Summer Homework 3

Fondest greetings, Year 11!

Having now completed the first two assignments for the summer, you have now experienced some slimmed down examples of the GCSE Lit Paper similar to the one you will be sitting next May.

For this post we are going to take a break from Literature to focus again on Language. Below are two article to have a nose through (again, should you find it beneficial to print them out then please do so).

When you tackle this paper next summer it will be carried out under exam conditions with a time limit of 1 hour 45 mins, including an advised 15 mins reading. So, for this task I would like you to time yourself as strictly as possible.

The best use of your time would be to spend 15 minutes reading and annotating the articles before spending one hour answering the questions.

Either have a timer next to you or ask a parent/guardian to take it off  you after one hour.

Look at the first page of the newspaper article ‘Going for Gold’ in the separate Resource Material. 

1. According to Liz Jones, what are the conditions like in the mine and village of San Luis?

You must use evidence from the text to support your answer. [10]

Now look at the second page of the newspaper article. 

2. How does Liz Jones try to show that the village and mine at Santa Filomena are examples of

the benefits of Fairtrade? [10]

You must use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Now look at the internet essay ‘How fair is Fairtrade?’ on the opposite page. 

3. What does Brendan O’Neill think and feel about Fairtrade?

You must use the text to support your answer. [10]

To answer the next question you will need to refer to both texts. 

4. What do these two texts say about the impact of Fairtrade on people in developing countries?

Organise your answer into two paragraphs, using the following headings:

• what Liz Jones says;

• what Brendan O’Neill says.

You must make it clear from which text you get your information. [10]

Summer Homework 2

Greetings, Year 11!

I have returned from my holibobs (Lovely. Thank you for asking.) and will now share your second piece of work for me. This time we are going to try analyzing a piece of unseen poetry. It is worth pointing out now that going on Sparknotes will not benefit you in any way as you are training yourself to respond to a poem you haven’t seen. I would suggest printing out the poem and scrawling all over it personally, but then hey, I’m just the English Teacher…

Write about the poem and its effect on you.

You may wish to include some or all of these points: 

• the poem’s content – what it is about; 

• the ideas the poet may have wanted us to think about; 

• the mood or atmosphere of the poem; 

• how it is written – words or phrases you find interesting, the way the poem is structured or 

organised, and so on; 

• your response to the poem.                                                            [10] 

In The Can

Every second is a fishbone that sticks

In the throat. Every hour another slow

Step towards freedom. We’re geriatrics

Waiting for release, bribing time to go.

I’ve given up trying to make anything

Different happen. Mornings: tabloids, page three.

Afternoons: videos or Stephen King,

Answering letters from relatives who bore me.

We’re told not to count, but the days mount here

Like thousands of identical stitches

Resentfully sewn into a sampler,*

Or a cricket bat made out of matches.

Nights find me scoring walls like a madman,

Totting up runs: one more day in the can.

ROSIE JACKSON

*a type of embroidered picture

As part of your answer you might want to structure it using the Two Small People Very Wise In School Office approach we touched on last term. For the forgetful of you here is the structure to give you a hand.

Again, don’t kill yourselves with this task, just give me some fairly detailed bullet points under each heading and don’t forget to answer all the points in the question too!

Summer Homework 1

Salutations, Year 11!

I trust you are enjoying your summer holidays thus far! I apologise for not posting this update on Monday as agreed (all future updates will go up on Mondays), but I am in deepest darkest Cornwall and have no internet connection!

But enough of the chit chat! Here is your first task for me this summer! Below is an extract from an Inspector calls and an essay style question. For the purpose of this exercise (and given its quite hot at the moment) I am allowing you to answer this question in bullet points provided you do at least attempt to go into some detail with your responses. Ready?

Click to make this larger

With close reference to the extract, show how J. B. Priestley creates mood and atmosphere for an audience here.                                [10] 

Best of luck! We’ll discuss this and the other forthcoming assignments during the first lesson back.

Mr H

An Inspector Calls: Sheila Birling

SHEILA is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited.

The Birling’s daughter. Engaged to be married to Gerald Croft. She is in her early twenties and is described as ‘pretty’. The attention surrounding her important engagement gives her great pleasure, showing her to be somewhat self-centred. She thus starts the play as someone whom the audience would regard as superficial however, this changes once she hears of the girl’s death and her potential part in it and becomes more caring and sensitive. She shows genuine remorse about the fact that it was her who caused the girl to lose her job at the shop.

At the start of the play she is ‘very pleased with life’. She is young, attractive and has just become engaged. Even though she seems very playful at the opening, we know that she has had suspicions about Gerald when she mentions “last summer, when you never came near me.” Does this suggest that she is not as naive and shallow as she first appears?

