Mr Birling key quotations and analysis
“Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” (Referring to the Titanic) Act One
- Here, Priestly is using dramatic irony to show the audience how silly and witless Birling is.
- Symbolically, just as the Titanic is destined to sink, so too is Birling's political ideology, under the
inspector's interrogation.
- Priestly presents Birling as being vacuous by using the quote "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
- At this point in the play, Birling is talking about the Titanic. Although the book was produced in
1946, it was set in the spring of 1912.
- the audience of 1946 know what's coming & it's not what Birling claims will happen.
- The use of the adverb "absolutely" infers that Birling thinks he is always right and is sure of it.
- Older generations are short-sighted, like the older Birlings, who only believe one thing.
- Foreshadowing that the older generation won't change their viewpoint
“everything to lose and nothing to gain by war"
- 'Everything' and "nothing" are vague pronouns, showing Birling is ignorant about specific worldly
knowledge.
- 'War': dramatic irony of WWI and II events, both nave and accurate. Britain gained anything from
going to war?
- 'Loss' and "gain" juxtapose one another. can be linked to the loss of life-Eva and soldiers in WW1-2.
- verb: 'gain' has connotations of wealth and status; it is all about consumerism with Mr. Birling.
Always looking for a way to gain an advantage.
"And I'm talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business”
- Mr. Birling is confident that there will not be a war. His arrogance and complacency are made very
clear.
- The audience, knowing that just two years after this speech, World War One would begin,
- The audience will see that Mr. Birling is wrong on this point, and the audience will lose trust in him
as a character.
- Alliteration shows confidence.
, Mrs Birling key quotations and analysis
"Girls of that class"
- Girls, as one group with no individuality, believe they are not worthy of their individual title and
unique identity because they belong to the lower class.
- Condescending, dismissive tone as she immediately views herself as socially and morally superior
to them
- This contrasts with the fact that she sits on the committee that supports people like Eva/Daisy - she
clearly does this not to help, but to enhance her reputation.
"...I did nothing I'm ashamed of..."
- "Ashamed" denotes reluctance to accept guilt through fear of judgement.
- Reluctance presents Mrs. B as a stubborn, cold woman who is looking out for herself implying that
she struggles to see her own wrongdoings and sees them as minor blunders.
- "Nothing" shows that she refuses to take responsibility for actions, as admissions could potentially
damage the reputation of a charitable woman.
- -Feels no shame at putting herself and the reputation of herself and her family in front of the
welfare of others.
“He’s only a boy”
- Boy is juxtaposed as Eric is a man, so the noun connotes youth, lack of maturity, and responsibility.
- Nurturing and protecting Eric, she wants him to stay young, as she understands the difficulties of
the adult world.
- Boy conjures up the binary polar opposite of a girl, emphasising Mrs B's imbalanced views on
expectations of boys and girls
- Disempowering Eric, making him seem innocent and infantilising him to show the Inspector he
wasn't aware of the actions and it was just an accident.
- The upper class attempt to absolve themselves of situations that could tarnish their reputation.
Context
her namesake (a sybil) from Greek myths were famous for their gifts of prophecy (ability to see the
future) however Mrs birling uses her namesake ironically as she is deliberately blind and ignorant
“Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” (Referring to the Titanic) Act One
- Here, Priestly is using dramatic irony to show the audience how silly and witless Birling is.
- Symbolically, just as the Titanic is destined to sink, so too is Birling's political ideology, under the
inspector's interrogation.
- Priestly presents Birling as being vacuous by using the quote "unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable."
- At this point in the play, Birling is talking about the Titanic. Although the book was produced in
1946, it was set in the spring of 1912.
- the audience of 1946 know what's coming & it's not what Birling claims will happen.
- The use of the adverb "absolutely" infers that Birling thinks he is always right and is sure of it.
- Older generations are short-sighted, like the older Birlings, who only believe one thing.
- Foreshadowing that the older generation won't change their viewpoint
“everything to lose and nothing to gain by war"
- 'Everything' and "nothing" are vague pronouns, showing Birling is ignorant about specific worldly
knowledge.
- 'War': dramatic irony of WWI and II events, both nave and accurate. Britain gained anything from
going to war?
- 'Loss' and "gain" juxtapose one another. can be linked to the loss of life-Eva and soldiers in WW1-2.
- verb: 'gain' has connotations of wealth and status; it is all about consumerism with Mr. Birling.
Always looking for a way to gain an advantage.
"And I'm talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business”
- Mr. Birling is confident that there will not be a war. His arrogance and complacency are made very
clear.
- The audience, knowing that just two years after this speech, World War One would begin,
- The audience will see that Mr. Birling is wrong on this point, and the audience will lose trust in him
as a character.
- Alliteration shows confidence.
, Mrs Birling key quotations and analysis
"Girls of that class"
- Girls, as one group with no individuality, believe they are not worthy of their individual title and
unique identity because they belong to the lower class.
- Condescending, dismissive tone as she immediately views herself as socially and morally superior
to them
- This contrasts with the fact that she sits on the committee that supports people like Eva/Daisy - she
clearly does this not to help, but to enhance her reputation.
"...I did nothing I'm ashamed of..."
- "Ashamed" denotes reluctance to accept guilt through fear of judgement.
- Reluctance presents Mrs. B as a stubborn, cold woman who is looking out for herself implying that
she struggles to see her own wrongdoings and sees them as minor blunders.
- "Nothing" shows that she refuses to take responsibility for actions, as admissions could potentially
damage the reputation of a charitable woman.
- -Feels no shame at putting herself and the reputation of herself and her family in front of the
welfare of others.
“He’s only a boy”
- Boy is juxtaposed as Eric is a man, so the noun connotes youth, lack of maturity, and responsibility.
- Nurturing and protecting Eric, she wants him to stay young, as she understands the difficulties of
the adult world.
- Boy conjures up the binary polar opposite of a girl, emphasising Mrs B's imbalanced views on
expectations of boys and girls
- Disempowering Eric, making him seem innocent and infantilising him to show the Inspector he
wasn't aware of the actions and it was just an accident.
- The upper class attempt to absolve themselves of situations that could tarnish their reputation.
Context
her namesake (a sybil) from Greek myths were famous for their gifts of prophecy (ability to see the
future) however Mrs birling uses her namesake ironically as she is deliberately blind and ignorant
