Arthur Birling Flashcards
Mr Birling is the father of…
Sheila and Eric
Birling is a …
Business man
Mr Birling used to be the …
Mayor
An example of Mr Birling being corrupt throughout the play
Sacking Eva Smith for asking for more pay
Who started the chain of events which led to the death of Eva smith
Mr Birling
Mr Birling only care about his …… position in society
Social
The Titanic – she sails next week…and unsinkable, absolutely
unsinkable.’
Titanic symbolizes his own family – believes they are
untouchable until the Inspector arrives giving them a rude
awakening.
Probably a Socialist or some sort of crank”
He uses understatement ‘it would be very awkward wouldn’t
it?’
“I was an alderman for years – and Lord Mayor two years ago – and
I’m still on the Bench – so I know the Brumley police offers pretty well”
His language changes when the Inspector arrives as he speaks in
short, sharp fragments and uses lots of dashes.
“Now look at the pair of them- the famous younger generation who
know it all. And they can’t even take a joke-”
He often uses ‘I’ which conveys his selfish attitude, however, as
the play continues he switches to the inclusive pronoun ‘we’ to
diminish the scale of the problem (Eva’s death) and shift blame.