• Her happiness is soon to be destroyed as is her faith in her family
• Her response to the tragedy is one of the few encouraging things to come out of the play. She is genuinely upset when she hears of Eva’s death and learns from her own behaviour
• She is very distressed by the girl’s suicide and thinks that her father’s behaviour was unacceptable. She readily agrees that she behaved very badly and insists that she never meant the girl any harm.
• The Inspector says that she is only partly responsible and later on, when he is abou to question Gerald, he encourages her to stay and listen to what he has to say so that she doesn’t feel entirely responsible
• Not only is she prepared to admit her faults, she also appears keen and anxious to change her behaviour in the future, ‘I’ll never, never do it again’
• She is aware of the mystery surrounding the Inspector, yet realises that there is no point in trying to hide the facts from him
• She is mature about the breaking up of her engagement and remains calm. She won’t be rushed into accepting the ring back once the Inspector has left
• She is unable to accept her parents attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven’t learned anything from the episode. Although the Inspector might be a hoax, the family have still behaved in an entirely unsuitable manner
• She learns of her responsibilities to others less fortunate than herself (the idea of the community) and is sensitive. Her readiness to learn from experience is in great contrast to her parents

An Inspector Calls: Mrs Birling

His wife is about fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior.

 

She is the mother of Sheila and Eric and sees them as children even though they have come of age and is very condescending towards them. She’s astutely conscious of the importance of social class at that time and this affects her attitude towards the other characters.

Owing to her coldness and lack of conscience, Mrs Birling is seen as being unsympathetic and out of touch with reality. It is this lack of understanding that leads to her making several snobbish comments and even to be unaware of her own son’s heavy drinking. She is described as a ‘rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior’. However, she shows signs of weakening when she realises that her actions had resulted in the death of her own grandchild. Once the inspector leaves though, she quickly recovers her old self, emphasising her harsh and uncaring nature.

She is a snob, very aware of the differences between social classes. She is irritated when Mr Birling makes the social gaffe of praising the cook in front of Gerald. She is a symbol of pessimism and negativity in the household because she has no sympathy/empathy.

An Inspector Calls: Mr Birling

ARTHUR BIRLING is a heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech.

A successful business man, a magistrate and someone who is active in local politics, Mr Birling has also had the honour of being Lord Mayor of Brumley. He hopes that all this will lead to him being given a knighthood and therefore becoming more socially acceptable to Sir George and Lady Croft, particularly considering his humble beginnings. His description is of a ‘heavy-looking and portentous man’. This description helps to give an impression of him being of a threatening appearance. He is pleased about the engagement of Sheila to Gerald Croft, as he believes it will be good for his business. It is central to the play that his attitude to business and the fact that a man should ‘look after his own’ is discredited by the confessions that the inspector brings about.

Mr Birling represents what socialists like J.B. Priestly, felt was wrong with society. He is a man with money, power and social position, but he is totally unaware of the effects of his actions on other people and has no sense of social justice. Priestley describes him as ‘rather portentous’ suggesting he is serious and self–important. He has worked his way up in the world and is proud of his achievements boasting about having been Mayor

• A prosperous factory owner, not the social equal of his wife. He is ‘a self made man’
• First priority is to make money ‘It’s my duty to keep labour cost down’welcomes Croft into his family as he represents a business link between his firm and that of Gerald Croft’s father (a rival)
• Has an honest approach to life, he tells the Inspector that he wouldn’t listen to Eva Smith’s demand for a wage rise ‘I refused, of course’ and is surprised why anyone should question why.
• Strongly believes that ‘a man has to make his own way’. He does not consider the harm he may cause to other people because of his attitude. He is a ‘hard headed business man
• He is a magistrate and former mayor who is looking forward to receiving a knighthood
• He is very aware that Gerald’s mother is rather against her son’s marriage because she believes him to be marrying beneath him socially
• He is optimistic about the future, yet we know that what he predicts will not become true (NB dramatic irony)
• He refuses to accept any responsibility for Eva ‘s death. He becomes increasing annoyed by the Inspector’s questioning and Eric’s unsympathetic attitude he tries to threaten the Inspector by talking about his friendship with the Chief Constable
• The most disturbing part of the play for Birling is the scene in which he learns that his own son is shown to be a thief, a drunkard and is responsible for fathering a child. When he learns of all this he exclaims ‘You damned fool – why didn’t you come to me when you found yourself in this mess?’
• Eric’s reply indicates that Mr Birling was never close to his son ‘Because you’re not the kind of chap a man could turn to when he’s in trouble’. Such a response indicates that things aren’t going to improve much after the play ends
• He represents a very unattractive sort of person. At the end of the play he grudgingly wishes things were better but even here he still thinks in terms of money ‘Look, Inspector – I’d give thousands’
• He continues to ignore the shameful things that his family has done. When it appears that the Inspector might be a hoaxer he is happy to believe that everything is as it was a few hours ago. He copies the Inspector and laughs when he remembers the faces of Eric and Sheila and accuses them of being ‘the famous younger generation who know it all’. This is an example of pride coming before a fall, a moment later of course he is panicking as the phone rings again
• Mr Birling represents Priestley’s hatred of businessmen who are only interested in making money. He will never alter his ways and it is left to the younger generation to learn from their mistakes.

