I think that the start of Mr Birlings toast was very nice he was congratulating them and saying that it was the happiest night of his life and because Gerald and Sheila are together it means a tremendous lot to him but by the end it’s more like a business transaction with Mr Birling wanting himself and Gerald’s Father to merge both their company’s together but he only wants to do this because Crofts has a higher social life than Birling and Company and he wants them to combine and share their fortune.
Furthermore, a quote in the play which shows that Mr Birling is trying to state that the likeliness of war happening is virtually nothing. He has invented his own way of believing life. For example he believed that the Titanic was unsinkable from what he had heard or from what was said and that there was going to be no World War 1. These are typical examples of irony.
“I Say there isn’t a chance of war, the worlds developing so fast it’ll make war impossible”
This quote shows that whatever he says is right when Arthur and Eric are talking about war Mr Birling says that the Germans don’t want war and that there’s too much at stake for them to even think about starting a war such as air travel, automobiles and ships climbing up on the market. He claims he knows that these are cold hard facts and that he’s right but in the next couple of years he will find out that these facts are wrong.
Next, Mr Birling shows he is big headed in this next quote, at the beginning of the play Arthur hints to Gerald, that he will soon be knighted, this will make him Sir Arthur Birling because he was part of the political party thus awarding him of his knighthood but when the inspector arrives and informs him about the death of young Eva Smith his attitude starts to change.
“Theres a fair chance that I might find my way into the new honours list.”
Mr Birling grows concerned when Inspector Goole starts questioning him about Eva’s death but throughout the play I wasn’t able to tell if he was more worried about the death of Eva and the consequences that he will be faced with or whether he is more concerned about his knighthood this shows a side of greed and that he is only bothered about himself and what happens to himself and his family.
Moving on, a quote that shows that Mr Birling is a very snobbish and arrogant man and only wants whats best for himself and his family and that everyone else can just look after themselves but what Mr Birling doesn’t understand is that there is more than just himself and his family in the world.
“A man has to make his own way, has to look after himself and his family too of course, when he has one you’d think everybody had to look after everybody else. Nonsense”
This shows to the reading audience he doesn’t understand that everybody is here for everybody and that if everyone looks after each other and respects each other then the world would be a happier place but Mr Birling is trying to deny the fact that this is true or that he doesn’t care either way he is proving to be a really selfish man.
Also, I think that this is the best quote in the play it shows that the Inspector is standing up and telling this stubborn family the true facts and it makes the family think about things and surprisingly Mr Birling decides to listen and realises a number of things.
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”
This shows that the Inspector can’t listen to them talking about how they are more important and that they feel they are not responsible for anyone else but themselves when the inspector talks about if men can’t learn their lesson now they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish this means that they will be taught it through some sort of fighting or in this sence war. If you remember earlier I stated that Arthur Birling was adimint that there wasn’t going to be a war because their was no need for the Germans to start one well this has shown him that beyond the 4 walls of his dining room in which the characters are situated there is a world out there where loads of different things are happening and if he had managed to think about others for onceit would have been addressed to him in such a way as this.
Finally, at the end of the play when Inspector Goole disappears and the Birling family are still baffled by what they have been hit with they receive a phone call which completely changes everything and shocks them but also makes them think about what they have just encountered.
“ That was the police. A girl has just died-on her way to the Infirmary-after swallowing some disinfectant. And a police inspector is on his way here – to ask some – questions –“
This quote shows that the family are just staring at each lost and mixed up with what has just happened, what I thought about was the possiblitlies that the Inspector may not be real he could be a figment of the Birling familys imagination after all they had been drinking and with them being highly emotional it is possible. Also It is debated by some people that he could be a ghost due to his surname Inspector Goole using the word for a ghost “Ghoul” but lastly as the play ends it shows Mr Arthur Birling getting a phone call from the police and he finds out that a girl has commited suicide in the exact same way the inspector described to them but because she only died a little while before this phone call the inspector couldn’t have known this.
In conclusion, “An Inspector Calls” by J.B Priestley was a play based on trust and responsibility and taking responsibility for your own actions and centres around an upper class family just before World War 1. A scene in the play was all about the engagement celebration party for Mr Birling’s daughter, Sheila. To the audience everyone seems to be having fun and enjoying themselves and they are excited for their future together but tension begins to rise when Mr Birling realises that Gerald Croft’s parents aren’t at the dinner and we never find out during the story why they are not present, however this poem has uncovered various attitudes and personal sides to each character and thus making it a satisfying read.
