To really dislike An Inspector Calls?

[SheilaSybilCroft]

It’s been a GCSE text since the 1990s (and probably before.)

I really don’t like it. I hate the big fuss that is made out of eva smith being ‘pretty’ - as if it would be somehow acceptable to hound her out of jobs if she was plain and old!

She did lie to Mrs B: how was she supposed to know one story was true while another was a lie? And while attitudes to unmarried mothers have changed it’s ridiculous to pretend that someone in Eva’s position would have been met with sympathy and kindness if she’d just met a nicer sort of woman.

I know it’s an attack on the upper classes of the Edwardian period and the characters are representative rather than literal but the preachy tone and high handed sort of manner taken by the inspector is annoying.

And the film version the BBC did about ten years ago presents a saint like Eva and deviates from the text just enough to confuse students!

Or is it just me?

I do get a bit sick of teaching it, but the kids totally get it, and get angry. My lot really identify with being the oppressed wc and so it at least manages to engage even the boys who don't give a flying fuck about literature. It's also the one they tend to cite if they break on through and choose A level. That or Macbeth. The poems.... not so much. And I'm sorry Eduqas, but your new batch.... fucking Daffodils? Seriously. Have a word with a teenager or two.

I love that Gove kept it on, when it's basically all about how not to be a tory.

No, it’s good if others enjoy it! I just personally don’t (and that isn’t PA!)

Ooh ooh, I have a claim to fame about An Inspector Calls. When the National Theatre Production went on tour, they did a PR thing in each city asking for local people to audition as extras and I turned up at my local theatre and got chosen as one of the 12 extras. We had to dress in 1940s costumes, representing the audience of the time the play was written judging the attitudes of the Edwardian era.

I had to stand at various spots on the stage and watch the actors without moving, it was all a bit bizarre! And yes, at the end, the walls all came down exposing all the extras on a plinth and we all had to look out into the actual audience in a judgy way.

Brilliant experience! I still love that play.

I took DD to see it recently as she is studying it for GCSE but the school weren't doing a trip to the theatre for the tour. We appeared to be part of a very small handful not there in a school group. While the teens of the audience crumpled a lot of sweet wrappers and whispered a lot, they were still clearly engaged (cheering and gasping at parts) and were very enthusiastic at the end.

I think it's great that this can still be relatable these days and works so well for analysis across students of varying abilities.

This.

I love it. And my students love it every year too - I mean really really love it.

Ah we did a school trip. And there were lots of cheers too. They adored the show.

Our lot this year particularly hate Gerald and are hoping he comes up in the exam! They're nowhere near as invested in any of the other texts.

Some of those cheers were a dumb TikTok trend apparently

Which is a shame

I did it for GCSE in 1988!!

I think Gove would see it as very One Nation Tory to tell successful people to take responsibility.

I agree about the poetry. There are many better choices.

Miraculously, I didn’t go it at school. We did a David Hare play.

I've taught it in two schools - one with a very middle class student demographic, and one in a flying start area with lots and lots of lower working class students.

Unsurprisingly, the kids at the first school struggled to wrap their heads around it - "why doesn't Eva just get a better job?", "it's not Mr Birling's fault that he's rich" - whereas the second school LOVED it, they engaged so well with it and really became quite impassioned. I think that's why it's an important text to keep on the curriculum.

He isn't agreeing that it is only a tragedy because she is pretty, he is holding up a mirror to them and their attitudes. That is the purpose of his character.
If he simply castigated them for their actions it would unlikely have led to any of them reflecting on their moral compass. Of course not all of them did, but we see the signs that Sheila and Eric do.

but it wasn’t originally written for teens! - Well, no, but interesting how it is clear he shows only the younger generation being able to think critically and take responsibility for their actions.

It was part of my English Lit GCSE in 1994 too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0029zbg?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
I didn't know this, but JBP wasn't allowed to,premiere the play in the UK, he was seen as a dangerous leftie, and the play premiered in Moscow! There is a play about it on BBC sounds, called an Inspector Calls in Moscow, link above, which I have downloaded but not yet listened to.