Priestley’s Birling is laced with irony as we, the audience, are all too aware that this will not be the happiest night of his life as the Inspector looms off stage. Birling makes many ridiculous statements and predictions that the retrospective audience guffaw at as they see through his hollow and sanctimonious understanding of the world.

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QUOTES

Hopes to be knighted “there’s a fair chance that I might find my way into the next Honours List”. P.8

Former Lord-Mayor of Brumley and as such he is full of his own self-importance “I was an alderman for years – and Lord Mayor two years ago.” p.11

He doesn’t care that there are low wages for workers.  He celebrates ripping off his workers and customers “lower costs and higher prices” p.4

His speech about the Titanic calls it “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. P.7

He wrongly doesn’t think there will be a war – “There’ll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere.” p.7

Prosperous factory owner, not the social equal of his wife. He is ‘a self made man’

His first priority is to make money ‘It’s my duty to keep labour costs down’

An Inspector Calls: Act One Synopsis

The dining-room of the suburban Birling residence

Sheila Birling has become engaged to Gerald Croft and as a result the Birling family have enjoyed a family dinner together. Mr Birling makes grand speeches giving his views on technology and industrial relations, emphasising his opinion that a man should only care about himself and his family and no-one else. Their evening is suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a police inspector by the name of Goole who is making enquiries into the suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. 

The inspector has a photograph of the woman and from it Mr Birling admits that he once employed her in his factory but had sacked her over an industrial dispute over wages. Gerald Croft backs Mr Birling’s belief that he acted within reason. Sheila and her brother Eric react differently, feeling that their father was harsh in sacking her. However, upon seeing the photograph herself, Sheila realises that she also sacked the same woman from her job as a shop assistant. 

During the course of Act I it becomes clear that the inspector has an uncanny knowledge about the family’s dealing with the girl. He then announces that the girl has in fact changed her name from Eva Smith to Daisy Renton. The reaction that this causes in Gerald makes it obvious that he knows the girl also. By the time we reach the end of the act the inspector is already suggesting that many people share the responsibility for the miserable existence of the young girl which prompted her to take her own life.

 

Points to Consider:

1. Why is Mr Birling happy about Sheila’s engagement to Gerald?
2. Why might the Inspector investigate a suicide?
3. Sheila and Eric’s relationship.
4. Sheila and Gerald’s relationship.
5. What do Sheila and the Inspector have in common?
6. Why did Eva Smith change her name into Daisy Renton?

Questions

1. Choose three words from the stage directions at the start of the play that best describe the family home.
2. How are the Birlings and Gerald Croft dressed?
3. How old are Arthur and Sybil Birling?
4. How old are their children?
5. Who is Edna?
6. What are  the family celebrating?
7. Why does Sheila half- seriously  criticise Gerald?
8. Who are Gerald’s parents? Why were they  absent from the engagement dinner? Why is Arthur Birling pleased that Sheila is marrying into the Croft family?
9. In his speech to the family Arthur Birling makes optimistic predictions about the future. Which of his predictions prove to be wrong?

 

An Inspector Calls: Key Notes and Keywords

• The play has a very compact structure, nothing is allowed to distract the audience from the central theme. There is no sub-plot.
• The play takes place in just one location, the action is continuous
• Act One begins by introducing the characters and establishing the idea of a happy and united family looking forward to the future with a degree of confidence. In retrospect,there are a number of hints that all is not as it seems but these are not particularly obvious until later in the play. There is nothing to warn us of the shock of the Inspector’s visit events soon gather speed and it is not long before we are being informed of Birling and Sheila’s involvement with Eva Smith
• Tensions increase, firstly as Gerald’s affair is unveiled (and the scandal it would cause) and Sheila begins to realise that they are all implicated in some way ‘he is giving us rope – so that we’ll hang ourselves’.
• Mrs Birling’s attempts to shift the blame for the girl’s suicide leads her to blame the father of the unborn child. The tension is heightened at this point by the dramatic entrance of Eric.
• With the departure of the Inspector it would appear that what follows will be something of an anti-climax as the Inspector’s identity is put into doubt by a series of observations made by the Birling family and Gerald. Even the existence of Eva is called into question. however, the tension remains to some extent as the two generations confirm the differences as suggested by the Inspector – the moral divide is very great indeed
• The final denouement, the phone call announcing that a police inspector is on his way to ask some questions about a girl who has just died in the infirmary is as shocking as it is surprising and ensures that the audience will leave the auditorium in a state of real shock.

