Analysing Gerald’s Character

In the previous lesson, students explored the differences emerging between the characters and their perspectives, considering what prompted these differences and how they were a source of conflict. Such discussions not only fostered students’ understanding of the characters, they also helped them to think about how and why people possess different perspectives, and what this can mean for society. 

In this lesson, students will continue to develop their understanding of character, focusing on the character of Gerald, whilst exploring the differences between how men and women were expected to behave in Edwardian England. They will begin to explore the range and complexity of human behaviour by assessing Gerald’s treatment of both Eva Smith and Sheila: in some ways, Gerald’s treatment of the women in the play is reprehensible, but in other ways, he has behaved considerately, particularly when one considers the gender dynamics of Edwardian society. Discussing this conflict, whilst thinking about the gender dynamics of the period, gives students the opportunity to reflect on modern society: the ways in which gender expectations have changed and the ways in which they have not. 

The activities in this lesson refer to pages 33–40 of the Heinemann edition of An Inspector Calls.

Before teaching this lesson, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.

Activity 1 Use Key Vocabulary to Make Predictions

• To assist students with the vocabulary they will encounter in the next section of the play, introduce potentially unfamiliar words to them in a word scramble and prediction exercise. 
• Project or write the following words on the board and ask students to write or discuss with a partner a prediction for what might happen in the next section of the play based on these words:
  • Induce (v.) – to persuade someone to do something
  • Haunt (n.) – meeting place/territory
  • Carcass (n.) – a person’s or animal’s body (living or dead)
  • Notorious (adj.) – famous/well known (often for a bad reason)
  • Womaniser (n.) – a man who has short sexual relationships with lots of women
  • Inevitable (adj.) – certain to happen/unavoidable
  • Gallant (adj.) – brave
• Give students five minutes to write or talk before giving a few students the opportunity to share their predictions with the class. The class can then vote on whose prediction they think might be the closest.

Activity 2 Read the Next Section of the Play

• Assign or have five volunteers take the relevant props from the prop box and assemble at the start of the class to perform the next section of the play. You will need students for the following roles: Mrs Birling, Inspector, Gerald, Sheila, and Mr Birling.
• Read the section from Mrs Birling: ‘Over-excited. And she refuses to go’ (mid p. 33) to ‘We hear the front door slam’ (end of p. 40). You may wish to arrange the classroom so that you have a mock stage at the front, so students can perform the scene to the class. 
• After having read this section of the play, project the following questions one at a time onto the board and facilitate a short class discussion:
  • What does it suggest about the society of the time that ‘respectable’ men and important social figures visit the Palace Variety Theatre, ‘a favourite haunt of women of the town’ (p. 34)?
  • What are the similarities and differences between how Gerald treats Sheila and how he treats Daisy? Why do you think these differences exist? 
  • Draw a quick universe of obligation diagram in your books with four concentric circles and write Gerald’s name in the centre circle. Where do you think Daisy falls in Gerald’s universe of obligation? Where do you think Sheila falls? What makes you say that?
  • On page 38, Sheila states that she respects Gerald more once he has been honest. Why do you think this is the case? What can Sheila’s statement teach us about the act of taking responsibility?

Activity 3 Discuss Gerald's Behavior

• Explain to students that they will now be engaging in a Four Corners debate about Gerald. Remind your students of the class contract before you begin, and reiterate the importance of respecting the opinions and voices of others. You might also address ways for students to disagree constructively with each other, encouraging them to speak using ‘I’ language rather than the more accusatory ‘you’. 
• Next, project the following statements one at a time and give students five minutes to consider what their position for each statement will be and why, noting down their ideas in their journals. This reflection time can help students gather their thoughts and encourages the quieter students to speak up because they can read from their notes. 
  • Gerald was a positive presence in Daisy Renton/Eva Smith’s life. 
  • Gerald has little to be ashamed of. 
  • Gerald’s treatment of Sheila is worse than his treatment of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton.
  • Gerald is a respectable man.
• After students have considered their personal response to the statements, start the Four Corners activity. Read one of the statements aloud and ask students to move to the corner of the room that best represents their opinion. Once students are in their places, give them one minute to talk with others in their corner, explaining why they chose this response. Then, ask for volunteers to justify their position. When doing so, they should refer to evidence from the play. Encourage students to switch corners if someone presents an idea that causes a change of mind. After a representative from each corner has defended his or her position, you can allow students to question each other’s evidence and ideas. Before beginning the discussion, remind students about norms for having a respectful, open discussion of ideas. 
• Ask students to return to their seats and give them a couple of minutes to independently respond to the statement Gerald behaved considerately using ideas from the debate and the play.

Activity 4 Reflect on Gender Expectations

• Explain to students that they will now consider the different social expectations of men and women, in both the Edwardian era and present day, and the impact that such expectations have on people’s behaviour.
• Project the following prompts and ask students to discuss them in pairs using the Think, Pair, Share strategy:
  • How do the treatment of and expectations for men and women in the play differ? 
  • What are the differences between how Sheila and Eva are treated? What factors might account for these differences?
  • Given what you know about Edwardian society, why is Sheila’s behaviour towards her parents and Gerald surprising in this scene? In what ways is Sheila’s character changing and what might be causing such change?
  • Are there double standards in society today in how men and women are expected to behave? Explain your answer. 
  • If there is time, invite some students to share their ideas with the class.

Activity 1 Categorise Gerald's Behavior

• Explain to students that they will be thinking about what Gerald’s behaviour suggests about his character with the intention of writing an analytical paragraph that responds to the following question: How does Priestley present Gerald in An Inspector Calls? 
• First, project the following statement and questions on the board, and ask students to respond in their journals: 

  When the Inspector asks Gerald if Daisy Renton became his mistress, Gerald replies, ‘I suppose it was inevitable’ (p. 37).

  • ‘Inevitable’ means ‘unavoidable’ or ‘inescapable’. What does Gerald’s use of this adjective suggest about how he views his role in the relationship with Daisy?
  • How might his response reflect the context of the time? 
  • Do you think the affair was ‘inevitable’? What makes you say that?

• Next, divide students into pairs or small groups and pass out the handout Gerald's Character Quotations. Ask them to cut up the quotations, identify when in the play they were said, and then categorise them under headings of their choice. 
• If you need to give students the headings or get them started by modelling with one heading, you might consider some of the following options, though only do so if absolutely necessary as students should have the challenge of coming up with the categories themselves to capture the range and complexity of Gerald’s behaviour:
  • Kind
  • Powerful
  • Naive 
  • Selfish
  • Normal
  • Considerate 
  • Irresponsible
• After students have finished grouping their quotations, invite them to share their headings with the class, collecting them on the board. 
• Finally, lead a brief class discussion using the following questions: 
  • Gerald could be described as both considerate and inconsiderate. Why is this the case? 
  • What kind of power does Gerald have over Eva Smith? Is this similar to or different from the power he has over Sheila Birling?

Activity 2 Create a Stick Figure

• Guide students through the steps of the Stick Figure Quotes teaching strategy to help them deepen their understanding of Gerald’s character. You may wish to model some ideas on the board with a ‘think aloud’ that incorporates the following examples: 
  • Coming out of Gerald’s head would be a halo made from Sheila’s statement, ‘You were the wonderful Fairy Prince’ to highlight the fact that Gerald enjoyed being Eva Smith/Daisy Renton’s saviour.
  • Gerald’s feet would be very large to highlight his power over Eva/Daisy, and would contain the quotations: ‘Daisy knew it was coming to an end’/‘I broke it off indefinitely before I went.’
• Give students an opportunity to share their work and to see the work of others in a Gallery Walk where students leave their books open on their table and then circulate around the room. Then, lead a class discussion on the following questions:
  • What have you learnt from creating a stick figure for Gerald?
  • How does your stick figure help you understand Gerald’s moral compass?

Extension Activity Rearrange and Dissect an Analytical Paragraph

• Explain to students that they will be rearranging the sentences of an analytical paragraph that makes a claim about Gerald’s behaviour. The sentences have been cut into strips and mixed up, so students need to consider how the writer might be developing their argument and using transitional words and phrases to highlight the connection between the claims, evidence, and analysis. 
• Give students the Gerald Model Paragraph Sentence Sort handout to complete in small groups, which is a cut-up version of the following analytical paragraph about Gerald:

  In An Inspector Calls, Priestley presents Gerald as naive and immature. When Sheila asks him about his relationship with Daisy Renton/Eva Smith, Gerald responds by saying, ‘for God’s sake – don’t say anything to the Inspector’. This quotation suggests that Gerald is naive because he does not realise, unlike Sheila, that the Inspector already knows, and that he gave himself away when the Inspector announced Eva went by another name. It also suggests he is immature because he is not willing to take responsibility for his actions; instead, he wants to keep his relationship a secret. This is reinforced by the use of the phrase ‘for God’s sake’, which is an exclamation that people often make when they are annoyed, as it shows that he is lashing out at Sheila rather than taking responsibility for his actions. Priestley’s presentation of Gerald like this links to the context of the time because it is clear that Gerald was not expecting to ever have to be honest about his affair with Daisy – whilst affairs were not approved by society, it was accepted that men had them, which is why Gerald never felt the need to tell Sheila why he never went near her ‘last spring and summer’.

• After they have completed this task, ask them to identify the different elements that combine to make the analytical paragraph:

  • Claim
  • Placement of evidence in the context of the play
  • Evidence 
  • Analysis
  • Zoom
  • Link to context

• After students have attempted the task, project the PowerPoint slide of the paragraph with its identified parts on the board and lead a discussion to clear up any confusion and give students the chance to share their thoughts or any queries they might have.