Mr Birling

• Giving is the port Edna … Gerald … Finchley told me its exactly the same port your father gets from him (act 1) - significant due to its cost and it’s association with the wealthy in society. the price alone would have been prohibitive and therefore out of track for the working class
• The name dropping of finchley illustrates how Birling is keen to impress Gerald ( his social superior ) so that crofts limited and birling and company might work together after the marriage of Gerald and Sheila
• “Hard headed business man“ and “hard headed, practical man of business“ - deliberate repetition emphasises how mr B’s self perception is entirely built on how he sees himself in terms of work and money
• Mr birlings priorities are not with people or family but with how much wealth he can accumulate. this results in a lack of empathy for those he exploits in order to grow his fortune
• A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself - this shows mr b to represent the ideology of capitalism.
• Keep labour costs down - this further represents birlings capitalist ideology as by keeping “labour costs down “ he is able to increase profits
• During mr b’s speech Priestley uses lots of dramatic irony when birling says “ the Germans don’t want war “ which the audience knows is wrong as the play is set in 1912 but first performed in 1945. his confidence in this statement ”the Germans don’t want war“ is doubly wrong as two world wars take place between when the play was set and written
• Due to birlings error filled predictions about war , the titanic and economic growth when we hear his treatment of his own employees and business we consider his opinions on these matters to be just as incorrect
• Structurally these example of dramatic irony occur so early on In the play to make it very clear to the audience that mr Birling and everything he stands for is wrong
• When birling discovers that Eric is an alcoholic who has stolen money from the office the exchange that follows might surprise the audience because the majority of his dialogue with Eric focuses solely on recovering his lost money. this further reinforces birlings capitalist ideology and agenda