An Inspector Calls: Themes (OCR GCSE English Literature): Flashcards
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Practise the cards
15 cards from this deck
What are the 4 key themes in An Inspector Calls?
What are the 4 key themes in An Inspector Calls?
Social responsibility, age, gender, social class
Central message of the play
Central message of the play
Social responsibility - we're interconnected, actions impact others
Inspector Goole's quote about responsibility
Inspector Goole's quote about responsibility
"We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other"
What views does Inspector Goole represent?
What views does Inspector Goole represent?
Priestley's Socialist views
What the age theme highlights
What the age theme highlights
Generational divide in attitudes to social responsibility
Younger generation's response (Sheila & Eric)
Younger generation's response (Sheila & Eric)
Show capacity for change and guilt
Older generation's response (Mr & Mrs Birling)
Older generation's response (Mr & Mrs Birling)
Fixed in their ways, resist accepting responsibility
Where hope for social change lies
Where hope for social change lies
With youth - more open to change & social responsibility
What gender theme critiques
What gender theme critiques
Patriarchal society where women judged by relation to men
What Sheila's refusal of ring symbolises
What Sheila's refusal of ring symbolises
Rejection of traditional gender roles
What Eva Smith represents re: gender
What Eva Smith represents re: gender
Vulnerability of women in patriarchal society
Who exploited Eva Smith?
Who exploited Eva Smith?
Birling, Gerald, and Eric
What class theme critiques
What class theme critiques
Rigid class system in early 20th-century Britain
Mr. Birling's values
Mr. Birling's values
Capitalist values - profit & status over worker welfare
What Eva Smith represents re: class
What Eva Smith represents re: class
Working class, vulnerable to exploitation