Mr Birling Flashcards
Dramatic irony- Instantly presents Mr Birling as a fool.
+ creates a lack of credibility
‘The Titanic […] absolutely unsinkable’
‘People say that war is inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!’
‘Silly little war scares’
Values reputation more than wellbeing of Eva Smith or what he did to help her death.
‘There’ll be a public scandal’
‘I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can’
Capitalist views + selfish
‘A man has to mind his own business’
‘Community and all that nonsense’
Uncaring
‘We were having a nice little family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you’ve made of it now’
Doesn’t take responsibility for death- justifies actions
‘If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth’
Sheila: ‘You began to learn something… and now…you’re ready to go on in the same way’
Views on younger generation
‘More money to spend and time to spare than I had when I was Eric’s age’
Why is Mr Birling made an unsympathetic character
Victorian views = aged views (no longer the views of the future)= capitalist views are aged and are in the past.
Mr Birling unsympathetic= his (capitalist) are therefore disliked by the audience.
