20/01/2026

• Health & Social Care
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

26/01/2026

English: AIC Context and Themes 

Maths: Co ordinates and plotting graphs 

History: 

Biology: Variation and genetic mutation

English: AIC Context and Themes 

Lesson objective: to be able to identify key concepts and themes and apply this knowledge to exam style questions 

Britain in 1912 and 1945

AIC is set in the beginning of the 20th century, but Priestly wrote it in the 1940's. In 1912 Britain was very different to how it is now. 

Britain was heading towards a world war, There was a dangerous level of tension between big European countries in 1912, which resulted in WWI(1914-1918) 

1912

1. British society was firmly divided along class lines. More money = More power. The labour party was formed in 1906 to represent the interests of the working class. 

2. Only men who owned property could vote. Women weren't allowed to vote in national elections at all. Women's lives were far more controlled by their families and husbands than today. 

3. There was not as much government help for people who had needs as there is today. This is why charities  like the "Brumley women's charity organisation were so important. 

After the war many British people questioned the leadership given by the upper classes during the war

1945

Things had changed by 1945- but there were still big problems. 

1. Britain was still divided by class, but by 1928 all men and women over 21 got to vote, which meant power would have been distributed more evenly. 

2. There were still conflicts between business owners and workers, such as the 1926 general strike which saw important industries grind to a halt. 

3. From 1930 a global economic slump known as the depression hits many British industries. There was an increase in unemployment and faced terrible poverty. 

Priestly wrote the play in the second word war. Millions of people from all classes had fought for Britain during WWII(1939-1945). After the war people waned to work out how to structure society better. 

The world wars made people questions Britain's social structure. Socialism and other left wing ideas , which called for more equal sharing out of wealth  and power, became more popular. Right Wing ideas favour private ownership and wealth. 

These views are represented in the play by the inspector, whom argues: 

Complete the quote- 

" We are members of one body. We..."

 Answer " We are members of one body. We are all responsible for each other"

Family life

At the start of the play, The Birlings seem a respectable middle class family.  There were many expectations of middle class families in 1912. Family members were expected to know their role, be content with their position- the parents were in charge and the children were expected to be obedient and unquestioning. Gender roles were well defined for the wealthy middle class. 

Men were expected to: 

• Work to support their 'perfect' family. 

• Protect women- especially their wives and daughters- from "unpleasant and disturbing" things 

Women were expected to: 

• Marry into money so they didnt have to work 
• plan parties, visit friends and have children. They didnt do jobs like washing,cooking or cleaning. 

However, working class families, and especially working class women, had very different roles.

Many had jobs in factories or as servants for the middleclass. 

The Birlings seem fairly normal but lets dive deeper...

The Birlings 

What do we know already?

1. They want everyone to believe they're the perfect family. 
2. The gender roles are clearly defined - the ladies 'withdraw' to let the men talk about 'male' things but there's tension bubbling under the surface : 

• Mrs Birling keeps correcting her families social mistakes
• Eric laughs out of turn and acts oddly
• Sheila teases Gerald half playfully but also half serious about last summer. 

Somethings not right... 

The clear hierarchy at the beginning is destroyed by the inspectors arrival

Without their parents influence, Sheila and Eric can think for themselves:

• Sheila doesn't know wither she will Gerald anymore. She needs time to decide for herself. 
• Eric says his mother doesn't understand anything and that birlings " not the kind of father a chap could go to" for help
• The family is in a mess and shelia and eric refuse to "go on behaving just as we did". They do not want to pretend anymore. The parents no longer have authority over the children.