Mr Birling Flashcards
Context
His patriarchal (male dominated society) role as owner of Birling and Co. which only employs young women at extortionately low wages.
His marriage to Mrs Birling, who accepts her own domination by Mr Birling. This is a reflection of Mr Birling’s control over his household; she is often ordered to sit in the “drawing room”, while men
talk.
His indifference to Shelia concerns regarding Gerald’s alleged affair as this could compromise the economic relationship between the Croft business and his own.
Key quotes
1)Act One: Birling “ I’m talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business”
2Act One : Mr Birling “ I was Lord Mayor here two years ago when Royalty visited us………I gather there’s a very good chance of a knighthood”
3) Act One: Birling “as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense”
17) Act Three: Birling – “ Now look at the pair of them- the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke.”
Resistant to change and reluctant to accept responsibility
The older generation within An Inspector Calls are
especially opposed to societal changes which would
lessen the divisions in classes. This is largely due to the current capitalist society benefitting the Birling family greatly in a financial sense. Birling’s “provincial” speech bears connotations of conservatism and an unwillingness to change, which is reflected in his rejection of socialism (a concept of community and equality in society) as “nonsense”.
● Gerald’s theory of the Inspector not being real is “eagerly” and “triumphantly” accepted by Mr Birling, despite his actions being real.
● Instant catharsis (relief from strong emotions) is felt by Mr Birling, when the prospect of a criminal record is no longer apparent, due to the Inspector not being real.
● Therefore,, it is clear Mr Birling did not care for Eva Smith’s suicide, but simply for his own chances of attaining a knighthood by avoiding “the police court or start(ing) a scandal”
● For Mr Birling to accept social responsibility, he would have to sacrifice the profiteering methods of exploiting labourers and paying subsistence wages (just enough to live on). Thus, it is in his best interests to oppose the Inspector and attempt to discredit his message of social responsibility.
● Priestley’s use of the adverb “eagerly” to describe both Mr Birling’s denial of the Inspector’s existence and also Sheila’s agreement with Eric that “this girl’s still dead” emphasises the divide between the generations.
Priestly contrasts the characters of Eric and Sheila, against Mr and Mrs Birling. The younger generation acknowledge their failing in their morality. However, the older generation merely consider the potential detriment to their social status through prosecution, whilst disregarding any moral duty.
Cyclical presentation
Mr Birling, and the older generation as a whole, intend to live in the same fashion as they did before the arrival of the Inspector. This continuous attitude of not caring about the impact of his actions is demonstrated by Priestley. The cycle of immorality is implied by the ending of the play, which finishes as it began: with Mr Birling offering Gerald a drink. The lack of change in attitude is reflected by the lack of visual change in the play. Here, Priestley conveys the underlying message that the flaws of the current society are caused by the upper-classes’ resistance to change.
The cyclical structure of Mr Birling’s outlook creates a static character, who cannot change. Priestley, through the character of Mr Birling, critiques how these societal flaws and capitalism allow the upper-classes to be supported and their unfair privileges maintained. In a way, Priestley manipulates the audience into siding with his personal preference of socialism, as they turn to this alternative in disgust of Priestley’s presentation of Mr Birling as uncaring, self-absorbed and manipulative, all traits we come to associate with capitalism. Priestley ends the play, also, with another phone call - perhaps this time from a ‘real’ Inspector. This cyclical device is used to warn the audience of not taking on board social responsibility themselves.
Symbolism
Priestley deliberately portrays Mr Birling as a static character, who shows no remorse or accepts any responsibility.
● Mr Birling is symbolic of the selfish, capitalist higher middle-class. This is demonstrated through his relief upon Gerald’s theory that the Inspector wasn’t real and that ”the whole thing’s different now”.
● Eva’s torment no longer matters to Mr Birling as he is no longer at risk of legal prosecution or socially accountable for her suicide.
● Priestley demonstrates this uncaring attitude as Mr Birling “jovially” displays his happiness, as he no longer has to worry about social responsibility and he can continue to resist change.
● Through displaying Mr Birling and the older generation as unaffected and resistant to change, Priestley targets the younger generation, who are “more impressionable” (in the words of the Inspector) in a hope to rebuild society with a more socialist mindset.
● It is necessary for Mr Birling to remain a static character, as Priestley intends for him to be a vehicle for capitalism and the source of opposition to positive change to society.
● Therefore, Mr Birling must be completely dislikeable and through the audience’s hatred of Mr Birling, Priestley is able to gain support and persuade the younger generation in his critique of capitalism; Mr Birling is a construct of capitalism
analysis AO2
Use of dramatic irony
Priestley uses dramatic irony to portray Mr Birling as both foolish and unlikable. It is important to consider why Priestley creates this obvious irony, with reference to widely known events.
● Mr Birling’s complete confidence in “the Germans don’t want war” as he goes “to that I say - fiddlesticks” , is received by the contemporary audience in 1945 as ignorant, as these people have most likely lost loved ones and have strong memories of both WWI and WWII. The use of the dismissive exclamation “fiddlesticks” furthers the audience’s loathing of Mr Birling.
● Mr Birling makes the bold claim that England was undergoing a “time of steadily increasing prosperity”, yet the audience is aware that the great depression followed the aftermath of WWI. This causes Mr Birling to become demonised and for the audience to oppose his capitalist notions, as the audience most likely suffered one of the greatest economic depressions in modern history.
● The audience is provided with a sense of relief at the arrival of the Inspector, who interrupts Mr Birling’s repetitive ranting and domination of speech in the play. This allows Priestley to establish an atmosphere of relief associated with the appearance of the Inspector.
● Priestley encourages a favourable perception of the Inspector and this relief is extended to the ideologies which Mr Birling and the Inspector represent; the Inspector’s socialism provides relief from Mr Birling’s capitalism. The Inspector is perceived by the audience as a force for good, saving society from the backwards views of Mr Birling
