Mr Birling Quotes

Criticize the Birling Quotes

"The lighting should go from pink and intimate to brighter and harder"

"As if she was an animal, a thing not a person"

"Its better to ask fro the world than to take it"

"Each of you helped to kill her"

Gain sympathy Quotes

"she was alone, almost penniless, friendless and desperate"

"died in misery, agony, hating life"

"she swallowed a lot of disinfectant, burnt her insides of course"

"The lighting should go from pink and intimate to brighter and harder"

At the beginning of the play, when the inspector first arrives he is already challenging the Birling family. The "pink and intimate" lighting connoted a relaxed, safe environment that is comforting and isolated from everyone. However when the inspector arrives, this illusion is shattered as the light changes to "brighter and harder". The phrase "brighter and harder" connotes harshness and a sense of uncomfort, perhaps foreshadowing the uncomfortable truth and "brighter" could be highlighting their moral wrongs and connotes an investigation. The change in lighting could also symbolize a moral authority because it overpowers the Birlings lighting, implying that the inspector has power over them.

"As if she was an animal, a thing, not a person"

The verb "used" highlights how Eric exploits and takes advantage in Eva, objectifying her. This may symbolize how the upper class uses the lower class and treats them in an inhumane way. The phrase "animal" shows how Eric believes she is inferior him, due to her status and or gender. This is further proven in the phrase "thing, not a person" which objectifies Eva and further dehuminses her.

"she was alone, almost penniless, friendless and desperate"

The use of the listing of negative adjectives highlights Eva's ongoing and constant suffering in life. The emotive langauge makes the audience feel a greater sympathy towards Eva and therefore all the working class women in 1912.

"died in misery, agony, hating life"

The uses of the rule of three in the adjectives highlights the extent of her painful death, showing not only was her life tortorous but also her death making the audeince tells sympathy towards her.

"she swallowed a lot of disinfectant, burnt her insides of course"

The phrase "burnt her insides out of course" is very graphic causing the audience to have a visceral reaction of disgust due to it. It highlights the trauma she endured and makes the audience feel sympathetic as she suffered a painful death. The adverbial phrase "ofcourse" makes it seem obvious that she would have suffered.

Warning/urgent moral lesson quotes

"we are members of one body"

"we are all responsible for one another"

"taught in fire, blood and anguish"

"we are members of one body"

This metaphor conveys how everyone is connected and we must work together. The body works together to survive, each part having a different role but being equally as important, the metaphor implies that we must do the same or we will not survive. The metaphor also has religous tones because christians at mass often refer to the congrugation as members of one body. Perhaps Priestley wanted to convey the inspectors omniscience to encourage his audience to listen to the moral message.

"taught in fire, blood and anguish"

The inspector says that "the time will come soon" which has a prophetic tone and further connotes omniscience and is a warning for socity to become better. The inspector also says "taught in fire, blood and angish", which could make the audience conjure images or hell, further pushing the religous tone or perhaps the recent war the 1945 audience just survived. The further infers the prophecys to be correct and therfore the inspector in genral, making the audeince listen to him. The word "taught" is very didatic and shows the moral lesson he is trying to teach or this will happen. The rule of three in "fire, blood and angish" exposes the constant eternal suffering they will endure if they do not listen whilst further insinuating the inspectors omniscience due to the religous element/