Mr Birling

Question 1

“Giving us the port Edna “ “You ought to like this port, Gerald … same port your father gets” - Act 1, Social class

Answer 1

• The play opens with Mr Birling’s first line “Giving us the port Edna” which establishes his boastful nature as well as his wealth as a port was sold at a prohibitive price
• speaks to Edna with less respect than he would with everyone else which signifies how the lower class are treated with very little respect by the upper classes
• His proudness is further highlighted through “you ought to like this port, Gerald…. same port your father gets” which portrays him as a highly materialistic man but also shows how insecure he is towards his social status as Gerald comes from a higher class than him
• The fact that Mr Birling bought the same port that Gerald’s father uses shows how much he aspires to be part of the upper class
• the use of the modal verb “ought” shows what a domineering character Mr Birling is-he even tells his social superior what to do
• Arthur demonstrates his harsh and overbearing nature by telling others what to do

Question 2

“Your just the kind of son in law I’ve always wanted” because Crofts and Birling’s would be working together for “lower costs and higher prices” - Mr Birling, Act 1, capitalism

Answer 2

• The fact that Mr Birling is only happy with Gerald due to the business opportunities that he brings demonstrates how Mr Birling best interest at heart is money, even if it costs his owns daughter’s happiness, which portrays him as opportunistic and materialistic
• “lower costs” implies how Mr birling is willing to pay his workers little so he can have more
• profit which, again, shows his how selfish and mercenary he is - trough this, Priestley is showing the unfairness of capitalism

Question 3

Says that rumors about war is “silly pessimistic talk” / “silly little war scares … peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere” - Mr Birling, Act 1

Answer 3

• The use of the adjective “silly” creates a condescending tone and implies that he thinks his word and beliefs are right and far more superior which shows how arrogant of a person he is
• His arrogance is further heightened by dismissing these political predictions as “talk
• Dramatic irony = shows that we cannot trust his beliefs , distrust in the audience towards him
• Priestley is getting the audience to disagree with him from the start and therefore all his beliefs and opinions are discredited. It also displays him as arrogant and overconfident.
• The adjective “little” and the verb “scares” highlights his disregarding attitude towards any negative events in the future
• This is further juxtaposed by the use of dramatic irony “peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere” = shows Mr B lack of awareness and overconfidence

Question 4

“Fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t want war ” - Mr Birling, Act 1

Answer 4

• Fiddlesticks – belittling, treating war as a ridiculous notion, condescending
• Use of exclamatory sentence shows how passionate he is
• Dramatic irony shows the ignorance of capitalists
• Mr B believes that nothing bad will happen due to technological advances but he is also blinded by the benefits of business

Question 5

“I’m talking as a hard headed, practical man of business” - Mr Birling, Act 1, capitalism

Answer 5

• The fact that this repeated twice shows how passionate he is about business
• Priestley uses Birling to show that capitalists are not to be trusted
• Also implies how he thinks that the success of his business, entitles him to correct political views mirroring the social expectations of the upper-class being intelligent and knowledgeable around the events happening in society
• Priestley uses Birling as a symbol of the callous and heartlessness of capitalism. Through his character he is criticising the complacency of capitalist prosperity

Question 6

“Just a knighthood of course” - Mr Birling, Act 1, social class, appearance vs reality

Answer 6

• Sees sycophancy as a means of acquiring a “knighthood” instead of actually doing good in society - Priestley demonstrates the selfish desires of a capitalist through this
• Establishes his strong desire to social climb and become part of the upper-class
• The fact that he is trying to please Gerald also shows it desperation to make a good impression which could serve as a reflection to how the upper class present themselves as morally superior meanwhile they are severely corrupt and take advantage of the lower class

Question 7

“so long as we behave ourselves, don’t get into the police court or start a scandal – eh” - Mr Birling, Act 1

Answer 7

Irony, foreshadowing

Question 8

clothing is “a sort of sign or token of their self-respect” - Mr Birling, Act 1, gender

Answer 8

• Shows how shallow-minded and traditional Mr birling is
• Shows the lack of respect towards women during the 20th century which can be especially emphasised when we consider that during this time women had very little rights or say

