responsibility - mr birling

• what does mr birling represent in the play?

  - metaphorical representation of capitalism
• mr birling's company

  - he has a reputation in the town as he owns birling & co, factory business that employs many girls

  - he thinks the pay he gives his employees is reasonable and acceptable
• mr birling - responsibility

  - oblivious to the consequences his actions have in the play
• how does mr birling use his social position to benefit himself?

  - he uses his social position and the people he knows to intimidate and influence
• "a man has to make his own way - has to look after himself - and his family too"


  - portrayed as self-centred

  - direct contrast to inspector, even thru language (we, our vs him, himself)

  - repetition of "a man has to" shows mr birling's belief of men being obliged to look after themselves only

  - the delay before "and his family too" shows how even his family come as an afterthought
• "i can't accept any responsibility"


  - in denial of doing anything wrong to eva smith

  - "can't" modal verb suggests accept blame goes against his nature and his duty

  - doesn't want to be accused of making a mistake and doesn't want to be burdened
• "if we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with, it would be very awkward wouldn't it?"


  - dismisses the idea that we should be responsible for each other and suggests the situation would be "awkward"

  - priestley tries to make the point that we need to be conscious of our actions and their consequences

  - priestley also suggests that businessmen should understand that their employees aren't just useful profit-generating machines; they are humans who experience pain and suffering too

  - priestley is urging a more socialist outlook to society where everyone is part of one community and so we should help one another
• "if you don't come down hard on these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth"


  - metaphor highlights mr birling's belief that businessmen need to be firm with their workers or the workers will take advantage of them

  - dramatic irony as audience member is that eva smith only asks for a small pay rise

  - mr birling uses hyperbole as if eva smith was asking for more than that

  - ironically, mr birling says he would offer "millions and millions" in act 3 to resolve this issue but he is offering money at a time when it's too late, but if he'd offered the money before then he wouldn't be in this situation anyway
• "obviously it has nothing whatever to do with this wretched girl's suicide"


  - birling tries to distance himself from eva's death through the 'distance' between his involvement in the suicide and the actual suicide to resolve any blame

  - "wretched" could link to 20th century attitudes to suicide and shows how birling believes the act of suicide is "wretched" and nothing to do with him but eva's own morality

  - "wretched girl" shows birling's lack of compassion and patience and lack of sympathy with eva
• how does mr birling's class and social position link with this?

  - priestley suggests birling's lack of compassion and responsibility are tied to his class and capitalist idealogies
• "the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense"


  - priestley first raises the idea of shred responsibility through mr birling when he tells eric and gerald this

  - birling's intolerance of socialism reflects the political climate of the 1910s and shows his narrow-minded nature

  - "cranks", "all that nonsense"; harsh and insensitive language shows the audience that birling is heartless as if he is disgusted by the thought of looking out for others

  - simile "like bees in a hive" implies social responsibility is primitive and demeaning

  - "you'd think" and "as if" show birling thinks the notion is ridiculous

  - birling's views on the "unsinkable" titanic allready have discredited him so the audience knows his views on "community" will also be challenged
• how does priestley use mr birling to show capitalism's carelessness?

  - through mr birling's interest in money

  birling feels he has a duty to maintain "lower costs and higher prices"
• "it's my duty to keep labour costs down"


  - implies his business pursuits require him to exploit his workers

  - he feels a "duty" to his business but not society

  - priestley shows that 20th century business involves neglect and inhumanity - priestley highlights the need for change
• why doesn't birling accept blame?

  - as a result of arrogance and disrespect for others

  - would be seen as a sign of weakness and imperfection
• "there's every excuse for what both your mother and i did - it turned out unfortunately, that's all"


  - "excuse" connotes pathetic, worthless reason; birling is desperate to excuse himself of blame

  - "unfortunately" and "that's all" convey his heartlessness; upper classes trivialised and dismissed lower classes' hardships

  - eva's death seen as "unfortunate" tragedy and an inconvenience; not worthy enough to make birling accept responsibility