Hey guys, couldn't really think of anyone else to help me with this as my teacher seems to be pointing me in the wrong direction whenever I ask for help. anyway, I need help with my English essay that my teacher keeps saying needs to meet my target of a B, but this re-draft which I have done is still at a D. I can't remember the questions (stupid me) but it is something like, how does Priestley show the ignorance of Edwardians in their time" or something like that, trying to find it out right now. [hide=Essay] This is still a grade D essay. I have added prompts for your next re-draft Connor – more text evidence and analysis needed for your target grade - B grade. An Inspector Calls Priestley's play, 'An Inspector Calls' is a play about a rich, well off family and how they are all involved in the suicide of Eva Smith. It is set in the town of Brumley, an industrial city in the Northern Midlands in 1912, but was first played on stage in 1946, October 1st. In 1912 women were seen as cheap labour and less of a person than a man. The characters include Arthur Birling, Sybil Birling, Sheila Birling, Eric Birling, Edna, Gerald Croft and Inspector Goole. Each of these characters brings something unique to the play, with Mr Birling being the typical Edwardian wealthy male, and Edna being the typical maid. The first scene is set in a fairly large house with good furniture and silverware, showing the Birling’s wealth. Priestley writes a page and a half a page of stage directions to set the right scene, writing about small details such as cigar boxes to help give the image of a wealthy Edwardian family household. “Cigar box and cigarettes”. The fact that they have a cigar box which shows wealth, they also have cigarettes aswell. The lighting is set as 'pink and intimate' until the inspector arrives in which it becomes bright and hard. The pink and intimate lighting shows a calm scene, bringing two families together. However the bright and hard lighting seems harsh and interrogating when the inspector arrives. This shows the interrogating nature of the inspector, and how he seems to quickly intrude a family’s life. Priestley uses Mr Birling and the Inspector as metaphors. Mr Birling is a very narrow minded man and believes in his point of view very strongly, even if he is wrong. A quote showing this is "I say there isn’t a chance of war". This shows his arrogance because he instantly dismisses the fact that there may actually be a chance of war happening, this makes the audience think that Mr Birling is very narrow minded. The Inspector is pretty much the opposite in that he is trying to make people more open minded about their actions, when he says “are you sure you don’t know?”. This asks the characters involved to think hard about what they have done and how it may have affected other people other than just themselves. Is this then like a morality play questioning peoples actions and motives? Mr and Mrs Birling show a high social class who like to show off their wealth, eg with “cigar box”, which is what many middle class people during that era would do. Sheila and Eric show the new generation who think more about other people. “And if I could help her now I would”, unlike their peers, which is a key thing about coming out of the Edwardian era. For example, Mr Birling doesn’t believe he has any part in Eva's death, but Sheila and Eric are more open minded to how they might have been involved. Dramatic irony, is when the audience knows something but the characters do not, is shown a lot through Mr Birling. His thoughts are what he strongly believes in, even if he is wrong. An example would be when he says "you'll hear people say war is inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!" As we all know WW1 started in 1914, 2 years after this play is set. The audience knows this happens and can see Mr Birling's ignorance about how he thinks war is inevitable and how he believes the Titanic is "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable!", he did this to show the ignorance of the wealthy Edwardians or to use Mr Birling as a metaphor? . Priestley did this to get people to realise that every action you do will have an impact, good or bad, on someone else, which is not what the wealthy Edwardian people believed. The audience sees foreshadowing from Sheila because she seems to be able to tell what people did in their part of Eva Smith's death. For example, she knows that Gerald already knew her when the inspector questions him. Before he even admits she already knows about it. She also foretells that the inspector already knows all their secrets. "why - you fool - he knows... you'll see". This gives the effect of uneasiness on other characters involved, making them think that the inspector already knows everything, but he wants them to find them out for themselves with a little prompting. Priestley uses Mr Birling to show the Edwardian social problems. He uses Mr Birling because he thinks of himself and only his self, “no, we won’t”, Explain where this quote comes from – context. E.g. When he is talking to ... in Act... which only amplifies his ignorance. Which is why the poor in those days were left to starve in the streets. He also uses stage directions such as the attention to light detail. I think the most effective method is using Mr Birling to show the ignorance and arrogance of the Edwardian Era and how people above your status are respected, and the people below are looked upon as vermin. Priestley set the play in 1912 because he felt people needed to change, and take more responsibility for their actions, and know what they do might affect someone else. He did this when the ww2 had just happened, just to prove a point. Because the wars started because of different countries, and England got dragged into it because of what someone else did. What point are you making here? Focus on the play. More needed on Sheila and the Rights of Women. Also make your comments link to the question – How does Priestley show the social concerns of the era? [/hide] I have highlighted what my teacher wrote in red, can anyone give me any example of what to put where highlighted? Thanks in advance.