mr birling Flashcards
Mr birlings role
hes a very static character in his ways and stands as a mouthepice for the 1012 capitalist backwards societal norms. he asserts his domience over his wife who excuses herself to let men speak
he embodies the negative connotations people may have with capitalism such as ‘heavy looking’ as greed is often visualised as fatness. hes clearly blinded by his own greed, effect of capitalism and toasts to ‘lower costs and higher prices’ despite it being his daughhters marriage hes only focused on the transcational side
mr birlings new money
he is ‘provinical in speech’ revealing a tone that is associayted with poverty, he clearly comes from a new money business. this insecurity lights a negavtive spiral as he has to remind people of his status in order to feel importance, he tells them of his scoial powers and hence alights a negtive spiral of classism- those new to power are fighting their own prejudice and do not want others gaining their power. he sadistically gains his validation of his power no from his peers but from his inferiors whom he silences
he compesnates his lack of name or status with a large house that is ‘portentous’ but not comfortable or homelike
mr bs oposition to change
upper class families like the birlings benefit from society as it stands,so they are anti change embodyig the indivualistic nature of capitalism. mr birlings fears and pleads of ‘thousnads’ to the inspector are solely out of fear for his status, when the inspector is fake he feels real catharsis as his actions dont impact him only how others may perceive him
effect of the cyclical strcuture
the play ends as it begins with mr b offering gerald a drink, the viewers are so disgustd by the graphic and extreme outcome of evas suicide that their complacany would mean priestley can manipulate the audience into siding with the clealry more moral socialist characters and ehnce with socialism as a whole. he asks the audience with the complete static end to the play that mirrors the beginning to view this as the upper classes annoying complacency
mr and mrs birling
capitalism envelopes even intimate relationships, as they ahve a typical transcctional marriage pf a rich new money man marrying an old money woman in order to gain respect.she is clealry unhappy but entrenched in this style, telling sheila shell have to ‘get used to it just as i did’ in reference to men being unfaithful- courting and transcational love breeds outdated unhappiness
eric and mr birling
they represent a clear generational divide, eric has too much moral compass and emotion to gain the respect of his father hence why he falls down an extremist path trying to mirror them. they clash even pre inspector at dinner over wages and warfare and we can see erics morality is far superior as mr b is mocked for unsinkable and germans dont want war using irony.
‘impression of massiveness’ vs ‘heavy looking’
both of these focus on the size of the foils, but its contrastingas whilst mr briling is weighted down by greed and personfiies the overweight pig like nature of the individualistic nature of capitalism the isnpector despite being descreetly dressed and peaceful appearing does not need to try to overcompesnate with size or materialsim in order to conduct a room, showing his asurred nature
‘is it now’ ‘boys’ ‘eh inspector’
mr briling compensates for his lack of control and respect due to being from a socially mobile new money background by demnading a need for respect from those he deems inferior to himself
he outwardly oppresses his workers in the match factory, his children adn even gerlad and certainly the inspector who he does not deem relevant due to his unknown position, showing how class is a negative cycle as everyone is out to keep themsleves better off
‘you outght to like this gerald’ ‘same port your father gets’
ought highlights the care and thought mr b has put into appeasing gerald due to his higher social positon
he is trying to emulate the actions of mr croft in order to prove himself socially parralel due to his wealth
despite being likely richer and aelder mr b is forced to hold upmost respect for gerald due to his position as higher in the class system
it also reveals the true meaning of the marriage, an act of self promotion for the birling name- when its clear mrs croft worries of geralds positon mr b tries to settle her by promise of his knighthood- titles weere all that seemed to matter
mr birlings purpose
hes a completely static ironically dislikeable character in order for priestly to highlight the dislikeable backwards nature of both concrete set capitalists and the older generation in order to call to the likely horrified and more receptible youth
the middle class theatre watchers would have been displeased and scared by his views, seeing themselves in his struggle for social mobility but so ebing horrified by this reflection
