This character appears to be quite willing to part with money if it keeps him up with the latest fad or designer accessory.
We find later on in the play that Mr Birling believes he is due for a knighthood. Generally, most people would be just happy if they were in this position, but he actually finds it as important because it would guarantee his social position.
'I have an idea that your Mother - Lady Croft - while she doesn't object to my girl feels you might have done better for yourself socially.'
Gerald's parents are upper class aristocracy and in that social circle, it is all in a name. The aristocracy hold a title which is inherited and the only other way to receive one, is to be given it by the government or monarchy. Thus Mr Birling finds the knighthood important, as it is a title. A title to say, 'if the government can accept me, surely you can too.' He has the money, the wife, the expectant son-in-law but the knighthood would be the icing on the cake. He means that when he becomes a 'Sir' Birling, he would be one of them and Gerald's parents would not have to feel ashamed, but proud that their son has married well.
'When you marry, you'll be marrying at a very good time…there's a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the near future. Don't worry. We've passed the worst of it. We employers are coming together at last to see that our interests - and the interests of Capital - are properly protected. And we're in a time of steadily increasing prosperity.'
Here we discover traits of the hard-nosed businessman, to protect a factor of industry and commerce - money!
How one could get from marriage, the join of love to business is hard to imagine. However, it's not if you are like Birling and you treat marriage as a convenient business arrangement. To Birling, love and affection are simply a bonus. Mr Birling seems to think that workers are like cattle. Herd them up and pull them tight - then they won't go astray and get wild ideas.
During the dinner party, Mrs Birling hands her daughter, Sheila some advice.
'When you're married, you'll realise that men with important work to do, sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business. You'll have to get used to that, just as I had.'
We learn that later on in the play that Gerald had an illicit affair with Daisy Renton. He used the excuse of working late to cover this up. Mrs Birling knows that men have to work late but she also doesn't go into it much and appears to be hiding something. Perhaps she has been through this before and Mr Birling has had an affair?
Mr Birling does seem to present a certain air of power and control over his family. He has influenced his wife to say something that puts herself down as a woman. Her comment after all is hardly a plight for women's rights to be treated equally. Mr Birling is a man and this play was set during an era of absolute male dominance and the Birling's represented this 'male-friendly society.' Mrs Birling doesn't seem to want to change this because she has been taught this growing up and her husband has reinforced this idea of male superiority. Mr Birling placed most of his attention and regard on his business, thus he had not been as lovingly open to his wife as he could have been and now he has influenced her view on all men and marriage. In a chain reaction, he has taught his family that men are very important and women are primarily there to support them when needed.
'Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, or a few German officers have to much to drink and begin talking nonsense, you'll hear some people say that war's inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks! The Germans don't want war, except some half-civilised folks in the Balkans. And war? There's too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.'
This was his first view or belief, which has gone terribly erroneous and has contained verisimilitude.
He conveys his ignorance that prosperity doesn't mean that war is never going to happen. He doesn't understand that some people want more than money, they may want something that money cannot buy. To say 'nobody' wants war is a very powerful and striking statement. He appears to be quite a clumsy man who says things without thinking first. He seems to believe that just because he thinks it won't happen, it won't happen! By this we can assume that he is a man with a hint of arrogance, he lives in a closed society which is black and white. A closed world where everything is simple, everyone has the one goal in life, financial prosperity and everything is seen from a 2D prospective, flat and plain with no complications. He is arrogant because he believes in himself so much that he believes he is always right.
However, this is not completely awful for a person's personality because a person may simply be naive. Then again he is more of an optimist than a pessimist, after all when some people say something won't happen, they really mean that they hope it won't happen.
When Mr Birling's son appears to comment on his Fathers statement of war, it is just one of many occasions where he treats his progeny like very young children.
'Just listen Eric, you've got a lot to learn yet.'
'I say there isn´t a chance of war. The worlds developing so fast that it'll make war impossible.'
