GCSE An Inspector Calls 2

Question 1

Who is engaged to Sheila Birling at the start of the play?

Accepted Answer

Gerald Croft

Answer

Sheila and Gerald Croft's engagement is being celebrated at the family dinner when the Inspector arrives.

Question 2

Which theme is most strongly conveyed by the Inspector's final speech about 'millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths'?

Accepted Answer

Collective social responsibility

Answer

The Inspector's closing speech argues that everyone is responsible for one another's wellbeing in society.

Question 3

Which Birling sibling shows the clearest change and accepts responsibility by the end of the play?

Accepted Answer

Sheila

Answer

Sheila is deeply affected by the Inspector's investigation and comes to accept her share of responsibility for Eva Smith's death.

Question 4

What structural technique does Priestley use at the very end of the play, when a phone call announces a real inspector is on his way?

Accepted Answer

Cyclical structure

Answer

The play ends as it began, with news of an inspector arriving, creating a cyclical structure.

Question 5

In what year did J.B. Priestley write An Inspector Calls?

Accepted Answer

1945

Answer

Priestley wrote the play in 1945, just after the end of the Second World War.

GCSE - General Certificate of Secondary Education Practice Test