Mr Birling Flashcards
‘as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense’
A1
-zoomorphism - Mr Birling employs zoomorphism to characterise society, particularly likening the lower class to ‘bees’. This direct comparison reflects Mr Birlings degradation and mockery of the concept of collective responsibility, portraying it as an animalistic primal behaviour fit only for insignificant creatures like ‘bees’. He dismisses the idea of intertwining his responsibility with those of others and perceives the notion of ending his negligence as trivial ‘nonsense’
-hyphen - the deliberate insertion of a hyphen prompts a theatrical pause, compelling the actor portraying Mr Birling to hesitate before articulating the word ‘community’. This pause emphasises his physical repulsion to the concept, suggesting an inability to even verbalise it. Acting as a microcosm for capitalist ideologies, Mr Birling becomes vilified for his rejection of the idea of ‘community’ and his preference for materialism over human relationships.
‘public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges’
A2 Inspector
-syntax - the syntax (word order) of the phrase places ‘responsibilities’ before ‘privileges’ reflecting the direct order of importance emphasises by the inspector to Mr Birling. However, MrB inverts this sequence, prioritising his privileges and materialistic gains over his responsibilities and the development of a collective social conscience.
-short fragmented sentences - the concise fragmented structure of ‘public men’ followed by ‘Mr Birling’ mirrors Mr Birlings fragmented perception of responsibility and accountability for his exploitative treatment of the lower classes. He perceives his social status as granting him the authority to dehumanise those beneath him and absolve himself of any responsibility for the suffering he causes them.
‘there’ll be a public scandal’
A3
-euphemistic language - rather than admitting to the grave crime he has contributed to, MrB employs euphemistic language to brand it as mere ‘scandal’. This exacerbates his stubbornness as a representative of the older generation as he adamantly refuses to acknowledge the truth and feels no remorse for his exploitation of Eva.
Alternatively, it also implies his hesitancy to confront the crime, perhaps driven by the fear that doing so would dismantle the carefully crafted facade he maintains for public perception
-stagnant character - MrB persists in his self serving outlook, thus is presented as a stagnant character as he ignores his moral and civic obligations as a member of society. His lack of character development is disheartening yet unsurprising for the audience as Priestley establishes early on that capitalist characters from the older generation prioritise social status over compassion, remorse and social reform.
‘the famous younger generation who know it all. And now they can’t even take a joke-‘
A3
-irony - it is ironic that MrB derisively labels the younger generation as ‘know it alls’ given that he himself is the only character who asserts to ‘know it all’ referencing events like the ‘titanic’ and dismissing concerns as ‘silly little war scares’. Priestley deliberately set the play in 1912 to fragmentise the ‘know it all’ ignorance of the older generation. To some degree, by labelling them as the ‘younger generation’ Priestley aligns sheila and Eric with his contemporary audience, aiming for them to feel provoked by MrBs ignorant sarcasm. Priestley intention is to urge his audience to repudiate the capitalist perspectives held by their parents.
-speech cut off - following mrBs remorseless and callous dismissal of the suicide as a mere ‘joke’ he is abruptly interrupted by the telephone, echoing the earlier interruption by the inspector in act 1. Perhaps Priestley opted for the form of a play to convey his allegorical diatribe enabling him to visually depict MrBs beliefs as emblematic of the capitalism older generation - ones that should be physically and symbolically removed from society.
