Quotations and analysis to learn

“Fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folk in the Balkans.”

ACT ONE

• Illustrates Mr Birling’s arrogance. He speaks at lengths about politics, showing his selfishness through his misplaced focus which should be on celebrating his daughter’s engagement.

• Dramatic irony. Mr Birling looks foolish, done by Priestly to invite the audience to mock his character and therefore the capitalist society which he is a microcosm for.

“Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”

ACT ONE

• The Titanic was a symbol of capitalist accomplishment, technological advances and luxury, fostering great pride as evidence by Mr. Birling.

• Dramatic irony.

• Repetition of “unsinkable” and the intensifying adverb “absolutely” reinforce Mr Birling’s certainty and his misplaced arrogance.

• Recency of the Titanic sinking would make the audience sensitive to this and make Mr Birling seem unlikeable.

“I speak as a hard-headed business man.”

“I’m speaking as a hard-headed, practical man of business.”

ACT ONE

• Repetition across Mr Birling’s speech highlights how his capitalist arrogance needs constant reinforcement in order for him to remain credible and how he is insecure about the fragility of his status and authority.

• Arrogance is not a mark of his true character, but rather a facade that crumbles when his authority is questioned.

• Priestley presents him this way to expose the instability of a system that values wealth over welfare.

“There is every excuse for what your mother and I did.“

ACT THREE

• Mr Birling deflects blame - he’s morally unchanged, even after the events of the play

• Highlights Priestley’s message about the older and younger generations and their attitudes towards accepting collective responsibility and social conscience.

“It’s about time you learn to face a few responsibilities“

ACT ONE (to Eric)

• Clear irony - Mr Birling is acting with authority and telling Eric to accept responsibility when in reality it is him who needs to

• Highlights Priestley’s message of the older and younger generation in accepting collective responsibility and social conscience

• Irony highlights Mr Birling’s insecurity of his authority. He is deflecting onto Eric to seem in control and not having to face his own actions

• This quote also applies to Eric and shows his progression throughout the play

Mr Birling’s broken syntax and attitude towards the Inspector

• Evidence Mr Birling’s frazzled state, which contrasts to the Inspector’s calm demeanour and diminishes Mr Birling’s authority

• Mr Birling’s attempts to shut down the Inspector illlustrate his desperation to stay in control

• Underscores Priestley’s point about the fragility of capitalism that’s authority crumbles when challenged.

“As if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense.“

ACT ONE

• Animalistic simile shows how Mr. Birling looks at the lower classes through a dehumanising lens. He exploits them as he doesn’t see them as people, only workers.

• Deeply classist beliefs intertwined with capitalism

“Possibly, but you weren’t asked to come here to talk about my responsibilities.”

ACT TWO

• Direct address of “you” comes before the personal pronoun of “my”, reflecting Mr Birling’s attitudes towards responsibility, being the first to deflect it and the last to accept it.

• Exacerbated by the word responsibilities being the last to come out of his mouth like it is physically difficult for him to even utter the word

“Nothing much has happened, haven’t I already said there’ll be a public scandal?”

ACT THREE (response to the understanding about the Inspector)

• “Scandal connotes impropriety

• Mr Birling is blindsided by his public facade of propriety to the point that he has completely missed his detrimental contribution of responsibility

• Instead of accepting his impropriety, he tries to conceal it, showing how his character has not changed morally and is stagnant.

• Mr Birling’s stagnancy pushes forward the message that capitalist beliefs stagnate society