Characters - Mr Birling Flashcards
What was Mr Birlings connection to Eva?
He fired Eva because she led workers on a strike for a pay rise.
What is Mr Birlings role in the household?
Head of the household
In charge of finances
What is Mr Birlings role in the play?
To represent the selfish, egotistical upper-class capitalists that only care about money, reputation and themselves.
How is Mr Birling presented as a bad father?
He only focuses on Gerald and sees him as more of a son.
Eric states that he is not someone who he could come to for help.
Does Mr Birling change at all in the play?
No, he doesn’t accept responsibility and is only worried how the death will affect his reputation.
He is happy to forget what happened after finding out the inspector wasn’t real.
Does Mr Birling change at all in the play?
No, he doesn’t accept responsibility and is only worried how the death will affect his reputation.
He is happy to forget what happened after finding out the inspector wasn’t real.
How does Priestly present Mr Birling as foolish.
Dramatic Irony
He states at the beginning of the play that the war will never happen and that the titanic won’t sink, the audience knows this is not true.
How is Mr Birling presented to be obsessed with social status?
He gets mad when the Inspector doesn’t treat him differently because he is in upper class.
He only cares about his reputation
He wants Sheila to marry Gerald because he is upper class, even after he had an affair.
How does Priestly present Mr Birling as obsessed with power?
As soon as the Inspector arrives, he tries to take control of the situation and tries to intimidate the Inspector, which fails.
How does Priestly present Mr Birling as sexist?
He excludes the women from important conversations and tries to send Sheila away.
What generation does Mr Birling represent?
The selfish older upper class, who refuse to change their ways.
How did the older upper-class generation treat soldiers pre-war?
They sent out the lower-class soldiers to die, while they sat back.
How does Priestly present the dangers of capitalism through Mr Birling?
He presents him a dislikeable and selfish person. He shows the consequences of the selfish capitalists through the effect of his actions on Eva.
“Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down”
This shows the selfish capitalists’ viewpoints.
He cares more about money then people.
“Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you, Inspector?”
This shows the views that women were fragile and couldn’t defend themselves, in the patriarchal society.
Shows how he feels the law (Inspector) is beneath him because he is upper class.