In this we learn that when Mr Birling presents his views, he is very adamant. It is yet another example where he says things without care because surely nothing is impossible when war is concerned.
'And look at the way the auto-mobiles making headway - bigger and faster all the time. And then ships. The Titanic - she sails next week - forty six thousand eight hundred tonnes - forty six thousand eight hundred tonnes - New York in five days - and every luxury - and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.'
Arthur Birling thinks like a stereotypical male or I could be looking at it from hindsight. Moreover, he has a very strong masculine way of thinking - bigger, faster and better. Male society has a fascination about size, bigger of course been better!
The Titanic was another piece of history that did the reverse of what Birling said and this time he has dramatically 'put his foot in it.' The rumours say bureaucracy had a huge part in causing it to sink - money was the agenda ahead of lives. Mostly the poor funded the Titanic's sumptuous interior and maiden voyage, yet they were treated the worse. Britain became prosperous and dynamic in the industrial age through the help of sweatshops, yet the workers were treated terribly. Mr Birling works in a similar way, he is part of the bureaucracy and like it played a part in peoples fate on the Titanic, he played a part in Eva Smiths fate.
'In 1940 - you maybe giving a little party like this - your son or daughter might be getting engaged - and I tell you by that time, you'' be living in a world of Capital versus Labour agitation's and without all those silly little war scares. There'll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere - except of course in Russia, which will always be behindhand naturally.'
He seems to be an upstart but only when it suits him. He also seems to be blatantly prejudice or even xenophobic towards Russia and its people.
He is very confident and when he states things, he says it in a manner that says, 'what I say, goes.' Everything he claims will eventually go wrong. Although we don't know whether Gerald and Sheila will get back together after all the fiasco, let alone have children.
Birling is a man whom believes that people, such as his workers who are locking for a better deal in life are just traitors if you will. Traitors who oppose progress for their country, to him they stir up trouble and create unwanted publicity.
'We can't let these Bernard Shaws and H G Wellses do all the talking. We hard-headed businessmen must say something sometime.'
We learn from this that Birling doesn't like these two authors because they were two men who opposed Capitalist ideals and unlike Birling, did not believe it was the only way forward. His dislike comes from the fact that they were socialist visionaries who sympathised with the poor - workers. The same poor people who tried to eject a little money from Birling.
'You'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense. But take my word for it, you youngsters - and I've learnt in the good hard school of experience - that a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and -'
It is not a crime to be a competitive businessman, which he is, but it has formed his judgement on society. He knows that he has to look after number one - himself, because who else is going to do it? When one is ambitious and competitive with a will to win, you don't look after or help others because this will slow your progress and drag you down.
It is very significant that the Inspector arrives and rings the doorbell at this precise moment during Mr Birling's aggressive speech against the community and promotion of the individual.
It is as if the writer is thinking, 'right, you've had your say now it's my turn,' in the form of the Inspector though maybe. It stops Mr Birling dead in his tracks and shows that the writer can stop him and show him up at anytime he wants to, because Mr Birling isn't as powerful as he thinks he is. I have actually noticed that throughout the rest of the play, Mr Birling actually never goes back to this subject of downgrading a closer society. Then of course there is the rather more obvious theory, where a man who believes so much more in the community and the rights of the individual is just stopping Mr Birling from spouting any further 'Capitalist nonsense' possibly.
'Perhaps I ought to warn you that he's an old friend of mine, and I see him fairly frequently.'
When the inspector criticises Birling about the strike at the factory, he turns on the offensive. Arthur Birling doesn't like appraisal especially from others considered lower than himself on the social scale. When his motives or values are questioned, he doesn't hesitate to use threats whether the person threatened is an inspector or his son.
'Look here, Inspector, I consider this uncalled for and officious. I've half a mind to report you. I've told you all I know and it doesn't seem to me as being very important - and now there isn't the slightest reason why my daughter should be dragged into this unpleasant business.'