Question 9

“Unsinkable absolutely unsinkable”- Mr Birling, Act 1

Answer 9

• Titanic could be a symbol for Arthur birling
• Both are the ultimate symbol of capitalist power and success, both thought they were invisible and both were sunk unexpectedly.
• Dramatic irony, the titanic sinks a few weeks after the setting of the play
• Outline Mr Birling’s naivety and inability to see the downfall of his class

Question 10

Refers to socialists as “cranks” “all mixed up together like bees in a hive – community and all that nonsense.” - Mr Birling, Act 1, social responsibility, capitalism

Answer 10

• Expresses his firm belief on class division and shows how condescending he is despite the fact the idea of bees working together in a hive reflect a harmonious society which therefore makes the audience have negative attitudes towards Mr birling and therefore capitalism.
• Suggest the idea of social responsibility is ridiculous and implies that the idea of community is an insignificant concept, applicable only to insects and other primitive form of life
• Bees are vital for human survival = middle and upper classes depend on the proletariat for their survival, it should be incumbent on them to be socially responsible for them

Question 11

“a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own and –“ Mr Birling, Act 1, social responsibility, capitalism

Answer 11

• Highlights his refusal to take social responsibility and instead maximize his own financial and social happiness
• By basing Arthur’s morals on basic capitalist principles the audience are able to see the corrupt nature of capitalism
• The fact that he mentions his “own” last could hint at how he places his business at utmost importance and therefore enhances his greedy nature

Question 12

“I was an alderman for years / Perhaps I ought to explain first that this is Mr Gerald Croft” - Mr Birling, Act , social class

Answer 12

• Reflection of how the rich used to use “soft” power – of connection and influence- to intimidate those around them
• Birling is using Gerald as a shield, he is trying to dissipate the blame from him and his family by introducing a very powerful person to intimidate the inspector, however the Inspector mockingly replies with “Mr Gerald Croft-eh” showing his disregard for social class = Priestley is putting forward socialist views

Question 13

“Yes, yes. Horrid business. / unpleasant business.” - Mr Birling, Act 1, social responsibility

Answer 13

• By metaphorically comparing the death to ‘business’ Priestley presents Birling to be overly capitalistic as he thinks of something as serious as a death as ‘business’ = arrogance and desensitized to the lives of the working class
• Dehumanizes Eva’s death as business = presents capitalism as cold and cruel
• Contrasts sharply with how passionate the Inspector is about Eva’s rights and is adamant that justice will be served through “fire, blood and anguish” thus shining a positive and heroic light on socialism
• Highlights how he is only sees this as an unwelcomed interruption to his evening

Question 14

Wretched girl’s suicide. - Mr Birling, Act 1, social responsibility, class

Answer 14

• Use of derogatory and impersonal language highlights the cruelty of the upper class and capitalism
• The adjective “wretched” has connotations of filth, mimicking the disgust the upper class have towards the lower class as well as how they deemed them as worthless
• Refuses to take responsibility = further suggested through the apostrophe in “girl’s” , implying that the suicide is in her responsibility thus mirroring Mr B’s belief in that he shouldn’t have responsibility whatsoever

Question 15

“I can’t accept any responsibility” (in response to chain of events) - Mr Birling, Act 1, social responsibility

Answer 15

• Highlights his selfish behaviour
• Older generation = stubborn
• Short and simple sentence could be a reflection of how simple-minded capitalists are not to accept responsibility
• The short sentence is also a reflection of how quickly dismissive he was and how highlights how defiant he is against responsibility

Question 16

“Rubbish! If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.” - Mr Birling, Act 1, social class

Answer 16

• Prejudice against the working class
• Hyperbole “asking for the earth “ to suggest that their demands are unreasonable and the working class are greedy when in reality they need to be cared for and helped. Ironic as Mr Birling is displayed as an extremely greedy person - desperate to increase profits and always striving for power
• The use of the adverb “sharply” creates the impression that the working class are wild animals that need to be tamed as well as reflect the harsh treatment the working class were subjected to during this time
• Ironic as Mr Birling is displayed as an extremely greedy person - desperate to increase profits and always striving for power
• Priestley wanted to show that arrogance and prejudice existing in the older generations is what is stopping the community from being socially conscious of their actions as they are much too influenced by status
• Sways the audience towards socialist ideas

