AIC KEY QUOTES

• AGE-Mr birling demeans and belittles his son implying how he rejects yg views and does not take them seriously beacause of their youth; he thinks hes unchallengeable, presented as pompous and self righteous


  Just let me finish eric you've got a lot to learn yet
• Mr birling attempts to influence and teach the YG and patronises them based on age and superiority as he thinks all his views are the right ones

  But you youngsters remember what i said
• Mr birling suggests that to him being wrong is completely foreign to him and shows he has a very high opinion of himself.


  And we don't guess we've had experience and we know
• Mr birling dismisses evas death dehumanizing it, demonstrating his lack of remorse or sympathy for evas death

  Yes, Yes- horrible business
• Mr birling reveals his lack of morality and demonstrates his belief for individualism at the expense of responsibility

  Still i cant accept any responsibility
• At the start of the play, Mr birling jokes about avoiding scandal which highlights his complacency and hubris however it is ironic as they are about to be inpspected abd foreshadows their fall from grace


  So long as we behave ourselves and we don't into any police court or scandal- eh?
• Mr birling shows how little he cares anout the death of a working class women as he implies that the inspectoris in the worng as he has ruined their night instead of brilings ruining a life

  And a nasty mess you've mae out of it now- eh?
• Mr birling dismisses the idea of social responsibility and refuses to take responsibility

  If we were all resonsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with it'd be very awkward wouldn't it
• Mr birling reveals the money obsessed nature of capitalism, revealing he prioritises financial gain over fair workers rights


  Its my duty to keep labour costs down
• Mr birling shows a lack of sympathy for his workers and demonstrates a dismissive attitude to workers rights and implies asking for a far wage is absurd when in reality he is the avsurd one for refusing fair wages


  If you don't come down hard on these people, they'll soon be asking for the earth.
• Mr birling tries to justify his inability to accept any responsibiity or show any remorse and impies evas is unworthy of sympathy


  As it happened more than 18 months ago now... obviously it has nothing to do with this wretched girls suicide
• This is a microcosm for capitalism. Mr briling says this showing he is driven by and obsessed with money and capitalistic views. he reveals not only his true motives for shielas marriage but also his indifference to suffering of his workers

  For lower costs and higher prices
• Mr birling embodies his self centered, capitalist philosophy of individualism, showing his rejection of collective reponsibility


  a man has to look after himslef and his family
• Mr birling attempts to present socialist views as absurd and unachievable and reveals his egostistical manner whereby he is dismissive of any view that isn't his own


  The way some of these cranks talk nowadays you'd think everybody has to look after everyone else as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive
• Mr birling is presented as foolish and vacous and implies he has poor judgement to audience, due to the dramatic irony and hubris of his speech, Priestley therefore, encourages people to seek wisdom from elsewhere like the inspector and he ridicules capitalist values so presenting socialism as the better and progressive ideology


  Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable

  Fiddlesticks! the germans don't want war

  Time of steadily increasing prosperity

  Isnt a chance of war
• Mr birling attempts to ridicule well known socialist politicians and idols but by previously showing his foolishness through his wildly wrong predictions, priestley encourages us to in fact doe the opposite of mr birlings advice and seek knowledge from these people


  We can't let these Bernard Shaws and H.G Wellses do all the talking
• Mr birlings voice is tainted by an accent perhaps revealing an insecurity in his class status that he attempts to hide behind a facde by attemtping to emulate upper class in other ways like 'port' and mentioning his titles in order to assimilate himslef into the middle class and seek approval from others


  Rather provincial in his speech

  your're not supposed to say such things

  Lord mayor

  Very good chance of Knighthood
• Mr birling often refers to himself as this representing affluent business men who callously take advantge of suffering for financial gain, much like the 'hard-faced' stanley baldwin

  Hard-headed business man
• Priestley describes mr birling and reveals his 'portentous nature' suggesting an inferiority complex due to his moest background or exposing the superficiality of capitalism as he is desperate to assert his status


  A heavy looking , rather portentous man in his middle fifties
• Mr birling attempts to silence eva as he is opposed or perhaps threatened by her strong moral opinions as he believes the working class-particularly women- should be voicless

