Birling Essay, Research Paper
Introduction In
this essay I will be talking about an Inspector calls. A well-written play by
J.B priestly in 1945. I will compare and contrast Inspector Goole and Authur
Birling, to do this I will talk about the characters in the play, the use of
dramatic irony which priestly uses within the play to maintain the audience?s
interests, how priestly builds up suspense where the play is set, and how the
play effects the audience. I will also be talking about the historical context.
John
Boyton Priestly wrote the play in 1945, but the actual story is set in 1912,
two years before the world war. The reason for this is to show the events which
has already happened that the audience already have knowledge of, such as the
sinking of the titanic, the outbreak of the war, this is dramatic irony. The
play ?An Inspector Calls? took two weeks for Priestly to compose, as Priestly
originally had an idea about a mysterious Inspector visiting a family. In 1944
he rediscovered his ideas for the characters of the Birling family in his
notebook, then in winter of 1944-5 he finished writing his play. There was no
London theatre available because of the 1st war performed so
priestly sent the script to Moscow where it was produced simultaneously in two
theatres in 1945. It was then produced in London the following year. John
Boyton priestly was born in Bradford in 1894 and died in 1984. He was a
socialist who believed capitalism was foolish as he represents Mr Birling to
show his hatred of the upper-class people. At them days Britain was divided
into class systems, the lower-class being the poor who worked in factorys,
cleaners,etc. and had a very little to earn in life with no way of going up a
class. The middle class being the business owners and making profit and the
upper-class being the richest. The Birling family is the middle class but MR Birling like
to think of them as upper-class as Sheila gets engaged to Gerald. Sheila is the
daughter of Authur Birling and Sybill Birling, Sheila is young and attractive,
in her early twenties and is quite impressionable. She is a sympathetic and
caring who expresses her feelings throughout the play. I think priestly uses
Sheila to keep reminding the readers of Eva?s horrible death. She is one of the
very few ?open? characters, and is able to do well as she expresses her
feelings, such as when she says, ?it?s the only time I?ve ever done anything
like that, and I?ll never do it again to anyone?. Priestly uses Sheila, to some degree, to show sensitivity
towards a girl of the lower-class. Throughout the play she is there to remind
the audience of how her family treated and spoilt the life of a young girl,
simply because she was of a lower-class. Sheila is used as a voice throughout
the play, which is obviously what priestly intended. Gerald Croft who is an attractive chap, about thirty, he
is an upper-class who?s reputation is important to him he is also uncaring
about other people in society. Eric is Sheila?s brother who is half shy and ?squiffy?
which Sheila uses to describe him. He is in his early twenties, and likes to
drink a lot. ?Could I have a drink first?? (Act three page 51) Like Sheila he
shows sympathy for Eva Smith throughout the play. ?cant blame her? Sybill Birling is about fifty she is a bit like her
husband and thinks she has a high status in society, this is shown when she
says, ?advising my committee not to allow claim for assistance.? She is uncaring and refuses to change altogether after she
finds out that the Inspector is a hoax. At the beginning of the play Sheila is selfish and excited
and eric being the same both of them are uncaring about other people while Mr,
MRs Birling and Gerald are also uncaring about lower-class people. No one knows
how they are treating the lower-class people. But at the end of play, after everyone?s guilt is revealed
for the death of Eva Smith. Everyone tries to get themselves out of trouble
while Sheila don?t, she admits her faults and appears keen and anxious to
change her behaviour in the future, ?I?ll never, never do it again?. Sheila and
Eric change and they feel sympathy for the lower-class people even though the
Inspector was a hoax while Mr, Mrs Birling and refuse to change altogether. The message conveyed to the readers is that the older
generation in this time, are only ever interested in making money and about
their position in society. Priestly shows his hatred of the behaviour and
attitudes of the ?upper-class? by choosing Mr Birling to represent such a
character. Sheila and Eric on the other hand, are left to learn from mistakes
of the older generation and ensure that they are not repeated. Authur Birling and Inspector Goole have very different
characteristics. Priestly choose Mr Birling to show that capitalism is wrong
and to show his hatred for the upper class while Priestly chooses Inspector
Goole to represent his views. Authur Birling is a ?hard headed business man? who is
heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy
manners but uses no slang only important words in his speech. Mr Birling considers himself to have a very high status in
society. He is a prosperous factory owner, a local magistrate an ex-lord mayor
of Brumley. He regards himself as being reasonable, but his first priority is
to make money ?it?s my duty to keep labour costs down? and therefore pays his
employees no more than the growing rate. He just wants his family to be
respected in society and so tries to encourage them to do things that will help
them to achieve an even higher status. For example he welcomes Gerald croft
into his family as he represents a business link between his firm and that of
Gerald?s father (a rival) He doesn?t really consider his daughters feelings
towards her marriage to Gerald, he just encourages it as he hopes that it will
unite his company with croft?s ltd, so that they can ?work together for lower
costs and higher prices?. This is why it appears that he regards his daughter?s
marriage as an advantage to his company, almost like a business arrangement.
