Mr Birling

Question 1

“that fellow obviously didn’t like us. He was prejudiced from the start. Probably a socialist or some sort of crank- he talked like one”- act 1

Answer 1

-the compex senstande is used as an act of deceit to make himself come across as more informed than reliable than he truly is, the preface of his argument doesnt hold much logic.
-the adverb obviously shows his arrogance and ignorance, he turns rather defensive and aggressive at the prospect of someone threatning his respectablility, which may again start from a place of insecurity
-his inabilty to display any kind of remosrse is reflective of the stubborness of the older generations , he doesn’t allow there to be any question of him being responsible.

Question 2

within stage directions Mr Birling is depicted as “a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties”- act 1

Answer 2

-within the allegorical play, Mr Birling is the personification of capitalist ideology.
-which allows him to be a a microcosmic representation of the older generation.
-‘heavy looking’ held weight for Priestley’s contemporary audience as a generation emerging from a period of rationing and war;a plumper frame was synonymous with affluence and indulgence. His heaviness is deeply metaphorical both physically and theoretically, it is a physical assertion of the solidity of his status whilst also standing to represent his hedonistic and undisciplined tendencies.
-adjective portentous is used to expose the superficiality of capitalism, it highlights how desperate Birling is to assert and justify his status showing he can only see value in wealth and status. Priestley advertises capitalism as an ostentatious affair in order to satirise it.

Question 3

his household is ‘substantial and heavily comfortable but not cosy or homelike’- act1

Answer 3

-physically too, Birling operates within a realm of this ostentatious capitalism which leads the reader to pity the cosmetic nature of Birling wealth.
-the unorthodox phrase ‘heavily comfortable’ is almost an oxymoron to present the pseudo-luxury of the social elite as a facade.
-‘heavy’ brings connotations of exhaustion and intensity which juxtaposes the the comfort we’d expect from a home. Perhaps this is a metaphor to capture the misery in the act of relentlessly upholding an overt radiation of wealth.

Question 4

“as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive- community and all that nonsense”

Answer 4

-Mr Birling uses zoomorphism to portray the principles of socialism as animalistic, absurd and unachievable
-the idiomatic noun “nonsense” is used to depict Mr Birling’s arrogance and ignorance as he is rudely dismissive of any politely views he doesn’t agrees with.

Question 5

“…not only something to make ‘em look prettier-but- well, a sort of sign or token of their self respect.”

Answer 5

-Mr Birling is a mouthpiece for a stereotypical view of women- he explains to Gerald that clothes have a deeper meaning for girls. He collectives all women suggesting he doesn’t see them as individuals
- he epitomises the male gaze in suggesting that a women’s sole purpose is to look “prettier”.
-the colloquial abbreviation “em” and phrase “sort of” could depict how he did not take women seriously as he speaks about them in an offhand, rather than respectful manner. It is ironic how Sheila’s confrontation with Eva was centred around clothes- it leads the audience to question whether Birling has projected his patriarchal and misogynistic views into Shelia as his daughter.

Question 6

“We may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birling’s are no longer competing but working together for lower costs and higher prices”

Answer 6

-this exposed his perceived function of Sheila and Gerald’s marriage; he sees it as a financial transaction as this is all that matters to him
-it is a selfish disregard for his daughter
-exposes his exploitative nature as he wishes to take advantage of both the worker and the customer - he is overtly self absorbed

Question 7

“hard headed practical man of business”- act1

Answer 7

-Mr Birling is used as a construct to discredit capitalism through political allusions his contemporary would understand. Sir Stanley Baldwin, a prime minster between the two world wars accused ‘hard faced men’ of profiting out of the war.Mr Birling stands to represent these affluent businessmen who callously took advantage of the suffering of war for financial gain.
-the alliterative “h” of “hard headed” sounds aggressive, used to assert his status and power

Question 8

“rather provincial in his speech” -act 1

Answer 8

-his voice is tainted by a regional accent. This is yet again a superficial trope of how status was established and evaluated in 1912 Britain.
-He is portrayed as unrefined as he carries this emblem of his lower class social roots; his voice stands as a barrier between him a member of the Nouveau riche and the likes of Gerald, an aristocrat.
-This reinforces why his desire to uphold the appearance of wealth is so relentless as it is constantly subject to the threat of classism. Priestley ridicules Mr Birling’s attempts at this to highlight how foolish Capitalist ideology really is.

Question 9

“as it happened more than eighteen months ago- nearly two years ago- obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girl’s suicide” : act 1

Answer 9

-his reasoning is ignorant and illogical, yet his use of the adverb ‘obviously’ shows his arrogant defensiveness.
-his inability to display any kind of remorse is reflective of the of the stubbornness of the older generations, he doesn’t allow there to be any question of him being responsible.
-the apostrophe on “girl’s” shows how he believed the suicide belonged to her and didn’t involve him; more macabre matters were possessions of the working class.

Question 10

“Finchley told me it’s exactly the same port your father gets from him”- act 1

Answer 10

-‘port’ is used a metonym for wealth, Mr Birling reveals he has embarked on a rather sycophantic investigation to copy Gerald’s father’s gates in port
-As affluence is only navigated through these meaningless symbols and objects, Priestley exposes how hollow it is. He also presents Mr Birling as obsessive in his attempts to assert his status, which likely comes from a place of insecurity.

Question 11

[Mrs Birling tells Mr Birling] “you’re not supposed to say such things”

Answer 11

-Birling is also guilty of social indiscretions;he wants to compliment the chef on the food yet is scolded by his wife who reminds him “you’re not supposed to say such things”
-This social faux pas reveals that despite his attempts, this status does not come naturally and is ultimately a facade, due to the barriers to social mobility in 1912 Britain.
-Priestley constructs him as perpetually insecure in his social position to depict how exhausting the social conventions of 1912 were to uphold, he disbands the notion of capitalism as a wholly negative force.
-The pursuit of establishing a high status seemingly encompasses every sense of his being, this is ridiculed throughout the text to critique the hollowness of capitalism.

Question 12

“Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you, inspector?”

Answer 12

-Birling uses misogyny to assert his power and to establish his role as the head of the household, he attempts to speak on behalf of Mrs Birling and Shelia, mr Birling is emblematic of the patriarchy.
-the possible pronoun my is a means of him establishing control to elevate himself.
-the use of a rhetorical question paints Birling as patronising, he is in a power struggle with the inspector and he immediately resorts to aggression and disrespect to win the social battle, painting him as undeserving of respect.
-the possessive pronoun my is a means of him establishing control to elevate himself.

Question 13

“unsinkable”

Answer 13

-As Priestley has previously portrayed him as ignorant and oblivious (through references such as describing the Titanic as ‘unsinkable’ a key moment of dramatic irony to ridicule his idiocy) the audience condemns Mr Birling’s arrogance.
-He also critiques the inspector at every opportunity, almost searching for his flaws and mistakes, he complains “a young unmarried girl [Shelia] is being dragged into this-“

Question 14

he “dubiously” tells his wife “if this comes out at the inquest, it isn’t going to do us much good. The press might easily take it up-“

Answer 14

—as a member of the older generation Mr Birling exhibits a high external locus, meaning that he perceives his behaviours as a result of external influence- not the fault of his own.
-we see him subtly reprimanding his wife for negligence of Eva which not only exposes his hypocrisy but also demonstrates him desperately attempting to expel the blame and responsibility onto others.
-the ‘dubious’ mention of ‘the press’ is more revealing in terms of his character, dubious had connotations of shyness and uncertainty which juxtapose his former confident and extroverted self. Birling’s anxiety at the mention of the press stems from a fear of his reputation being compromised, it is not at all motivated by guilt or pity towards Eva.
-this is a moment of dramatic irony intended to evoke a bitter excitement that Birling, a disagreeable character is due a dire fortune, as the audience know that the Birlings ‘ knighthood is at stake.
- Priestley is perhaps exploring how every fibre of Mr Birling’s being is superficial- the only thing that can elicit an emotional response from him is another frivolous trope of wealth, yet he remains unphased by the concept of death or suicide.

Question 15

AO3 marriage

Answer 15

marriage in 1912 Britain was a means of achieving social mobility, it was perceived as a transaction. Birling taking ownership of his wife in this moment may be a metaphor for him grasping onto his status and value within society, which is currently under threat

Question 16

Shelia as a transaction

Answer 16

-his artificial care for his daughter is ironic as we know that he exploits Shelia for social and financial gain through marriage, he views her only function as his daughter is to marry an affluent man thus he is sure to mention her marital status even though it isn’t relevant.
-from this we see his hollowness and insincerity; he doesn’t care that a young girl was subject to suicide so his apparent concern for Shelia to be exposed to a police investigation is deceitful.
-moreover the adjective ‘unmarried’ is used as an epithet of weakness which emulates male arrogance, suggesting a woman needs marriage as a form of safety.
-the lack of familial dynamic between mr Birling and Shelia serves to exacerbate the divide between the older and younger generation.
-ultimately, Priestley highlights how the individualistic notions of capitalism comprise having meaningful relationships as Mr Birling fails to show compassion to anyone, even his daughter and wife.