 

Community

A social group of any size whose members reside in a locality, share a government and have a common heritage.

Responsibility

The state or fact of being responsible for something      within one’s power, control, or management.

Society

An organized group of persons associated together for religious, cultural, political, patriotic, or other purposes.

Paternalistic

The system or practice of managing individuals, businesses, nations etc in the manner of a father dealing with his children.

An Inspector Calls: Context

An Inspector Calls was first performed in London in 1946, just after World War II. Priestley uses his knowledge of the reality of two world conflicts to cast shadows over the genteel house of the social-climbing Birlings in 1912, when the play is set.

This was the period of the Russian Revolution, two appalling world wars, the Holocaust and the Atom Bomb.

Other real historical events and ideas, such as the sinking of the Titanic, the General Strike of 1926, the rise of Fascism, technological advances and the debate over individual and social responsibility are referred to through the play and add an element of realism.

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Understanding the historical context is key to understanding An Inspector Calls. If you are sitting the Higher Tier, it will be especially important to show your understanding in the exam.

An Inspector Calls was written in 1946 but set in 1912. This means that there is a lot of opportunity for DRAMATIC IRONY – this is when the audience know more than the characters. There is lots of this in the first scene, when Mr Birling explains to the dinner party his beliefs on the world – that the Titanic won’t sink, that there’ll never be war, and that workers won’t go on strike. For an audience watching this in 1946, all these predictions proved catastrophically wrong.

1912 (SET)	1945 (WRITTEN)
WW1 would start in two years time.  Mr Birling’s optimistic view that there would not be a war is completely wrong.	WW2 ended 8th May 1945.  People were recovering from nearly 6 years of warfare, danger and uncertainty.
Strong distinctions between upper and lower classes.	Class distinctions had been greatly reduced due to the 2 wars.
Women were subservient to men.  No real role except wife and mother (high class).	As a result of the wars, women had earned a more value place in society.
Ruling classes felt nothing need to change with the ruling of the country.	Great desire for social change.  After 2WW Labour won victory over the Conservatives – Socialism began.

An Inspector Calls isn’t just about the Birling family and an odd inspector. It’s an ALLEGORY. An allegory is a story in which people and things represent bigger ideas and themes about life. The Inspector’s speech near the end gives us the clue to this. ‘One Eva Smith is gone, but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us’ (56)
So, Eva Smith represents all poor and working class people who are being exploited. The Birlings represent all the privileged and wealthy upper classes who exploit them.

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Priestley also tries to link the attitude and actions of the Birlings with the catastrophes of the First World War, the Second World War, and the plight of poor people in Britain. When the Inspector, in his crucial final speech, refers to the ‘fire and blood and anguish’ that will follow if he is not listened to, the tragic thing is that this ‘fire and blood and anguish’ did happen, in the form of two world wars, revolutions and social unrest.

All allegories have a moral, or a message. The message Priestley is putting across is that the system for running society that the Birlings represent is unfair and will lead to horrible conflict. The system the Inspector represents is much fairer. Broadly speaking, the Birlings represent Capitalism, and the Inspector represents Socialism. This is a controversial argument, and one that is still hotly debated today. But you don’t have to agree with Priestley to understand his motives in writing the play.

 

 

J.B Priestley: A Profile

J B Priestley: One of Britain’s foremost ponderers.

John Boynton Priestley was born in Yorkshire in 1894. He knew early on that he wanted to become a writer, but decided against going to university as he thought he would get a better feel for the world around him away from academia. Instead, he became a junior clerk with a local wool firm at the age of 16.

When the First World War broke out, Priestley joined the infantry and only just escaped death on a number of occasions. After the war, he gained a degree from CambridgeUniversity, then moved to London to work as a freelance writer. He wrote successful articles and essays, then published the first of many novels, The Good Companions in 1929. He wrote his first play in 1932 and went on to write 50 more. Much of his writing was ground-breaking and controversial. He included new ideas about possible parallel universes and strong political messages.

During World War 2 he broadcast a massively popular weekly radio programme which was attacked by the Conservatives as being too left-wing – and eventually cancelled by the BBC for being too critical of the Government.

During the 1930’s Priestley became very concerned about the consequences of social inequality in Britain, and in 1942 Priestley and others set up a new political party, the Common Wealth Party which argued for public ownership of land, greater democracy, and a new “morality” in politics. The party merged with the Labour Party in 1945, but Priestley was influential in developing the idea of the Welfare State which began to be put into place at the end of the war.

He believed that further world wars could only be avoided through cooperation and mutual respect between countries, and so became active in the early movement for a United Nations. And as the nuclear arms race between West and East began in the 1950s, he helped to found CND, hoping that Britain would set an example to the world by a moral act of nuclear disarmament.

He continued to write into the 1970s and died in 1984.