OCR · J352 · Paper 1 · An Inspector Calls and Jekyll and Hyde
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An Inspector Calls · J.B. Priestley
Two dates, one message
Set: spring 1912
Written: 1945
Edwardian England: rigid class system, huge gap between rich and poor
The end of WW2; Britain had survived two world wars in 30 years
No welfare state: no unemployment pay, no NHS. Working class women like Eva had no safety net
Labour won a landslide in July 1945, promising a welfare state; the NHS followed in 1948
Women couldn't vote; middle class women didn't work for pay
Women had done vital war work; attitudes were changing
Just before the Titanic sank (April 1912) and WW1 (1914)
The audience knows Birling is wrong about the Titanic and war: dramatic irony
Priestley sets the play in 1912 so his 1945 audience can see where selfishness led (two wars) and choose a better, fairer society now.
Priestley's beliefs
A socialist: he believed society should share wealth and look after the vulnerable. He co-founded the Common Wealth Party (1942).
His wartime BBC radio talks, the Postscripts (1940), were so popular and left-wing they were taken off air.
He'd seen poverty growing up in Bradford and fought in WW1. Those experiences shaped the Inspector's warning of 'fire and blood and anguish'.
Key ideas to know
Capitalism: individuals and businesses keep profit for themselves (Birling). Socialism: wealth and responsibility are shared (the Inspector).
Collective responsibility: we are all responsible for each other.
Class hierarchy: upper (Gerald, the Crofts), middle (the Birlings), working (Eva, Edna).
Gender: men had power and money; women were expected to marry and obey.
Form and structure
A well-made play and a detective thriller: one confession after another, each act ending on a cliffhanger.
A morality play: the Inspector is like a moral messenger judging sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony).
Unity of time and place: one evening, one dining room, in real time. The family can't escape.
Cyclical ending: the final phone call means the whole thing will happen again, this time with a real inspector.
Name: Inspector Goole sounds like 'ghoul', a ghost. Is he real? Priestley leaves it open.
Characters at a glance
Character
Role
Key quote
Arthur Birling
Capitalist businessman; doesn't change
'a man has to mind his own business'
Sybil Birling
Snobbish, cold; doesn't change
'Girls of that class –'
Sheila Birling
Changes the most; voice of hope
'these girls aren't cheap labour – they're people'
Eric Birling
Drinks, guilty secret; changes
'We did her in all right'
Gerald Croft
Upper class; seems sorry, then doesn't change
'We've been had'
Inspector Goole
Priestley's mouthpiece; moral judge
'We are members of one body'
Eva Smith / Daisy Renton
Never seen; symbol of the exploited working class
'millions and millions… of Eva Smiths'
JJH
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde · R.L. Stevenson
Victorian London (published 1886)
Respectability and reputation mattered above everything for middle class gentlemen. Scandal could ruin a career, so private vices were hidden: the 'double life'.
Repression: strict moral codes meant desires were pushed down, not expressed. Stevenson suggests this makes them stronger and more dangerous.
London as a divided city: wealthy, respectable squares beside poor, crime-ridden areas like Soho. Jekyll's house is the same: grand front, 'blistered' back door.
Gentlemen's code: never gossip, never betray a friend's secrets. That's why Utterson, Enfield and Lanyon stay silent.
Science and religion
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) suggested humans evolved from apes. Many feared people could degenerate back into primitive, animal states: hence Hyde's 'ape-like fury' and 'troglodytic' look.
Science was advancing fast, and some feared scientists were playing God. Lanyon represents traditional, safe science; Jekyll represents 'transcendental' science that crosses moral lines.
Religion still shaped morality. Characters keep invoking God and the devil around Hyde ('Satan's signature', 'God bless me').
Physiognomy: the Victorian belief that you could read someone's character in their face. Everyone sees evil in Hyde but can't say why.
Stevenson's life
Grew up in Edinburgh, a city split between the elegant New Town and the poor Old Town.
Raised in a strict Calvinist household that taught people are born sinful; he rebelled as a young man.
Inspired by Deacon Brodie, a respected Edinburgh cabinet-maker by day and burglar by night.
Said the idea came to him in a nightmare.
Form and structure
Gothic novella: fog, darkness, secrets, the double (doppelgänger). Unusually, the monster comes from inside a respectable man, not from outside.
Detective / mystery structure: we follow Utterson, who knows as little as we do.
Multiple narratives: the truth is held back until the last two chapters, Lanyon's and Jekyll's letters. This delays the reveal and mirrors the theme of secrecy.
Pathetic fallacy: the fog hides the truth, just as characters hide their secrets.
Characters at a glance
Character
Role
Key quote
Dr Henry Jekyll
Respected scientist who splits himself
'man is not truly one, but truly two'
Edward Hyde
Jekyll's evil side; violent, primitive
'with ape-like fury'
Gabriel Utterson
Lawyer, rational detective; repressed
'I let my brother go to the devil in his own way'
Dr Hastie Lanyon
Traditional scientist; Jekyll's foil
'unscientific balderdash'
Richard Enfield
Utterson's cousin; tells the door story
'like some damned Juggernaut'
Poole
Jekyll's loyal butler
'that masked thing like a monkey'
Sir Danvers Carew
Elderly MP murdered by Hyde
'hailing down a storm of blows'
How to write a top paragraph: What, How, Why
What: make a point that answers the question, with a short embedded quote. "Priestley presents Birling as selfish when he says a man must 'look after himself and his own'."
How: zoom in on a word or technique. "The possessive 'his own' shows he only cares for his family, never society."
Why: the writer's purpose and context. "Priestley, writing in 1945, wants the audience to reject this capitalist selfishness and vote for a fairer society."
Always write about the writer ("Priestley presents…", "Stevenson suggests…"), not the characters as if they're real people.
Part (a): comparing with the unseen extract
Read the unseen extract twice. Underline 3–4 short quotes linked to the question.
Every paragraph should mention both extracts. Use comparative connectives: similarly, likewise, whereas, in contrast, however.
Compare methods too: stage directions, dialogue, pauses, how power shifts.
Don't spend long on context here; focus on language and drama.
Part (b) and Section B essays
Open with a thesis: one or two sentences that answer the question directly, including the writer's purpose.
Use 3–4 paragraphs, each with a quote you analyse closely.
Move across the text: beginning, middle, end, so you show the whole play or novella.
Weave context in where it explains the writer's purpose; don't bolt on a context paragraph.
For Jekyll and Hyde extract questions, start with the extract (about a third of your answer), then move across the novella.
"This could also suggest…" (shows alternative interpretations, a Level 6 skill) · "Perhaps Priestley is…" · "The audience would feel…"
Practice questions
Written in the style of OCR J352 Paper 1, with original questions. Write your answer (or a plan), then mark it against the levels and the model plan. Pick a set: