Gerald Croft - is he a good man? (An Inspector Calls)

A lesson that takes a closer, critical look at how Gerald’s account of his meeting of Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton is presented to the audience.

The lesson includes relevant extracts taken from the play, set on one page for easy annotation.

Students are guided to analyse multiple interpretations of Gerald’s dialogue - how Gerald is trying to present himself (positive), but then close lang analysis to examine the more cynical, negative aspects of what he is saying.

For example: the excessive use of the pronoun ‘I’ to indicate he did what was best for himself, and his feelings, as opposed to Eva’s/Daisy’s; the use of imperatives such as ‘made’ and ‘insisted’.

Have used this lesson a few times now for both first time teaching of the text and as revision and have found pupils really receptive to the lesson.

JB Priestley - An Inspector Calls