Paper 2: An Inspector Calls prep

Hi folks,

I'm going to write a few posts with some last minute reminders for English Literature Paper 2.

First up... An Inspector Calls.

I put together quite a few revision resources in this post from last year. 

I'm not going to repeat everything from last year's post. Instead, I'll give you a few reminders about specific questions and essay plans.

Structuring your response:

Remember, the nice thing about Section A of Paper 2 is that you get to choose a question. For example:

First up, whether you've got a character question or a theme-based one, you need to put together a quick plan. Investing 5 minutes on planning will give your answer a sense of direction and will help you ensure that you include key points from throughout the play, hopefully leading up to a conceptualised response which considers the character/theme's development and destination.

Here's my basic format for your plan:

1.     Initial impressions  - i.e. how is the character introduced? Initial stage directions? Early contributions to the dialogue? What are the characters' values/attitudes/characteristics? If it's a theme-based question, how is the theme introduced and set-up early on?

2.     Development - i.e. how does the writer develop the character and reveal the complexities/contradictions/changes compared to our initial impressions? If it's a theme, how does Priestley explore the issue as the play goes on?

3.    Destination - i.e. how has the character changed by the end of the play? What role does the character end up fulfilling? What does the character come to represent? If a theme, how does the ending of the play leave the audience feeling about the idea in the question?

Here's what a basic plan on Mr Birling might look like:

1.     Initial impressions:  Stg. dir: 'rather provincial'. Self-obsessed and 'hard-headed businessman': speeches. Dramatic irony to undermine. Capitalist - and critical of socialist attitudes: 'lower costs'.

2.    Development: defensive and attempts to intimidate Insp (mentions Colonel Rob). Euphemisms to evade responsibility/guilt. Dismissive attitude. Glad that others are involved. Doesn't accept responsibility ('bees in a hive').

3.    Destination: Apparent regret, but still only thinks in financial terms ('I'd give thousands'). Laughs at the 'famous younger generation'. Circular structure mirrors his return to complacency. Birling = capitalism. Static character intended to personify all the faults and complacency of Edwardian England. Characterisation is not subtle - buffoonish from the very start. 

 It would be a good idea for you to practice doing this for the key characters, especially Gerald and Sheila. Think about what your essential quotes would be for these characters too, especially quotes which allow you to discuss Priestley's methods. E.g:

Sheila - essential quotes:

1.     stage dir: 'rather pleased with life', 'half serious, half playful', 'mock aggressiveness', 'possessively'.

2.    Childlike: 'mummy/daddy'.

3.    'Nasty temper': 'Don't be an ass, Eric'. 'You don't know all about port' - hints at the real Sheila

4.    'What was she like? Was she pretty?' Genuinely interested. Relates to Eva, but still shallow.

5.    'Impertinent is such a silly word' - irony: she used it in Act One.

6.    Sarcasm: 'We didn't think you meant Buckingham Palace'.

7.    Perceptiveness and metaphorical language: rope/wall

8.    Mature: 'Don't mind mother.'

9.    Moralises: ‘You began to learn something. And now you've stopped. You're ready to go on in the same old way’. 

Somewhere, I've written a Sheila essay and I'll send it by tomorrow. Alternatively, you can read The Traditional Teacher's here. He has sample answers on several characters and themes on his resources page, here.

The next post will be on Love and Relationships. But before I sign off, here are all of the other past questions on An Inspector Calls. You'll know you're ready when you can look at any of these and confidently knock together a five minute plan. 

Mr M 

P.S. After another exam board had a question on the 'Porter scene' from Macbeth, a lot of teachers are predicting a question on the significance of Edna, or perhaps Alderman Meggarty and Charlie Brunswick, so you'd better revise them too.

P.P.S. I'M KIDDING!

 




 

 

'Foil' characters: The Macduffs (2)

Hi all,

Is there likely to be a question on Lady Macduff? No. 

Why am I writing a blogpost on her? Because we are so ready for the exam that it's the only thing I can think of. Besides, I'm trying to show you that, whatever the question and whatever the extract, it is still possible to come up with a good response rooted in the key ideas and key characters you know so well.

If a minor character is mentioned in the question - or is included in the extract - you need to consider the significance of that character in the text. 

• What does the minor character represent?
• How does the minor character contrast with the protagonist?
• How does the minor character tie in with the themes of the text?
• What does the presence of the minor character add to the text?

Again, the word 'foil' is useful here. A foil is a character who is specifically designed to create a contrast with a protagonist. So, Banquo is an effective foil for Macbeth as he hears the same predictions as Macbeth but acts in a completely different way. Macduff is an effective foil for Macbeth because he is honourable and does not sacrifice his morality for power. He also maintains his humanity as Macbeth is losing his. 

So what about Lady Macduff?