Mr Birling reveals a side of him that is hypocritical, after all he is officious as well. However, when he has tried to order his authority around to the Inspector, it hasn't worked and instead shown his easily frustrated nature. The business is only unpleasant because it shows his true colours.
He is a man who considers his daughter as still a young child and a piece of his property.
The writer has made us feel cold and annoyed about Mr Birling. We know that he is selfish, narrow-minded and rarely listens to others. However, he is also very confident and I believe that is a good thing but only as long as it doesn't verge on arrogance.
'You're the one I blame for this.'
This is a truly shocking statement from Arthur Birling, he says this to Eric, immediately after Inspector Goole has given a final righteous speech before leaving. After Sheila and Eric have accepted responsibility for some part in the cause of the girl's suicide, Birling turns round and shows he isn't ready and mature enough to do the same. He does what a child may do, dishing the blame on to the next immediate person, perhaps to ease the guilty off himself. He is not a man who is able to learn things like Sheila or Eric, he doesn't want to know aboiut new ideas or new values, as soon as the Inspector leaves he immediatel;y tries to get out of the situation. He is angry but he knows what he is saying. However, it makes it worse because he is blaming his own son.
Mr Birling is a very selfish man, a man who doesn't really know his son at all.
'Yes, I know - but still -'
'Just let me finish Eric…'
He hasn't tried to listen to him at all throughout the play often telling Eric off for supposedly interrupting his great long lectures, in effect he doesn't care about what his son thinks let alone why his son may think in that way.
'Yes, and you don't realise yet all you've done. Most of this is bound to come out. There'll be a public scandal.'
Mr Birling here conveys his self-obsession and becomes rather frantic about what other people will think of him and his public image. He doesn't want his reputation destroyed.
'You! You don't seem to dare about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List - '
He is again being a hypocrite, he cares about a titles medal but not a young girls life, most certainly because she was a lower-class worker, and she tried to defy him.
Mr Birling is used as a plot device in effect, allowing the author to pick out certain things distinct to the character to attack. The whole play is really just about the author wanting to teach 'Mr Birling' and others like him that there is more to life than a prosperous bank account and a desire to be a status symbol. We can presume that the author is probably left wing because of the way he presents Mr Birling in such a negative light. The author also seemed to poke fun at him, making him appear as a fool through the way he has made Birling talk so confidently and defiantly about major world events, which then showed him up as an audacious man who actually just gets things totally and utterly wrong.
By the end of the play, you know that Mr Birling is a man of upper/middle class background and ideals, he is a stereotypical 'Conservative' voter with very strong Capitalist ideas as well. So in a way the author has tried to represent all these right wing values in this character, Mr Birling in order for him to find flaws in people and notions like him, so the play is used as a means to attacking these values.
The play couldn't have been written as a realist story, because it is full of overdone, common examples of people etc like stereotypes. Therefore the character of Mr Birling must have been placed into the story for a particular purpose like I've already mentioned. As well as that the writer surfaces as a man who is politically motivated. He perhaps views the problems and blemishes in society and believes successful, powerful businessmen like Mr Birling cause most of these problems. The types of characters who drive their operations to the limit pushing and squeezing as much as they can get out of it, at the expense of their workers, such as Eva Smith. Our own view of the perfect personality, caring, kind, gentle etc, is absolutely contrary to what Mr Birling is like, he doesn't appear to be a very loving husband let alone a compassionate Father.
Mr Birling is an old fashioned man with old-fashioned values, but not too old fashioned I presume for that particular period. Although he is a man who fears for his image and the way others view him. Mr Birling seems to protect himself with this brave image like a knight in armour and all the Inspector has done upon his visit to the family, is to gradually break away at this armour piece by piece, until you are left with the naked Birling - the real Arthur Birling. He is very vain, arrogant and ignorant of others. You could even go as far as to say, he is a subtle but highly obvious symbol of many flaws in society and the populace.