Mr Birling Flashcards
“prosperous manufacturer.”
“Port”
-Shows he is a successful capitalist earning lots of money through people labour
-Port is Portugese wine show his wealth
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”
-The phrase “girl of that sort” presents Mr Birlings classist view stereotyping the poor to be desperate for money. The use of the exclaimation mark shows he is in disbelief. Knowing her name to be “Eva“ Mr Birling just calls her a girl. Form this we can interoperate that Mr Birling is erasing her invidious identity connoting he doesn’t care for her at all.
A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own” (Act 1)
-Mr Birling is presented as arrogance and selfish only focusing on himself and his family not other. The noun “business” show his real focus and his capitalist views. Priestly exposes the upper class thought using Mr Birling as a prime example to not care for anyone else except him and his own.
“The way these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive.”
-Mr Birling uses this simile to rival against socialism calling it just “bees in a hive”. Priestley presents Mr Birling as a strong capitalist which is single minded not willing to actually change.
