mr birling - key quotes + analysis

'a heavy looking, rather portentous man'

'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 temperament

'provincial in his speech'

-the ​adjective​ ​"​provincial​"​ is used to show the low-class origins of Mr Birling, that he's a social climber

-he has to compensate for his lower-class accent with material possessions

'you ought to like this port,'

​-verb​ ​"​ought​"​ reveals Mr Birling's insecurities regarding social status; he is hesitant to command Gerald (who is of a higher class) like he would command Eric

'it's one of the happiest nights of my life... your engagement to Shelia 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"​

-the emphasis on Mr Birling's own life is due to his own reputation and social status increasing after Sheila's marriage to Gerald

-in reality, it matters not whether Sheila and Gerald are happily married

'for lower costs and higher prices.'

-this reveals the true motive behind Sheila's marriage, which is commercialism- rather than love

'you'll hear some people say that war is inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks!"

-use of the ​noun​ ​"f​iddlesticks​",​ alongside Priestley's use of dramatic irony causes Mr Birling to seem overwhelmingly confident in his arrogance

-this is due to Britain entering WWI soon after 1912

'time of steadily increasing prosperity'

-the Great Depression followed 1912 and engulfed post-war Britain

-therefore, the audience in 1945 would identify Mr Birling as unreliable and thus dislike him

'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable'

-the certainty shown by Mr Birling's ​repetition​ of 'unsinkable' demonstrates his poor judgement

-this is due to the Titanic sinking the same year - a fact that audience would have been aware of

'I'm talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business. And I say there isn't a chance of war.'

-doesn’t let sentiment or emotion get in the way of what he needs to succeed

-dramatic irony as the modern day audience know the reality as war was inevitable

'there's a fair chance that I may find myself into the next honours list.'

-Mr Birling's insecurity is revealed by his feeling of inadequacy due to his lower social status, compared to the Crofts

-therefore, he feels the need to compensate with boasts of a potential knighthood

'as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense.'

-the ​simile​ ​"like bees in a hive"​ ​ is an attempt by Mr Birling to trivialise the concept of socialism

'a man has to mind his own business and look after himself'

-here, Mr Birling speaks in the​ third person​ in an attempt to create a philosophical element to his speech

'it's my duty to keep labour costs down.'

-Priestley uses the ​noun​ ​"​duty"​ ​ to emphasise Mr Birling's dedication to capitalism and profit

'if you don't come down sharply on some of these people, they'd soon be asking for the earth."

-the ​hyperbole​ (exaggeration for effect) of ​'asking for the earth' ​ is an attempt by Mr Birling to explain his rejection of Eva Smith's pay rise

-however, the absurdity of people ​'asking for the earth' ​ reflects the absurdity of Mr Birling's refusal to pay a decent wage

'probably a socialist or some sort of crank'

-the ​noun​ ​"crank"​ is an attempt by Mr Birling to condemn socialism

-however, Priestley's use of dramatic irony​ causes the audience to oppose Mr Birling's views and therefore sympathise with socialists

'why you hysterical young fool - get back - or I'll - '

-here Priestley uses ​irony​ to further create a dislikeable perception of Mr Birling, who insults and threatens violence towards his own child

-therefore, it is clear that it is in fact Mr Birling who is ​"hysterical"​.

'as it happened more than eighteen months ago - nearly two years ago - obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girl's suicide.'

-the ​adverb​ ​"​obviously​"​ is used to emphasise Mr Birling's arrogance and disregard for his own social responsibility

-Priestley does this to continue Mr Birling's unlikable image. 'wretched' displays his disdain for her. 'girl'-not important or significant to use by name

'I can't accept any responsibility.'

-the use of the ​adverb​ ​"​any​"​ reveals Mr Birling's complete lack of morality, as he believes sacking Eva Smith had no impact on her life, which drove her to suicide

'Perhaps I ought to warn you that that [the Chief Constable is] an old friend of mine.'

-Mr Birling attempts to intimidate the Inspector through the ​verb​ ​"​warn​"​

-the belief that association with the Chief Constable puts Mr Birling above the law epitomises the need for greater social justice and responsibility

'if we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody... it would be very awkward wouldn't it?'

-Priestley's use of the ​adjective​ "a​wkward"​ ​, coupled 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

'i've got to cover this up as soon as I can.'

-Priestley uses this sense of urgency as Mr Birling's reaction to his involvement in Eva Smith's suicide shows how he is focused solely on the well-being of his own social status, rather than the death of Eva and how his actions contributed to it

'there's every excuse for what both your mother and I did."

-Mr Birling separates himself and Mrs Birling, as the older generation, from Eric and Sheila in the younger generation

-this diversion of blame onto his children reveals the selfish core of Mr Birling and inability to develop a sense of social responsibility

'I don't like your tone nor the way you're handling this enquiry.'

-again, 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

-this is due to the higher classes, generally, being let off by law enforcement due to association with officers in higher positions

'I care. I was almost certain for a Knighthood in the next honours list.'

-Priestley uses the ​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

'there'll be a public scandal... and who here will suffer for that more than I will?"

-this​ rhetorical question​ is used by Priestley 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

'(jovially) But the whole thing's different now'

-Priestley uses the​ stage direction​ ​"(jovially)"​ to emphasise Mr Birling's indifference to the well-being of Eva Smith, as ​"the whole thing's different now"​ due to there being no social or legal consequences affecting Mr Birling

'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 significant as it is ironic​

-it occurs just before the phone rings and a 'real' inspector calls on the telephone. also, trivialising Eva Smith's suffering as a ​"​joke​"​ emphasises the static character of Mr Birling