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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Eric blame for Mrs. Birling’s death?

2. How did Eric try to resolve Mrs. Birling’s pregnancy?

3. Why does Arthur think Inspector Goole visited them?

4. Why did Sybil ask Edna to wait up?

5. What does Eric want before Inspector Goole begins questioning him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do the four members of the Birling family react to the news that Inspector Goole was most likely not a real police detective?

2. What is the meaning of Inspector Goole’s closing monologue?

3. How does Arthur describe how Inspector Goole was able to trick most of the other characters?

4. Where did Eric say he got the money he gave Mrs. Birling?

5. What charitable things does Gerald do for Daisy Renton?

6. What happened the night Eric met Mrs. Birling?

7. Why does Sheila not feel consoled by the revelation that Inspector Goole most likely tricked most of the other characters?

8. What is the difference between how Arthur and Sybil react to the revelation that Inspector Goole tricked them and how Eric and Sheila react?

9. Why does Sybil change her mind and say the real culprit in Mrs. Birling’s suicide is not Mrs. Birling but the father of her child?

10. How do the other characters respond to Gerald’s suggestion that Eva Smith, Daisy Renton, and Mrs. Birling may not have been the same person?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Because the play “An Inspector Calls” has no third-person omniscient narrator, next to nothing is known about the personal life of Inspector Goole, including his motivations and intents for arriving at the Birling home to question the other characters. Write an essay exploring the author’s choice to conceal so much of Inspector Goole’s character affects the play.

Essay Topic 2

By the end of the play, there is a marked dichotomy between how the two generations of the Birling household respond to the night’s events. Write a compare/contrast essay exploring the differences between how Arthur/Sybil and Eric/Sheila respond to the revelations about what each of them has done to Eva Smith/Daisy Renton/Mrs. Birling.

Essay Topic 3

Of all of the major characters implicated in the suicide of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton/Mrs. Birling, Sheila expresses the most remorse about what she has done. In that sense she can be considered the play’s emotional center or core. Write an essay about Sheila as the conscience of the play “An Inspector Calls.”

(see the answer keys)

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