Mr Birling Flashcards
(22 cards)
What quote I’m I going to use for mr birling
A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.
The phrase “a man has to” implies
that Birling sees selfishness not as a choice, but as a duty — it shows how deeply entrenched his individualist and capitalist values are.
The repetition of “his own” emphasises
his narrow worldview: he only values people in his immediate circle, and rejects community responsibility.
The use of the noun “business
not only reflects his obsession with money and status, but also the way he sees life as something to profit from — not to share or improve for others.
Technically repetition
Priestley uses confident, closed statements to show Mr Birling’s arrogance.
What is another quote I’m using for mr birling
The way some of these cranks talk and write now, you’d think everybody has to look after everybody else.”
Analysis
Mr Birling mocks socialist thinkers by calling them “cranks”, showing his dismissive and mocking attitude towards collective responsibility.
The sarcastic tone in “you’d think everybody…” highlights
highlights how unnatural he finds the idea of social equality — Priestley uses this to expose how selfish and disconnected the upper classes were from the struggles of the working class.
Priestley deliberately makes Mr Birling a
caricature of arrogant capitalism to make his message clearer.
Context
Written in 1945, just after WWII — a time when society had come together during crisis, and the Labour government was promoting welfare and equality.
Why Priestley Presents Him This Way:
Priestley uses Mr Birling to represent capitalist selfishness and to warn the audience what happens when people refuse to care about others.
By making Birling arrogant, wrong, and unlikable, Priestley makes the Inspector’s message seem wise, moral, and progressive.
Beginning middle and end
How would it make me think of mr birling
Frustration and annoyance:
Birling’s stubborn refusal to accept any responsibility for Eva Smith’s death can frustrate readers.
Make him think
Distrust and skepticism:
Early on, Birling’s confident speeches about business and social order
dramatic irony (e.g., the Titanic being “unsinkable” but actually sinking).
Mr birling also represents the sins of seven deadly sins
Gluttony
Wealth
Pride
His pride
Mr birling starts and ends the play with the same value
Values and opinions
What dose the dramatic irony say about mr birling
It makes the reader and views to really focus and centred on his character and to think something more in up
Mr birling see Sheila and Gerald marriage as
A business juxtaposition of lower and higher
Dramatic irony becomes clear because of
History
“I can’t accept any responsibility.” — Mr Birling
By mr birling
I cant accept shows
The phrase “can’t accept” shows he is stubborn and unwilling to admit fault, suggesting he is trying to protect himself.
This links his selfish attitude and his belief that people
should only look after themselves.