I do agree to some extent - almost anything gets boring when you have taught it every year give or take for over twenty years. (Apart from Macbeth - I genuinely never tire of teaching that - but then, there is so much to be said about it that every year at least one student says at least one things about Macbeth I hadn't considered before - this is NOT true of AIC).

However, almost all kids in almost all schools love AIC. It might be boring to us, but for them it's still their first time. And it's accessible to the whole range of candidates, from those targeting a 1 upwards - it's rare to meet a student who can't at least grasp it's basic message. And, that message is a really good one in my opinion! (Though I agree it is made almost annoyingly obvious).

The language is never beautiful - it's not a consummate work of art in the manner of Macbeth or Christmas Carol, or something like Lord of the Flies. So in that sense it's a missed opportunity. (And this also makes it harder to learn quotes - the language simply isn't memorable).

I am not sure I agree with your point about the itrelcance of her prettiness - it should be irrelevant of course but the fact that it isn't to Sheila tells us something about her flawed, Perry, somewhat mawkishly sentimental character, surely.

And I don't agree that there is any defending Mrs B, vile characature that she is.

I do agree with you about that BBC version (which I have now watched 283748392 times) . My main objection to it is that it shows us Eva! While surely the fact that we never see Eva in the play is one of its most remarkable and poingant features!

Out of interest, does anybody on here currently teach one of the alternative modern texts on the list?

Of the selection, I have previously taught (not necessarily at GCSE):

Blood Brothers - students love it but I don't, I feel it stereotypes various groups quite offensive actually, plus the fact that it's a musical makes it a strange text to analyse in my opinion.
Animal Farm - it's great obviously but I am not sure the language lends itself to student analysis.
Lord of the Flies - in my opinion one of the greatest works of English literature ever, and God's gift to GCSE students because of the richness and beauty of the language. I disagree with the perception that it's only accessible by more able students.
My Name is Leon - cracking book by an awesome writer - have not yet taught it at GCSE but am very tempted to.

The only other one I have even read is Anita and Me, which I am sorry to say I couldn't finish I found it so dull - it just seemed to be a collection of unrelated domestic anecdotes. Of course it's possible I am missing a lot because I didn't finish it.

Sorry for hijacking the thread slightly OP! Would love to hear it though if anybody had any thoughts on the alternatives, good or bad....

It is great for context - I think the majority of the characters being unlikable means it is not a favourite . It is better performed than read and I have seen some great versions - my favourite being Mark McGann as the inspector.

I was in it (played Mrs B) at school in the Netherlands (English as a foreign language, aimed at Yr 10 - 11, high standards over there...).

My DC studied it for GCSE here in the UK. It sparked a lot of discussion at home about the concept of equality, social justice, the concept of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor.

Mumsnet benefits bashing posts show that this is a play that is still horribly topical today and it needs to stay on the syllabus because it is both relevant and highly accessible for students across the ability spectrum.

I just found out my eldest was in ‘the other’ group for gcse so did Never Let Me Go instead of AIC, but the mad thing is he told me the topic that both texts are in was Modern Novel! How can AIC be classed as a modern novel?? Was he mistaken?

I’ve taught Anita and Me to Yr9 - we loved it. It’s long, though. There’s a lot to say about it, but I wouldn’t do it at GCSE because I think the reading would take too long - you’d not have time to teach the depth of analysis, especially for the top end.

Animal Farm - have done that at KS3 also. The risk is that for students who struggle, they end up focusing just on the literal farmyard, and the analysis ends up being quite strange. There needs to be a really solid understanding of political context to go anywhere with it.

I think it’s dated but I can see why it’s used for GCSE. I kind of like the mysterious, almost supernatural, identity of the inspector - like an avenging angel.

What an unusual, fun experience @PuppyMonkey !

I didn’t study it, encountered it when took DC doing it for GCSE and a couple of her friends to see it on tour, then discussing it during DC’s revision. Found the show relevant to some of the peoples’ views and actions have observed in London and Surrey!

I’m currently teaching LOTF with top set Yr8- the absolute highlight of my day. Really enjoying it!

That's interesting - I have only every taught LOTF at GCSE, but can see no reason why it wouldn't work really well with KS3, and it's good to hear you are finding that. Might be something to discuss with my department..... It's SUCH a work of art.