Mr Birling Quotes - Analysis and key terminology

"hard-headed practical man of business"

- thinks highly of himself, need approval so repeats the phrase. "Hard headed" means realistic, practical but not sentimental
- his views are not thought through with empathy
- has had business experience, not moral
- Priestley is using language of the Labour Party manifesto..to turn it into a drama his audience can relate to...an allusion to the language of Sir Stanley Baldwin (priminister during period play covers) attack on capitalism
- treats Sheila's marriage as a business, she is his property

"there isn't a chance of war...impossible"

- arrogance and complacency made clear by his confident views
- audience are manipulated to dislike him from his pompous nature
- audience lose trust in him as WW1 begins contradicting his views and many others such as the Titanic being 'unsinkable'

"lower costs and higher prices"

- driven by money and capitalistic values
- does not consider the impact of 'higher prices' as he is selfish and wants money
- he sees his daughter's engagement as a chance to push for 'lower costs and higher prices' shows his greed which is one of the 7 deadly sins.
- 'working together' is ironic and he is only benefiting wealthy businesses, he thinks he is doing a deed of justice

"Are you listening, Sheila? This concerns you...I don't often make speeches at you"

- selective about what he presents to Sheila, speeches he makes to Sheila are peppered with propaganda indoctrinating her, he wants to sculpt her is a 'capitalist daughter
- direct address to Sheila show he demands utmost attention to listen to his materialistic ideologies
- presents Birling as manipulative and calculated, also the dominance over Sheila

"That was the police. A girl has just died - on her way to the infirmary"

- in context of Frey-tag's dramatic arc, could be said Arthur does not have a denouement[final story] as he could stand firm in his viewpoint on social standing and not change when the real police inspector arrives, or he could learn his lesson?
- Arthur may not change his ways but the audience can reflect on their actions instead
- Priestley warning them of dangers of not learning lesson of social responsibility themselves, eventually will have to adapt to changing expectations and moral responsibilities within society

"(unhappily) Look, Inspector - I'd give thousands - yes, thousands -"

- shows how he is fixated on his reputation, tries to appear congenial even though he doesn't mean any of it
- appears unsympathetic and pseudo claiming he would pay 'thousands' now even though he refused Eva the minimal amount of shillings before
- conveys irresponsibility, he thinks a bribe can allow him sympathy
- (unhappily) expresses how Arthur is vastly insincere and hypocritical making his character even more unlikable

"silly little war scares"

'- silly little' is not the way you would describe WW1/2, dramatic Irony.
- the audience who first watched this play would have had their family members killed in the war - it would not be 'silly' or 'little' to them.

example traits

-arrogant
-capitalist
-pretentious
-sycophant
-insecure
-egotistical
-bourgeois
-portentous

"A man has to look after himself - and his family"

- "himself" before "family" to show a physical representation of a typical capitalist's egotistical manner. This is because the 1946 audience learned the hard way with wars because they didn't look after each other

"i can't accept any responsibility"

- adverb 'any' shows complete lack of morality, his involvement has no impact on driving Eva to suicide

"asking for the earth"

- hyperbole is an attempt for him to explain his rejection of Eva's pay rise but the absurdity of the statement reflects the absurdity of his refusal to pay a decent wage

"socialist or some sort of crank"

- concrete noun 'crank' is an attempt for Arthur to condemn socialism but the dramatic irony causes the audience to oppose his views and sympathise with socialists

"everything to lose and nothing to gain by war"

- 'Everything' and 'nothing'- vague pronouns, showing Birling is ignorant about specific worldly knowledge
- 'war'- dramatic irony of WW1-2 happening- both naïve and accurate- has Britain gained anything from going to war?
- 'lose' and 'gain' juxtapose one another. Can link to loss of life- Eva and soldiers in WW1-2.
- verb- 'gain' has connotations of wealth and status- it is all about consumerism with Mr Birling. Always looking for the advantage to take.

"The whole damned thing can be a piece of bluff"

- 'damned'- pun: swearing, showing frustration but also religious connotations- going to hell- damning himself or Eva- suicide?
- tone- aggressive but relieved: quite vague language, feeling guilty?
- 'bluff'= trying to deceive someone. But piece implies it is only part of it subconsciously thinking there is some truth?

ostentatious

showy, pretentious

condescending

patronizing

belittling

insulting

narcissistic

conceited; having excessive self-love or admiration

rapacious

greedy

avaricious

greedy

obstinate

stubborn

Priestley's intentions?

1. represents power in 1912
2. he is capitalist views personified
3. Priestley derides anti-socialist views

Sanctimonious

He believes he is morally superior