Question 17

“What’s the matter with that child”

Answer 17

-exclamatory question; we can look at the transitions in language here as it shifts from the possessive pronoun ‘my’ to the demonstrative pronoun ‘that’ metaphorically expels himself of the ownership over Shelia once she begins demonstrating socialist ideology. Perhaps this is a critique of how political views were valued over familial compassion.
-the diminutive noun ‘child’ is used to disregard Sheila’s beliefs as immature and unimportant.
-once she begins to exhibiting socialist beliefs, he is so strongly repulsed by them he is willing to reject his own child.

Question 18

Mr Birling act 2 summary

Answer 18

-as a paragon of the obstinate capitalist, Mr Birling fails to show any remorse for the death of Eva. He remains static throughout the play, impassive despite the inspector’s advertisement of socialism.
-Mr Birling’s selfishness is multi-faced, he values his own reputation over everything. This prongs him to behave apathetically as he is too preoccupied with the threat of his status being compromised to feel any sense of compassion.
Mr Birling is the paragon of the patriarchal male in 1912 Britain, he uses misogyny to assert his power, treating women as the possessions and property of men.

Question 19

the inspector foils mr Birling: inspector says “we see members of one body. We are responsible for each other”

Answer 19

-as an advocate of collectivism and social responsibility, the inspector is used in act 3 to dismantle the ruthless individualism endorsed by Mr Birling. The inspector crystallises his socialist beliefs within the phrase
-the anaphora of the collective pronoun ‘we’ directly contrasts Mr Birling’s egocentric view
-this concept of collectivism is dismissed by Mr Birling in act1 through the simile ‘like bees in a hive’. Mr Birling zoomorphises socialism to portray it as absurd and foreign
-this is where the role of the inspector becomes apparent; he educates his audience that socialism is in facet humane perhaps why the metaphor of a ‘body’ is used to juxtapose Mr Birling’s previous animalistic simile
-the inspector is used to hold a mirror up to the flaws in Mr Birling’s beliefs.

Question 20

“Now look at the pair of them. The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke-“

Answer 20

-Mr Birling’s finals words of the play were intended to ridicule his children
-Not only is his callousness apparent though his acerbic tone, but his apathy also resonates through his belief that the notion of suicide and the revelation of all the ways they have exploited the working class, could be considered a ‘joke’
-This phrase is also laced with irony as Me Birling is the only character who has claimed to ‘know it all’ with his mentions of the ‘Titanic’ and ‘silly little war scares’. Priestley deliberately set the play in 1912 to fragmentise the the ‘know it all’ ignorance of the older generation.
-To an extent by identifying them as the “younger generation” Priestley groups Shelia and Eric with his own audience, intending for them to be riled by Mr Birling’s ignorant sarcasm, Priestley intends to encourage his audience to reject the Capitalist views of their parents.

Question 21

“moment of silence”

Answer 21

-It is important to note that Mr Birling is interrupted by the telephone much like he was interrupted by the inspector at the start.
-Perhaps Priestley chose the form of a play to communicate his allegorical diatribe so he can visually portray Mr Birling’s beliefs as the archetype of the capitalist older generation as unimportant.
-He enforces a pensive “moment of silence” to amplify the dramatic effect of the phone call.

Question 22

“There’ll be a public scandal… and who here will suffer for that more than I will?”

Answer 22

-The use of a question is an attempt for Mr Birling to evoke pity and sympathy from his family. This exposes his hypocrisy as he exhibited no sympathy for Eva.
-the verb “suffer” is hyperbolic and melodramatic, proving him to be self centred/ egocentric.
-it also highlights how he is incapable of feeling guilt as he it too preoccupied with the “public” repercussions”. The repetition of ‘public’ is used to show how closely intertwined wealth and reputation were.

Question 23

“(jovially) But the whole thing’s different now”

Answer 23

-the stage directions “jovially” deceit an unorthodox emotion for a play concerned with the matter of suicide, Mr Birling is so self absorbed he seems to operate in his own realm. He is apathetic towards the things that happen around him.

Question 24

Mr Birling summary of act 3

Answer 24

-the cathartic relief exhibited by Mr Birling upon discovering the inspector was not real is used to epitomise his self absorption and portray how this left him apathetic and uncompassionate even when matters of death or suicide were concerned
-the inspector is used as a foil to Mr Birling so he can directly dismantle and expose his flawed beliefs, as a mouthpiece for socialism, the inspector destroys the foundations of Mr Birling’s views.
-Mr Birling is a character that is designed to be condemned, the employment of dramatic irony exposes his ignorance and self absorption. Priestley contemporary audience can identify this crudeness as a flaw of society that came to light through the world wars.
-Priestley employs a cyclical structure to portray Mr Birling as stagnant within his capitalist view, he stands to represent the upper classes who are trapped in a cycle of immorality and preoccupation with superficial wealth.