  She had a lot to say- far too much- she had to go
• Mr birling implies that clothing is of more importance to women than men and also objecifies women perhaps suggesting that their prime role is to look 'pretty'


  Not only something to make em look prettier but well a sort of sign or token of self-respect
• Mr birling assumes a defensive role in an attempt to protect his wife but implies he views her as one of his possesions and doesnt allow her to speak herself


  Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you inspector?
• Mr birling believes young women should be excused from topics like prostitution or lifes of working class as she must be kept innocent. this suggests middle class women were hsletered from the reality of the world which arguably contributed to shielas ignorance towards eva


  Protest against the way a young, unmarried girl is being dragged into this
• Mr birling attempts to justify and normalise his actions against eva representing how factory owners show more concern over profits than worker wellbeing


  I only did what any employer might have done
• Mr birling attempts to justify geralds actions by suggesting it is normal among young men, suggesting he is more concerned over rescuing the engagement for his own social and financial gain rather than his daughters happiness


  Now sheila im not defending him but you must understand a lot of young men...
• Mr birling insults people who propose social responsibility


  He was prejudiced from the start probably a socialist or some sort of crank- he talked like one
• Mr birling shows more concern ove saving the engagement demonstrating his little compassion for his daughters feelings, implying how little he has changed from th start

  Youd better ask gerald for that ring
• Priestley presnts mr birling as a static character who refuses to accept responsibility or demonstrates and inability to learn a lesson. he shows a lack of care for evas death now that there are no legal or social repurcussions


  (Jovially) "But the whole thing's different now.

  we've been had thats all

  It makes all the difference

  By jingo- a fake!

  We've been hoaxed
• Mr birling shows his inability to change as he still prioritises his reputation and status over showing any remorse or repsonsbility for evas death


  I care, i was almost certain for knighthood

  There'll be a public scandal

  When this comes at out the inquest it isn't going to do much good. the press might easily take it up.

  i've got to cover this up immediately
• Mr birling again demonstrates that he has not truly learnt a lesson in an attempt to bribe the inspector in esxchange for the preservation of his social psoition

  I'd give thousands- yes thousands
• Mr birling attempts to silence and patronise his children when they begin to stray from his political standing and become more politically independent and moral as they learn a lesson and accept resposibility


  Your trouble is, your spoilt

  Hysterical young fool

  Be quiet shiela!

  That's enough sheila

  If you've nothing more sensible to say sheila you'd better keep quiet

  Don't stand there being hysterical

  Damned fool
• Birling returns to his complacent and arrogant attitude and mocks his children for accepting responsibility, attempting to regain his authority and control


  Now look at the pair of them - the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can't even take a joke -
• Mr Birling suggests he cares more about the money eric stole than erics and his own actions against eva showing his static nature and refusal to accpt responsibilty

  Until everything you stole is repaid you,ll work for nothing
• Birling justifies his action against evas showing his lack of compassion or awareness about the consequences and immorality of his actions

  There's every excuse for what your mother and i both did
• Inspector first introduced establishes that the strength of his position and ideology outweigh the need for an imposing physical appearance and immediately portrays him as a foil to mr birling


  Need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness.. speaks weightily and carefully
• Priestley portrays inspector as moral and reliable when he refuses port showing dedicated to morality and exposing the truth

  No thank you... im on duty
• Inspector shows how everything is linked together and seeks to demonstrate the birlings how all their actoions have consequences

  A chain of events
• Inspector repeats word duty to emphasise how he has a moral and professional obligation to find out the truth


  Its my duty to ask questions
• Mr birling is blunt about Evas death to get around the arrogance and ignorance of the birlings making it impossible for them to avoid the harsh reality and repercussions of their actions


  She wasn't pretty when i saw her today

  She felt she couldn't go on any longer

  It's too late she's dead

  Never did anybody no harm- but she died in misery and agony- hating life

  (harshly) yes, shes dead
• Inspector impies that factories and business men don't just turn a blind eye to the suffering of the working class but rather they actively seek it out to exploit them and keep their profit margins high


  factories and warehouses wouldn't know where to look for cheap labour