An Inspector Calls: Characters

Page 1

Mr. Arthur Birling

Key Quotations:

"I'm talking to you as a hard-headed practical man of business"

"You'll hear some people say war is inevitable... fiddlesticks!"

"The Titanic - she sails next week... and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."

"I gather there's a very good chance of a knighthood"

"A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself - and his family too, of course"

"(rather impatiently) Horrid business. But I don't understand why you should come here"

"You'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up like bees in a hive- community and all that nonsense"

"I was an alderman for years - and Lord Mayor two years ago - and I'm still on the bench - so I know the Brumley police officers pretty well"

"There's every excuse for what your mother and I did"

"Probably a socialist or some sort of crank"

"Now look at the pair of them - the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can't even take a joke"

Key Language & Structural Features:

Dramatic Irony

Long monologues

His language is also very dismissive when he says "Fiddlesticks!" and "silly" - he belittles other's ideas.

Exclamatory sentence - he's passionate and convinced about what he's saying.

Titanic Symbolism - A metaphor of his family - believes they are untouchable until the Inspector arrives, giving them a rude awakening.

His language changes when the Inspector arrives as he speaks in short, sharp fragments and dashes

His language becomes colloquial - "y'know" which conveys his authority being broken down and slight inferiority to his wife as his 'social superior'

He often uses 'I' which shows his selfish attitude, however begins to use the inclusive pronoun 'We' as the play progresses to shift the blame and diminish the scale of the problem.

He uses understatement - "it would be very awkward now wouldn't it?"

He uses euphemisms when referring to taboo subjects

Priestley's ideas

Priestley uses Birling as a symbol of callous (insensitivity) and heartlessness of capitalism. Through his character, he criticizes the complacency of capitalist prosperity.

He is a representation of the older generation who are intransigent (unwilling to change)

However, he is represented as a realistic character through the use of colloquial language. Furthermore, he is described as 'panic stricken' which indicates his defiance and bravado has been shattered. This let's the audience know that he is so blindly wrong and cannot control situations as he would like people to think, therefore the audience is invited to sympathy.

Page 2

Mrs Birling

Key Quotations:

"About fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior"

"girls of that class"

"you know, my husband was Lord Mayor only two years ago and he's still a magistrate"

"I'm very sorry. But I think she only had herself to blame"

"I've done nothing wrong and you know it"

"Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility"

"She was giving herself ridiculous airs ... claiming elaborate fine feelings ... that were simply absurd in a girl in that position"

"As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!"

"I'm so sorry she should have come to such a horrible end. But I accept no blame at all"

"he ought to be dealt with very severely ... make sue that he's compelled to confess publicly his responsibility"

"he certainly didn't make me confess - I had done no more than my duty"

Key Language and Structural Features

The stage descriptions of her actions change as the pretence (something not true is true) is revealed e.g. 'grandly' / 'haughtily' / 'triumphantly' become 'rather cowed' / 'distressed' / 'staggered' / 'alarmed'.

Mrs Birling's language is quite abrupt and dismissive: 'that class' / 'that sort' / 'the type'. She believes she is morally and socially superior to them - she is stubborn d a snob.

Later in the play Mr's Birling's language is broken up into fragments that don't connect: 'No Eric - please'. The fragmented speech echoes the collapsing self-confidence of this wealthy, middle class family. It also contrasts with how she was at the beginning of meeting the inspector and may evoke the break down in their relationship.

Mrs Birling uses Imperatives (authoritative language) as she commands the Inspector and other characters which conveys her superiority, confidence and self-assurance.

Puts on a pretence of respectability by the use of euphemisms : e.g. 'a girl of that class ' who has found herself in a 'particular condition'

Use of imagery: Sheila warns her mother not to try and build up a kind of 'wall' - the wall being a symbol of a barrier/pretence.

Priestley's Ideas

Priestley uses Mrs Birling to epitomize (sum up) all that is wrong with society. She represents the social snobbery and hypocrisy of the upper class and shows no remorse in her cruel treatment of Eva Smith.

Priestley presents her as an absurd character that ironically passes her own social guilty onto her own son- condemning Eric. Priestley deals with Mrs Birling with special severity , having her fall into a trap of her own making; her son being a heavy drinker and murdering her own grandson, only here does she begin to show weakness.

Priestley shows the audience that we should not trust the wealthy members of society to tell the truth.