Mr birling

Question 1

‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’

Answer 1

-emphasise his arrogance & lack of understanding
- also perceived as quite stubborn
helps shows audience his initial character
‘absolutely’ highlights his confidence in his own sentence which audience know to be untrue as titanic does sink

Question 2

‘same port as your father gets from him’

Answer 2

-deliberate action= presents himself as socially equal
-allows him to build what we see as a pretence
-masks his insecurity by making him seem more powerful and important than he is

Question 3

‘some say war is inevitable i say fiddlesticks’

Answer 3

dramatic irony
highlights yet again his arrogance as the 1945 audience have been through the war
able to reflect on both wars
-mr birling= unreliable and foolish as he wrong about war & titanic

Question 4

‘a man has to mind his business and look after his own’

Answer 4

-only responsible for family= lack of care & responsibility
-self centred and arrogant
-confirmed through their actions towards Eva

Question 5

“(unhappily) Look, Inspector - I’d give thousands - yes, thousands -“

Answer 5

everything relates to wealth= symbolic of his belief that money will always be his get out clause
fixated on his reputation and unable to show a compassionate side
unsympathetic as he could have given her the few shillings at the time
makes him even more unlikeable