Since Mr Birling is well aware that Geralds mother is against her son?s
marriage because she believes him to be marrying beneath him socially, he tries
to hint that he is expecting to receive a knighthood in the next honours list,
in the hope that this may ease the concern Geralds mother has, but Sheila ia
actually wanting to marry Gerald because she loves and trusts him not simply so
it will be an advantage to her fathers company. Birling is a man who likes to think no war, he thinks he?s
always right such as when he says ?Nobody wants war? he is wrong. And when he
says about the titanic that it is ?absolutely unsinkable? he?s wrong the
titanic does sink. And also when he says in 1940 ?there?ll be peace and
prosperity and rapid progress everywhere? he?s again wrong 2nd world
war is in 1940. These are number of dramatic devices that priestly uses to
maintain the audiences interest. These things will definitively happen and the
audience knows it. This is dramatic irony. Priestly is trying to say that upper-class
people are too busy making money and they don?t like to think something that
could happen. On the other hand Inspector Goole is a man in his fifties,
when he comes into the Birlings house, he was dressed in a plain darkish suit
of the period. He speaks carefully, weightily and has a habit of looking hard
at the person he addresses before actually speaking and has clever attitudes
which the characters in the play thinks that he already knows whatever they are
saying. He is a symp
responsible for each other? and is trying to have a change in society. He
thinks there should be no class systems and everyone should be equal but Mr
Birling is completely opposite, he don?t care about lower-class people, he?s
just interested in making money for himself and his position in society.
Priestly wants the upper-class people to know how life is for the working-class
as he represents Eva Smith to do it ?both her parents were dead, so that she?d
no home to go back to and she hadn?t been able to save much out of what Birling
and company had paid her.? As priestly uses the Inspector to tell the
character?s in the play how life was for the lower-class people, priestly also
gives the audience a message. ?one Eva Smith has gone-but there are millions and
millions and millions of Eva Smiths and john Smiths still left with us?
(Inspector, act three page 57) The Inspector tries to teach the Birling family a lesson
about lower-class people by concerning everyone about Eva Smith?s suicide.
While doing this JB priestly also tries to teach the audience a lesson. Before the Inspector and Mr Birling actually first meet,
Mr Birling don?t seem to care, he probably feels he has nothing to fear because
of his high status and contacts, first he and Gerald joke about the reasons for
the Inspectors visit ?a joke really? (Gerald says, act one, page 10) But Mr
Birlings reaction changes when the Inspector begins questioning. When the Inspector and Mr Birling first meet, Mr Birling
starts of in his usual manner and begins talking about his jobs in community
and that he knows the brumley police officers very well. ?I was an alderman for
years and lord mayor two years ago- and iam still on the bench, so I know the
Brumley police officers pretty well? He says that to warn the Inspector that the knows many
people very well and he had dealings with other Inspectors before. So the
Inspector wont take things too far what ever Mr Birlings done wrong but the
Inspector don?t seem to care. ?id like some information, if you don?t mind?. The Inspector and Mr Birling seem to have few similarities
as it is shown throughout the play such as their speech, they both uses
important words not slang. But Mr Birling talks business and believes in hat he
says whereares the Inspector talks serious and knows what he?s talking about
and shows sympathy for Eva Smith but Mr Birling don?t show a bit of sympathy
throughout the play. When the Inspector reveals how Eva Smith commit suicide,
and how this was in some way elated to Mr Birling, Mr Birling refuses to accept
his responsibility and thinks that he has an honest approach to life. He once
tries to impress the Inspector by telling him about Geralds dads company ?you
know crofts limited? but as the play goes on the Inspector seems to hate the
upper-class businessmen such as Mr Birling. Mr Birling tries to justify his actions by telling the
Inspector about his refusal to listen to to Eva?s request for a wage rise ?I
refused of course? and seems genuinely surprised when the Inspector questions
