Exam (elaborations)
GCSE AQA 'An Inspector Calls': Essay on Mr Birling.
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BirlingPresentation of Birling
How far does Mr Birling change in An Inspector Calls? Write about:
• how Mr Birling responds to his family and to the Inspector
• how Priestley presents Mr Birling by the ways he writes.
As the patriarch of the family, Birling is presented as a central character who establishes
the main ideologies of the family. We see Birling delivering speeches to the family and
extolling the importance of individualism and capitalism. He uses his power and status as
a middle class Edwardian to take advantage of his position in society and exploit the
working classes to maximise his profits. Priestley uses the construct of this character to
criticise the values of capitalism and condemn Birling for his greed. Despite the
intervention of the Inspector, we see that Birling fails to accept responsibility for his
actions, show remorse or change.
Initially, when Birling is first introduced, we Priestley depicts his as self-satisfied and
smug. Even Birling’s appearance is used to represent his deplorable characteristics.
Birling is described as ‘heavy-looking’ and ‘rather portentous’. The adjectives convey the
strength and power of capitalism, combined with the self-importance of people who
embodied these values. Priestley’s portrayal of this character exposes the self-
aggrandising mannerisms could arguably make the audience turn against him. Even the
props, cigars, port, champagne glasses, are used to be contrasted against the poverty
endured by Eva.
Significantly, Priestley uses the verbose speeches of Birling to expose his ignorance and
myopic behaviour. Set after the Second World War, we see Birling mocking the
probability of war, ‘Nobody wants war…’ The declarative highlights his ignorance.
Furthermore, the reference to the ‘Titantic’ being ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’
uses dramatic irony to make a joke at Birling’s expense and mock the arrogance of many
capitalists of the age. Therefore, when the Inspector enters Priestley has made it difficult
for the contemporary audience to side with Birling. Priestley shows Birling dominating the
engagement of his daughter and taking delight in the union as a result of him being able
to work together for ‘lower costs and higher prices’. The antithetical juxtaposition of
these aims exposes that Birling prioritises his business over his daughter and this is the
reason that the evening is ‘one of the happiest nights of his life’. The superlative
adjective exposes Birling to be greedy and mercenary.
Priestley depicts Birling as taking pride in his capitalist ideologies. We see that he refers
to himself as a “hard headed business man”. The noun phrase is used to self-aggrandise
and he is presented as boastful and arrogant. The use of the adjective ‘hard headed’
implies that Birling is resistant to change and stubborn in his ways, which could have
been seen as potentially dangerous at a time that had just experienced war.
Furthermore, Priestley mocks the ‘Bernard Shaws and HG Wellses’ dismissing them as
‘Cranks’. However, at the time it is likely that Priestley and other socialists were
increasing in popularity. Priestley, a co-founder of the Socialist Commonwealth Party,
hated ignorance and narrow-minded views of society.
Priestley uses the enigmatic character of the Inspector, who represents socialist
ideologies, to challenge the capitalist ideals of Mr Birling. Through the interrogation and
constant questioning, we are able to view the selfishness and greedy behaviour of
Birling. The Inspector is employed as a dramatic devices to challenge the hypocrisy and
flaws of Birling. Priestley, through Birling’s grandiose speech, has established to the
contemporary audience that Birling is not trustworthy; through the Inspector we can see
the cruel, repellent actions towards Eva Smith, a vulnerable working class woman. As
Birling is a construct used to represents capitalists, we can see the selfishness of the
capitalists presented through Priestley’s depiction. When Eva’s actions as the ‘ring-
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