Key Quotes:Mr Birling Flashcards
Disregards any responsibility for any of the other issues
“I can’t accept any responsibility”
Dramatic irony
everyone has to be responsible for society to correctly function
“If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody…it would be very awkward wouldn’t it?”
shows conventions of a capitalist male
want to uphold appearances rather than accept his own blame
“I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can”
shows how marriage gave himself and his daughter a better social standing
views the marriage as a business transaction
“We may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together- for lower costs and higher prices”
Dramatic irony so the audience views his wisdom as fake and impetuous, badly-reasoned. Written in 1945 after both world wars have happened so Mr B looks vacuous
“You’ll hear some people say war is inevitable. And to that I say -fiddlesticks!”
Shows his selfish nature, lack of social responsibility shows his order of priorities in life
“a man has to mind his own business and look after himself”
Simile presents Priestly’s view that society is interdependent, everyone has important roles to play for society to function
“mixed up together like bees in a hive”
Categorises socialists as one, may allude to the Inspector “members of one body”, to show his potential past life in poverty
“if you don’t come down sharply on these people they’ll soon be asking for the earth”
Priestly’s desired look for Birling
“Arthur Birling is a heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech”
Stage directions about how Birling’s lines should be said, Priestly characterises him, he controls him
“(explosively)(angrily)(sharply)(very sharply)(furious)”
