KEY QUOTES

• {Stage directions}

  "Arthur Birling is a heavy-looking, rather portentous man..."

  "heavy-looking"> suggest his sheer physical size is a​ ​reflection of capitalism; he wears formal clothes; symbolising greed and frequently displays his “portentous”​ attitude (he tries really hard to impress people).
• "A man has to mind his own business and look after himself"


  • The keywords from the quote are "own" and "himself" as they are reflexive pronouns, implying that individuals should only take care of themself - this supports Mr Birling's view as a microcosm of the capitalist ideology.
  • "man"> refers to the restrictions of women and how only men were allowed to own property/business and could provide for families as to follow the patriarchy society of the time
• “It’s my duty to keep labour costs down.”


  "my"> possessive pronouns [determiners] suggest that he is responsible for the suffering of the lower classes and the corrupt, unfair cycle of deprivation they face.

  "duty"> further implies this idea

  "labour"> difference in view - Mr B showing his Capitalist ideologies by profiting himself as a business man only.
• "If you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth."


  • Mr Birling feels that it is 

  his responsibility to come down 'sharply' on 'these people'.

  • Priestley wanted the audience to realise that this is the wrong attitude to have, we should be looking after 'these people' not punishing them.
  • "asking for the earth."> metaphor - suggests that we have to share the soil, this implies equality and a evokes a sense of socialism.
• "Public men, Mr Birling, have responsibilities as well as privileges" - Inspector


  [LINKS TO A03 - TRADE UNIONS]

  The Inspector suggests that Mr Birling has a 'duty of care' to his employees. - something we take for granted.

  •  Priestley encourages the audience to realise that a person's class is irrelevant to their degree of responsibility
  • The Inspector sees Eva as an individual and refuses to refer to her as a “​girl​” in the same superficial ​fashion as the Birlings do.
  • The inspector also highlights the idea of power and responsibility going hand in hand.
• "Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
• "There isn't a chance of war... impossible." {pt1}


  ~Arrogance and complacency made clear by his confident views.

  ~Audience manipulated to dislike his character from his pompous nature.

  ~Audience lose trust in him as WW1 begins contradicting his views and many other ironic things he has said like the Titanic being 'unsinkable'.
• "Silly little war scares" {pt2}

  "Silly little" is an ill description of the war scares and shows Mr Birling's foolish mindset and how callous he is to speak about the WW1/2 as if they were child's play.

  • dramatic irony> The audience who first watched this play would have had their family members killed in the war - it would not be "Silly" or "little" to them.
• "Wretched girl's suicide"


  • Calls her "wretched" -[use of adjective]- in a derogatory manner, implying she is unworthy of sympathy.
  • "girl's"> illustrates how the Birlings see Eva - a member of the lower/working classes unlike the inspector who refuses to use this term and sees Eva as an individual.
  • "Suicide"> this is a keyword as it shows how Mr B thinks (He thinks its just a girl's death - no involvement = no responsibility)
• "Hard-headed practical man of business"


  • thinks highly of himself - needs approval so repeats the phrase.
  • "Hard-headed"> means realistic and practical, not sentimental.
  • his views are not thought through with empathy.
  • has business experience, not moral.
  • treats Sheila's marriage as business, she is his property.

  Priestley uses the language of the Labour Party Manifesto.. to turn it into a drama his audience can relate to. - an allusion to the language of Sir Stanley Baldwin (Current prime minister in the period that the play covers)attack on Capitalism.
• "lower costs and higher prices"

  • driven by money and capitalistic values.
  • does not consider the impact of 'higher prices' - showing his flaws: selfishness & greed
  • engagement as a business transaction which shows his greed (one of the 7 deadly sins)
  • "working together" is ironic as he is only benefitting wealthy businesses, {Crofts Limited and Birlings & Co}, thinks he is doing a deed of justice.
• "Are you listening, Sheila? This concerns you...I don't often make speeches at you"

  - selective about what he presents to Sheila, speeches he makes to Sheila are peppered with propaganda indoctrinating her, he wants to sculpt her is a 'capitalist daughter

  - direct address to Sheila show he demands utmost attention to listen to his materialistic ideologies

  - presents Birling as manipulative and calculated, also the dominance over Sheila
• Looks down on the Inspector "I don't like your tone"

  - stage directions highlights how patronising he is

  - he feels threatened by Inspector authoritative presences feeling as if his masculinity is undermined
• "Nothing to do with you, Sheila. Run along"

  - imperative statement shows how he views Sheila and puerile and insignificant

  - could display how he does not want Sheila to be mixed with the business, he wants to preserve her 'child-like aura
• "(unhappily) Look, Inspector - I'd give thousands - yes, thousands -"

  - shows how he is fixated on his reputation, tries to appear congenial even though he doesn't mean any of it

  - appears unsympathetic and pseudo claiming he would pay 'thousands' now even though he refused Eva the minimal amount of shillings before

  - conveys irresponsibility, he thinks a bribe can allow him sympathy

  - (unhappily) expresses how Arthur is vastly insincere and hypocritical making his character even more unlikable
• "i can't accept any responsibility"

  - adverb 'any' shows complete lack of morality, his involvement has no impact on driving Eva to suicide
• "socialist or some sort of crank"


  - concrete noun 'crank' is an attempt for Arthur to condemn socialism but the dramatic irony causes the audience to oppose his views and sympathise with socialists
• "The whole damned thing can be a piece of bluff"


  - 'damned'- pun: swearing, showing frustration but also religious connotations- going to hell- damning himself or Eva- suicide?

  - tone- aggressive but relieved: quite vague language, feeling guilty?

  - 'bluff'= trying to deceive someone. But piece implies it is only part of it subconsciously thinking there is some truth?