How does Priestley present Birling in Act One, and what does this reveal about his social concerns?

   The stage directions in ‘An Inspector Calls’ help the reader get a clearer mental image of what is happening during the play. They also give subtle hints about the author and the Birling family, especially Arthur Birling. Birling is described as ‘a prosperous manufacturer’ and ‘portentous... but rather provincial’. From this, we learn that Birling is what was called a ‘New Rich’ – someone who had earned their fortune, rather than inherited it – but was also very pompous and narrow-minded. As Priestley had intended, Capitalism was also viewed in much the same way, with the audience believing that Capitalists and their ideology were bigoted and ignorant of other opinions and lifestyles.

   In ‘An Inspector Calls’, we are introduced to the type of character Birling is through his interaction with the other characters. He says to Gerald, ‘...there’s a fair chance that I might find my way into the next Honours List. Just a Knighthood, of course’. We can glean from this that Birling is obsessed with his status in the community, and always wants to appear better than he actually is. Birling also does this to the Inspector, saying ‘I was an alderman for years – and Lord Mayor two years ago’, because he wants to appear more important to the inspector, and indeed, more important than the inspector. Priestley does this to make out that Capitalists are greedy and only think of themselves; the opposite to Socialism.

   During Act One, Birling makes what he intends to be an impressive speech about wealth and power to his family, but only succeeds in giving the impression that he is very naive and dense, consequently portraying capitalism on the whole in a very bad light. Priestley uses dramatic irony to fuel the audience’s notions not only about Birling being very ignorant and rather simple, but also their notions about capitalism in general, as Birling is the representative of capitalism in ‘The Inspector Calls’.

Birling comments on the threat of war from Germany, saying nonchalantly, ‘the Germans don’t want war’. However, we as an audience – and especially the audience of 1946, rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of World War Two – know this to be false. Priestley uses this as a way of making the Socialist society of 1945 seem much better than the Capitalist one of 1912.

   In ‘An Inspector Calls’, Priestley uses Birling in a number of ways to reveal his attitudes towards Capitalism, and how he prefers the Socialist society of 1945. Priestley uses the Inspector to force the Birling’s to take responsibility for their parts in Eva’s death.