An Inspector Calls context

when was the play first performed?

1946

when was the play set?

1912

where was JB. Priestley born?

Bradford, Yorkshire

what kind of an education did Priestley have?

* grammar school education
* left school at 16
* didn’t go to university

what work did he do?

* practical work
* he was a junior clerk at a wool firm in the city

what did he do as a broadcaster?

used this platform to speak out about class inequality and poverty in Britain

what influenced his writing?

* Yorkshire culture
* witnessed poverty amongst the working classes, many people were in slums and appalling conditions

what were Priestley’s ideas about society and why?

* believed in socialist values (equality and freedom)

\
* his father was a proud socialist and had many socialist friends

\
* he was surrounded by loads of socialist people influencing his view on society whilst he was very young

how old was priestley when he volunteered for the army?

19 nearly 20

what did Priestley survive during his time at war?

he was a victim to a shell and gas attack

what did his experience of war teach Priestley?

* made him realise how social inequality beyond what he had seen at home existed

\
* officers where discarding the fallen men, not rewarding their services

what were two achievements Priestley made?

* helped the Labour party win the elections in 1945
* contributed to the formation of the Welfare State

what was the Welfare State?

* a state set up by the government that provided for the sick, elderly and the unemployed
* it protected people against economic crisis‘s

what was Priestley fascinated by and how did this effect his plays?

* theories of time
* he looked at effects on an individual’s actions over a passage of time just like in An Inspector Calls

was An Inspector Calls set in the Victorian era?

no

how was the poor law reformed?

Queen Victoria believed the poor should work to earn help

why were workhouses set up and how does this have reference to the poor law?

* working class people could earn help
* people had to work in appalling conditions to be worthy of help

what were ‘fallen women’?

* people in society that believed that women lost their innocence and had fallen from the grace of God

\
* these women were condemned and outcast from society

what was society’s ideas of the romantic ideal of fallen women?

men that ‘helped’ fallen women were praised and celerbrated

what did Priestley suggest was the romantic ideal of fallen woman?

men prayed on the fallen women as they were easier targets

how was your hierarchy determined?

* age
* wealth
* heritage
* gender

define a ‘double life’ in the Victorian era

* most people in the upper classes mostly men lived a double life
* they got involved with all the sinful activities behind their daily routines eg. gerald and eric

what did the upper class consist of?

* luxurious homes and estates in the country to escape the poverty in towns
* fancy clothing
* quality food and drink
* wealthy
* educated

what did the lower class consist of?

* many children = more mouths to feed
* hygiene and sanitation were poor
* little to no education

what could upper class women rely on?

marrying and being supported by husbands wealth

unmarried women

* vulnerable
* often lived in total poverty

what happened to unmarried and pregnant women?

* many forced onto the streets
* unemployed

what were some beliefs that rich people had about the working class?

* the poor had themselves to blame for their situations

\
* working classes were stupid and didn’t work hard enough so that was why they lived in poverty

\
* they deserved it so why should they help

define social mobility

the ability for an individual, family or group to move between social classes eg. Mr Birling

why was social mobility nearly non existent in 1912?

* working class couldn’t get into grander jobs
* they were seen as unskilled and uneducated
* upper classes saw no need to change as they were well off

what did Priestley want to demonstrate in his play?

* how important it was to eliminate class divides in Britain
* upper class families still believed after war time that they were superior

when was the industrial revolution?

1760-1840

what did the industrial revolution consist of?

* machinery (people lost their jobs due to machines taking over agriculturally)
* population growth
* more income

define people with ‘old money’

wealth had been in the family for decades

define people with ‘new money’

people who made their fortune from new methods of industry

which family are part of the ‘new money’ era

the birlings

which family are part of the ‘old money’ era?

the crofts

what were conditions in workhouses like?

* dirty
* poorly lit
* didn’t have access to clean water
* dangerous machinery = risk of dying

what were the terms of working for the working class in shops?

* strict rules about how they could behave in-front of customers

\
* if they were accused of gossiping or being rude to customers they could lose their jobs

women’s rights

* workers were unhappy = started to group together
* trade unions were formed

define trade unions

associations formed and run by workers in the interest of equality and protecting rights

what did the beveridge report lead to?

to formation of the welfare state

when was the beveridge report published?

1942

what did capitalism vs socialism mean?

two opposing economic and cultural systems that determine how people make their money and how the government run

what does capitalism consist of?

* making a profit by exploiting others (using them for their own benefit)

\
* production costs low but selling goods at the highest prices

what was karl marx’s theory on socialism in the 19th century?

* human beings are most efficient when they work together
* value the well being of many rather than the well being of an individual

what was the statistic for the number of women to die giving birth in the victorian era?

* 1 out of every 200 women a lot higher than today = slim chance of survival
* it was unsafe and dangerous
* chloroform was available but only for the upper classes that could afford a doctor

abortion in the early 20th century

* illegal
* methods were dangerous
* at risk of infections due to poor hygiene and inaccurate procedure

what did an inspector calls do to the public?

reminded people of the past and how they need to commend the present and keep pushing for total equality