his actions ?did you say why?? Mr Birling seems offended by the Inspectors
questioning and also a little bemused at the Inspectors tone of voice. He shows
how he thinks very few people are at his business level and so very few can understand
his actions. He points out yet again that he knows the chief constable. Mr
Birling mentions that he is friend with the Inspectors chief constable to
almost threaten the Inspector, although the Inspector seems to ignore this
fact. When the Inspector begins to question Mr Birling his
attitudes quickly changes. He becomes impatient with the Inspectors subsequent
questioning and again reminds the Inspector of his position in society. Throughout the play the Inspector and Mr Birling are
actually threatening each other, Mr Birling giving threats by talking about his
contacts and his position in society (but the Inspector isn?t getting scared)
while the Inspector threatening Mr Birling in his tone of voice and saying how
he?s a suspect of Eva Smiths suicide. This is shown in act three page 51 when
the Inspector says to Mr Birling ?she wanted twenty-five shillings a week
instead of twenty-two and sixpence. You made her pay a heavy price for that.
And now she?ll make you pay a heavier price still.? This shows the Inspector is
giving threats to Mr Birling ?she?ll make you pay a heavier price still.? And
Mr Birling getting unhappy and scared. He is in his usual manner about money
?look Inspector I?d give thousands-yes thousands? but the Inspector don?t mean
money ?you?re offering money at the wrong time?.what the Inspector mean by
saying this is, that ?Eva Smiths gone? and Mr Birling ?can?t do her any good
now? by paying the money. Before the Inspector leaves, JB priestly gives a
strong a message to the audience by using the Inspector to represent it, as
priestly uses Eva Smith as a lower-class girl and how an upper-class family all
helped to destroy her life, priestly says that although ?one Eva Smiths has
gone but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John
Smiths still left with us? and ?their lives, their hopes and fears, their
suffering and chance of happiness, all interwined? with the upper-class peoples
lives. And younger generation such as Sheila and Eric has to learn from the
older generations and make sure their mistakes are never repeated, while the
older generation such as Mr Birling will always be interested in making money
and will never alter their ways.Conclusion? ?Authur Birling and
Inspector Goole have very different characteristics. JB priestly choose Mr
Birling to show his hatred of the upper-class while he uses the Inspector to
represent his own views so priestly don?t make the Inspectors character very
much other than a socialist and a ?mysterious Inspector? (shown in an
introduction of ?An Inspectors Calls) Throughout the play Mr Birling and Inspector Goole are
actually threatening each other, Mr Birling is giving the Inspector threats by
telling him, while the Inspector giving threats by including Mr Birling as a
suspect of Eva Smiths suicide who started her ?chain of events?, it?s almost
like priestly he himself arguing with a capitalist who he hates, as he uses the
Inspector to represent it. Mr Birling and the Inspector seem to have few
similarities, such as their speech, they both has important words in their
speech and uses no such slang. But Mr Birling usually talks business and
believes in whatever he himself says although the Inspector knows exactly what
he?s talking about. Throughout the play priestly uses dramatic devices to
maintain the audiences interests, such as who was the Inspector, priestly makes
the audience think all through the play that, who exactly is the Inspector,
priestly makes the Inspector a ?mysterious Inspector? (introduction) Other dramatic devices which are used is, the photo, is it
the same, how is everything linked in the ?chain of events? and the setting of
the play which is all in a dining room with rosy lighting (romantic and happy
atmosphere) but changes as the Inspector steps in (?mysterious Inspector?) JB priestly also uses dramatic irony in the play, such as
when Mr Birling says ?no one wants war? and there?ll be peace all over the
world in 1940. As well as when Mr Birling talks about the titanic that it?s
?absolutely unsinkable?. These are number of things that Mr Birling says where he?s
completely wrong. The audience knows it, priestly off course does this
purposely as he continues to make a fool out off capitalism. ?? ? ?????????????? ? ?