Mr Birling Quotes

'(heavy-looking, rather portentous man)'

adjective 'portentous' reflects how he takes himself too seriously

description 'heavy-looking' shows his character's gravitas, however 'looking' may present that it's a facade

'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable'

dramatic irony shows how Mr Birling's beliefs are completely unfounded

repetition of 'unsinkable' further emphasises Birling's overconfidence and arrogance

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

repeated use of pronoun 'I' shows how Birling cares about nothing but himself

him saying that he cares about what happened to Eva and then only focussing on how it will affect him furthers the extent of his lack of sincerity and empathy

'for lower costs and higher prices'

prioritises his business and believes he needs to make as much profit as possible, regardless of the consequences

encapsulates Birling's lack of morals and concerns for his workers

'Yes, yes. Horrid business.'

repetition of 'yes' showcases how he finds the whole situation more of an inconvenience than something serious

the fact that he refers to Eva's suicide as 'business' reveals how he views everything as business

'Look inspector - I'd give thousands - yes, thousands-'

Birling wasn't willing to give Eva an extra few shillings, but now his name is on the line, he tries to bribe for considerably more

the noun 'thousands' reflects how he sees things in terms of their material worth, assuming that money can cover for the death of a girl

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

the fact that he mentions 'himself' before 'his own' presents how Birling values himself more than anyone else

the phrase 'mind his own business' reveals his sense of individualism

starting with 'a man' reflects his patriarchal values

'I can't accept any responsibility for everything that happens to everyone'

verb 'can't' shows how Birling refuses to take accountability for what what happened to Eva

determiner 'any' indicates that Birling doesn't even want to entertain the idea that he is responsible for others' misfortune

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

simile presents how he sees socialists to be as unsophisticated as a hive of insects

noun 'nonsense' insinuates the socialist views hold absolutely no merit, and he believes them to be fools

'don't get into a police court or start a scandal, eh?'

foreshadowing of the Eva Smith suicide accusations, showing how Mr Birling doesn't even think he did anything wrong

example of Chekov's Gun - law of narrative that states if an element introduced seems unimportant, it will be later - reflects how the Mr Birling has no idea of what is coming

'Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you, Inspector?'

highlights Mr Birling as the patriarchal head of the household, assuming a protective role of his wife

possessive 'my' may present the idea that he sees his wife as property, and the fact that he is speaking for her could show that Birling doesn't think she's capable enough to do so herself

'If you don't come down sharply on these people they'd soon be asking for the Earth'

hypocritical from Mr Birling, as some may argue that he himself practically 'stole the world' from these people

adverb 'sharply' illustrates how Mr Birling acts harshly to those below his class

'Not just something to wear and not only something to make 'em look prettier’

adjective 'prettier' shows how he objectifies women, valuing them more for their appearance than anything else

traditional, patriarchal and outdated view of women undermines the rest of his ideologies