Question 17

“Now, Sheila, I’m not defending him. But you must understand that a lot of young men-“ - Mr Birling, Act 2, gender, responsibility

Answer 17

• Cares more about the political alliance between him and the father of Gerald’s business in order to increase profits than the happiness of his daughter.
• “a lot of young men” suggests that he has had an affair before and also reflects how men during this period were constantly excused for adultery

Question 18

“The press might easily take it up” + “There’ll be a public scandal.” - Mr Birling, Act 2, appearance vs reality

Answer 18

• highlights his selfishness; he holds no regard to Eva’s suicide and is only worried about the ruining of his reputation and wealth

Question 19

Stage directions: (terrified now) (thunderstruck) = when the Inspector implies that Eric is the father of the child - Act 2

Answer 19

• emphasizes the control that the Inspector now has this indicates that his defiance and bravado have finally been shattered and so Priestley lets the audience see how weak capitalism is in comparison to socialism
• also highlights how the upper class have put themselves on a high pedestal and automatically think that the lower classes are criminals
• Hypocrisy is so prominent the upper class don’t recognise it themselves

Question 20

stage direction : (savagely) - Act 3

Answer 20

• starts getting angry at Eric only when he learns that he has stolen money
• has blatant disregard when it comes to the life of a life lower class
• reflection of how capitalism puts the money over individuals

Question 21

“I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can. You damned fool” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 21

• worries more about his image than the life of a lower class or the fact that Eric raped one
• “damned” suggests Eric is going to Hell – emphasizes the horror of the crime that Eric has
• committed in his eyes = overly money conscious

Question 22

“(unhappily) Look, Inspector – I’d give thousands – yes, thousands.” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 22

• Still as capitalist as he was before, as he thinks money can cover for a dead girl, and is almost comical due to that, and with his reaffirming ‘yes, thousands’, we see how much he values the money, as he is also saying It unhappily – he really doesn’t want to part with his money
• He parallels Mrs Birling in the way that he has undergone no character change, contrasting the younger generation

Question 23

“(angrily to Eric) You’re the one I blame for this” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 23

• Even after the Inspector’s heartfelt speech, Mr Birling does not change
• First thing he says after the inspector is gone
• Quick to accuse, reflection of how quickly he forgot about the inspector

Question 24

“This makes a difference you know. In fact, it makes all the difference” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 24

• italics on the word ‘all’ emphasize how he now feels ALL sense of responsibility has been removed and therefore he can lazily return to his old ways.
• Contrast him to Eric (‘He was our police inspector all right.’) and Sheila (‘it doesn’t much matter who it was who made us confess’).
• Ironic that the younger generation act with the greater maturity

Question 25

“(excitedly) By jingo! A fake!” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 25

• Exclamation mark highlights eagerness on covering up scandal and not being forced to take responsibility

Question 26

“(triumphantly) The whole story’s just a lot of moonshine.” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 26

• “story”, makes the whole event sound like a fantasy, emphasizing the bubble the upper classes live in

Question 27

“(Imitating Inspector in his final speech.) You all helped to kill her.” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 27

• Shows disrespect to both the Inspector and to his children
• the mockery is symbolic of how Goole’s moral message is meaningless to Birling.
• Unpleasant to his children who are genuinely upset by events anguish’ but she quotes him out of respect and out of understanding of the moral message

Question 28

“(heartily) Look, you’d better ask Gerald for that ring you gave back to him, hadn’t you? Then you’ll feel better.” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 28

• Capitalism – oblivious to the fact that Gerald cheated on her daughter, only focusing on how the two companies will join together and mean more business success.
• Not taking into account his daughter’s feeling, the way she has been treated. “Then you’ll feel better” – only he will feel better as he will make more money and have a higher reputation
• Doesn’t care about his daughter’s feelings. Mind only set on money and reputation – capitalist viewpoint

Question 29

“Now look at the pair of them – the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 29

• Highlights how he doesn’t understand the severity of not taking responsibility
• Returns to his complacent and arrogant attitude, which we saw before the Inspector arrived

Question 30

“(Looks in a panic stricken fashion at the others)” - Mr Birling, Act 3

Answer 30

Contrast to the overly confident persona viewed by the audience just a few moments ago – shows the foolishness of Mr Birling = shows foolishness of capitalism