Mr Birling

• Birling [Capitalism vs socialism] - "probably a socialist or some sort of crank"

  • noun crank is an attempt to condemn socialism
  • Dramatic irony causes the audience to oppose Mr Birling's views and therefore sympathise with socialists
• Birling - [young vs old] - "why you hysterical young fool - get back - or i will"

  • irony to further create a dislikeable perception of Mr Birling, who insults and threatens violence towards his own child.
  • It is him in face who is hysterical
• Birling - [young vs old] - "now look at the pair of them - the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can't even take a joke"

  • Use of the noun "joke" is ironic as it occurs just before the phone rings and a real inspector calls
  • Also he trivialises Eva's suffering as a joke which emphasises his static nature of character
  • Sarcasm is used by Mr Birling but actually it is ironic since they do "know it all"
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "Nearly two years ago - obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girl's suicide"

  • Adverb "obviously" is used to augment Birling's arrogance and disregard for his own social responsibility.
  • adjective "wretched" and irony of the whole phrase since it did have an effect continues to build on his unlikeable image
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "i can't accept any responsibility"

  • the adverb "any" reveals Mr Birling's complete lack of morality, as he believes sacking Eva smith had no impact on her life
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody ... it would be very awkward wouldn't it?

  • Use of the adjective "awkward" couple with Mr Birling's self-absorbed character reveals that an increased sense of responsibility for everyone would really only be awkward for him
  • This awkwardness extends to the class and ideology that he represents: capitalist middle class
  • use of word with "every" extends the hyperbole, emphasising how stupid he thinks socialism is.
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "I've got to cover this up as soon as i can"

  • sense of urgency shows how focussed his is on the well-being of his social statues rather than the death of Eva and how he contributed to it
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "There's every excuse for what both your mother and I did."

  • Separates the older generation from the younger generation. This diversion of blame onto his children reveals the selfish core of Mr Birling and his inability to have any responsibility
  • He even puts his wife before him when talking about responsibility
  • Hyperbole of "every excuse"
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "(jovially) But the whole thing's different now"

  • Priestley uses the stage direction "jovially" to emphasise Mr Birling indifference to the death of Eva Smith.
  • The whole thing is different now as there are no social or legal consequences affecting Mr Birling
• Birling - [Responsibility] - "Public men , Mr Birling , have responsibilities as well as privileges"

  • Inspector is used as a vehicle for socialism as Mr Birling is reminded of his "responsibilities" and the need to address them
  • Structure of the sentence puts privileges last
• Birling - [Self-absorbed] - "Its one of the happiest nights of my life ... your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me"

  • The selfish nature of Mr Birling is revealed by the use of the personal pronoun "me" and "my life".
  • Due to his own reputation and social status increasing after Sheila's marriage to Gerald. In reality, he does not care if they are happy together
  • Dramatic irony once again on it being the "happiest" nights of his life
• Birling - [Self-absorbed] - "Perhaps i ought to warn you that [the chief constable] is an old friend of mine"

  • Mr Birling attempts to intimidate the Inspector through the verb "warn". The belief that the association with the Chief Constable puts Mr Birling above the law epitomises the need for greater social justice and responsibility
• Birling - [Self-absorbed] - "I don't like your tone nor the way you're handling this quietly"

  • Birling attempts to sway the Inspector and force him to leave by mentioning the irrelevant fact that he doesn't "like" the inspector's tone. He purposely uses articulate vocabulary like "nor" in order to emphasise his superior class to the inspector
• Birling - [Self-absorbed] - "I care. I was almost certain for a Knighthood in the next honours list"

  • Short sentence "I care" to create a potential turning point, where Mr Birling finally accepts his moral and social responsibility. However, what follows is an anti-climax as Mr Birling's static nature as a character is reaffirmed. What Mr Birling only cares about is his social position, not the wellbeing of Eva Smith and other employees
• Birling - [Self-absorbed] - "There will be a public scandal ... and who here will suffer for that more than i will?"

  • rhetorical question used to demonstrate Mr Birling's self-pity rather than sympathy for Eva Smith
  • His social status is more valuable to him than his employee's lives
• Birling - [self-absorbed] - "[a heavy looking, rather portentous man]"

  • The use of the adjective "portentous" in the stage directions gives an immediate indication of Mr Birling's self-indulged treatment
• Birling - [self-absorbed] - "Alderman for years // Lord Mayor two years ago"

  • Use of high-ranking local roles to reveal Mr Birling's belief that social status transcends law and order
  • Structure of the sentence puts the role at the beginning
• Birling - [Dramatic Irony] - "You will hear some people say that war is inevitable. And to that i say - fiddlesticks!"

  • exclamation of the noun "fiddlesticks", alongside dramatic irony causes Mr Birling to seem overwhelmingly confident in his arrogance.
• Birling - [Dramatic Irony] - "unsinkable , absolutely unsinkable"

  • repetition of the adjective unsinkable demonstrates his poor judgement.
  • Adverb absolutely also emphasises this
• Birling - [Dramatic Irony] - "time of steadily increasing prosperity"

  • Great Depression followed 1912