
Sheila (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Shown as childish and materialistic:
- "Now I really feel engaged." And "Is it the one you wanted me to have."
- adverb shows materialism
- Sheila had no choice on the ring she wanted, Gerald shows it for her
- 'Mummy' and 'daddy'
- Pronouns are associated with young children, not adults
- Shows lack of awareness, infantilised by her parents
She could be seen here as the stereotypical rich young woman - without
a mind of her own due to her gender
Sheila (Paragraph 2) - ANSWER Takes a lot of social responsibility,
genuinely sorry
- "If I could help her now, I would."
- Modal auxiliaries show genuine regret
- Personal pronoun 'I' shows she's taking individual responsibility
- "I know, I know... I'll never, never do it again to anybody."
- Repetitions emphasise her genuine regret and guilt
- Shows contrast in behaviour to parents, shows the younger generation
bringing hope and new ideas to society
Sheila (Paragraph 3) - ANSWER Instant change of tone, she starts
turning against her parents and the rest of her family
- "These girls aren't cheap labour - they're people."
- Metaphor - shows Sheila being unable to understand how they can be
treated like this
- She reverses the generational gap, though moments before she was
calling him 'daddy', shows maturity change
- "I suppose we're all nice people now."
- Sheila believes that she is responsible socially if the example of Eva is
true or not
- She contrasts the beliefs of her father, who is mostly concerned about
the media finding out about the Birling's being involved in this suicide
Power (Paragraph 1) - ANSWER Between class