Hello Everyone,
Hope you are having a great day.
Today, I would like to talk about Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls
Character Description
Arthur Birling is a "fairly prosperous" manufacturer and a family man with a wife and 2 children. He is quite large in width and middle aged. Birling is known as the starter of the downwards spiral of Eva Smith. Birling sees women as cheap labour rather than real people. He is quite a selfish man and thinks the idea of community togetherness is RUBBISH!
Key Actions
- Says war will never happen (WW1 started not long after the setting of this play)
- Says the Titanic is "Unsinkable" (It sank on it's first voyage)
- Says they are getting married at a good time (Getting married at a terrible time. Strikes, war, rations and death)
- Says that Gerald Croft could have found someone better than Sheila Birling (his own daughter)
- Dismisses Eva Smith for causing a strike, where women were asking for more pay
- Tells Sheila off, like a little child ("Run along")
- Finds out that they've been "had" by Inspector Goole
- Finds out that a girl really did die in the infirmary and that another police inspector was on his way to ask questions
Priestley's use of Arthur Birling
Priestley uses "dramatic irony" with Arthur Birling, to make his positive attitude towards the future seem stupid and short-sighted. As the audience and the writer know all of the predictions made by him are all wrong ("the Germans don't want war. Nobody wants war." ‘The titanic- she sails next week’-‘Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’) . This helps J.B. Priestley put his opinion across about how social class is wrong as it shows that Mr Birling isn't any cleverer than people from different social classes or any better than people from lower classes. Also, when he makes a point about community being rubbish , people already know that he has been extremely wrong before. Now the audience are lead to believe not to trust his opinion as he has already made himself out to be a fool.
Role
Arthur Birling is a successful businessman who is well known and well respected in the town of Brumley. He is head of his own company (Birling and Company) and is head of the Birling household.
Mr Birling is the one that starts off Eva Smith's stroke of misfortune when he discharged her from his factory for starting a strike with his employees asking for more pay.
His character likes being in control and he is constantly reminding others of this.
Mr Birling changes
Mr Birling does not change by the end of the play. He refuses to learn from his mistakes and take on board the inspector's lesson. As a result, the play ends with the phone ringing again and the announcement that "a girl had died in the infirmary". Priestley's message is to warn the audience of the dangers of not learning the lessons of social responsibility themselves.
Key Quotes
Act 1
"Fiddlesticks! The Germans don't want war. Nobody wants war."
"The Titanic she sails next week"-"Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
"I was an alderman for years - and lord mayor two years - and I'm still on the bench - So I know the Brumley officers pretty well." (Trying to intimidate the inspector)
"She was one of my employees and then I discharged her."
"If you don't come down hard on some of these people they'd soon be asking of the Earth."
"Nothing to do with you, Sheila. Run along." (Patronising)
Act 2
(to Mrs Birling) "what's the matter with that child?" (Patronising)
"I'm a public man." (trying to intimidate Inspector Goole - doesn't work)
"I must say Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquest it isn't going to do us much good. The press might easily take it up."
Act 3
"I've got to cover this up as soon as I can." (only thinking about family reputation)
"You! You don't seem to care about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next honours list." (Arrogance)
"We've been had, that's all." (foolish and unaware)
"That was the police. A girl has just died - on her way to the infirmary."
Thanks For Reading
Matthew