Mr Birling

At the start, Mr Birling is a wealthy, confident businessman who cares about money and status
He celebrates Sheila’s engagement and tries to impress Gerald
He gives a speech about self-resilience and says the Titanic is “unsinkable” (dramatic irony)
He refuses to take responsibility for Eva Smith’s sacking
He argues with the Inspector and rejects the idea of social responsibility
Even after hearing the story, he only cares about avoiding scandal and protecting his reputation
At the end, he is relieved when he thinks it was a hoax (a trick made to deceive people) and hasn’t changed at all

“A man has to mind his own business and look after himself” - shows his selfish, capitalist views; rejects social responsibility
“unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” - referring to the Titanic; dramatic irony makes him seem foolish and over confident
“The Germans don’t want war” - another example of dramatic irony; shows he is naïve
“if you don’t come down sharply on some of these people they’d soon be asking for the earth” - he looks down on the working class; shows lack of empathy
“I cant accept any responsibility” - he refuses to admit guilt; contrasts with characters who do change
“ There’s evert excuse for what your mother and I did” - he justifies his actions instead of learning from them