1. She only appears in one scene: Act 4 Scene 2. Why develop a character just to kill her off? Why establish a sweet relationship with her son, just to have them butchered? Obviously, one answer is pathos. We have to like them and see a goodness in them so that Macbeth's decision to murder them seems more monstrous. In this scene, we see the very worst of Macbeth's brutality and butchery. After this, Macbeth cannot be redeemed.
2. She has some great lines. Her discussion with her son includes ideas about being a traitor, what it takes to be a good husband, and the injustice and moral sickness of Macbeth's Scotland.
3. She is a foil for Lady Macbeth. She is loving and moral, whereas Lady Mac just wants to 'catch the nearest way'. She is a caring mother, whereas Lady Macbeth would be prepared to 'dash the brains out' of her child for power. She is sickened by the moral state of Scotland, while Lady Macbeth actively calls for darkness, evil and cruelty to fill her up. Like Lady Mac, she feels isolated and abandoned by her husband. Like Lady Mac, she is critical of her husband. But unlike Lady Mac, Lady Macduff knows that her husband is good and is glad that he is not in the same 'unsanctified' place inhabited by the murderers.
4. She is a voice of reason, morality and goodness in the play. She most memorably sums up the injustice of Macbeth's Scotland and recognises a wider sickness in society:  I have done no harm. But I remember now I am in this earthly world; where to do harm is often laudable, to do good sometime accounted dangerous folly...
5. Her scene with her son is a rare moment of healthy family life in a very dark play. It is a reminder of the people who suffer under a tyrant.
6. When Lady Macbeth is mad in Act 5 Scene 1, she seems shocked and horrified about the death of Lady Macduff: 'the Thane of Fife had a wife, where is she now?' The child-like delivery of this line suggests that even Lady Macbeth is shocked by this brutal act of violence against a good and innocent person. 

You can find more about Lady Macduff and her role in the play here and here. I've written about her key lines and how she ties in to the theme of TRUTH here.

If you have any last minute questions, get in touch.

GOOD LUCK!

Mr M

'Foil' characters: The Macduffs (1)

Hi folks,

 
Last year, there was a bit of a post-exam brouhaha (it's a word!) about so-called 'Banquo question'. It wasn't actually that bad: it was a question about Macbeth and Banquo's contrasting reactions to the witches. The extract was nice too.

This has got me thinking about other secondary characters that might get a mention in a question. And what do you do if a minor character who you haven't particularly revised comes up in the exam?

If you look at the 'Banquo question', students were basically being invited to compare Macbeth with Banquo. Confident students who engage well with the big ideas would recognise that Banquo has been specifically designed by Shakespeare to present a contrast with Macbeth. He is Macbeth's foil. He hears the same predictions, but sees the danger immediately and reacts differently. He becomes a source of fear for Macbeth because of his 'royalty of nature'; he makes Macbeth insecure because he would make a better king. Through Banquo, Shakespeare is able to show how Macbeth should have responded to the witches.

But it isn't Banquo who manages to overcome Macbeth. It is Macduff. So, what is Macduff's role in the play? Here's a handy recap of his involvement.

Macduff can be seen as an avenging hero and another foil for Macbeth. Like Banquo, he is honourable and virtuous, showing respect for the the great chain of being and the natural order of things. Read more here and here.

Below, you'll find an annotated Macduff extract, followed by my comments about Macduff's role in the wider play. Here's the question:

Starting with this speech, explore how Shakespeare contrasts the characters of Macduff and Macbeth.

Write about:

• how Shakespeare presents Macduff in this extract.

• how Shakespeare contrasts the characters of Macbeth and Macduff in the rest of the play.

And now, some thoughts on Macduff's role in the play:

• He is the one who discovers Duncan's body. Twice we see him react with genuine horror to Macbeth's evil deeds. In this way, he is a voice for morality and for genuine feeling: 'O horror horror horror!'
• Unlike Ross, Macduff has no intention of going to Macbeth's coronation (2.4). He obviously has his suspicions and wants no part in the Macbeth reign. He goes further than Banquo in his suspicions, and Macbeth notes his absence at the banquet (3.4). So, Macduff is shown to be more interested in morality than he is in power and status with the new king.
• He heads to the court of the English king, determined to join Malcolm and put things right in Scotland.
• When the witches tell Macbeth to 'Beware Macduff', he seems fated to be Macbeth's nemesis. Macbeth then makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy by giving Macduff the motive to kill him. The death of Macbeth becomes a matter of justice; Macduff becomes the avenging hero.
• In the 'English scene' (4.3), Macduff is tested by Malcolm, who claims to be worse than Macbeth. Again, Macduff shows that he's more concerned about his country and morality by reacting with horror to Malcolm's claims of being without 'king-becoming graces': 'O Scotland Scotland!' He tells Malcolm that he not only does not deserve the crown, but that he doesn't deserve to live. He passes Malcolm's test. Again, Shakespeare sets up Macduff as a foil to Macbeth; he is honourable, brave and loyal - he is everything Macbeth was initially supposed to be.
• His wife and son (more on them later) are voices of reason, sense and goodness in the play (4.2). Their scene is moving, warm and human in an otherwise relentlessly dark play. Their deaths should be a horrific moment of innocence destroyed by brutality.
•  Macduff's emotion and grief when he learns of the death of his loved ones is contrasted to Macbeth's emotional numbness when Lady Mac dies.
• Finally, Macduff leads the charge towards Macbeth and fulfils his destiny - killing Macbeth and returning to Malcolm with his head.

For a more in-depth character study of Macduff, see the book of Macbeth essays I sent you via email.

In the next post, I'll discuss Lady Macduff.

Mr M