How far does Priestley presents Mr Birling as a man who only cares for himself and his family?

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English Literature essay

How far does Priestley present Mr Birling as a man who only cares for himself and his family?

An Inspector Calls is a post war, enigmatic morality play in which Mr birling is an essential character; he is a resentful emblem of an individualistic, capitalist state which Priestley strongly believes requires urgent dismantling. This depiction of Mr Birling as callous,prideful and self-centred character enables the audience to criticise Birling’s beliefs and ideas and by extension, the beliefs enshrined by capitalism. Mr Birling is a  symbol of caricature so Priestley can advertise his own socialist views in post-war Britain.

In the exposition of An Inspector calls, Priestley effortlessly amalgamates assertive language with juxtaposition to introduce Mr Birling as an injudicious character with negligible concern for the working class. This is clearly illustrated when Mr Birling proudly states the idea of ‘lower costs and higher prices’. Automatically it is evident to the audience Mr birling’s desire for higher price show that his overall business objective is to lessen costs and this conveys that he cares prioritises profit over his staff welfare as he distinctly shows no regard for the effect of lowering the staff’s wages; seeing them as no more than ‘cheap labour’. This deliberately demonstrates he is an exploitative capitalist character as he is wrongly taking advantage of his staff who have no employment rights, in fact he is proud of his poor treatment of the workers hoping it will lead him to a time when ‘Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but working together’. Moreover this disdainful attitude towards his workers clearly illustrates his lack of compassion and respect for the working class and instead he exaggerates the notion that he is an individualistic man who believes that ‘ a man has to look after himself’. This reveals to the audience of Mr Birling's selfish and wealth-orientated values and we as the audience are immediately urged by Priestley to question Mr Birling’s capitalist views as it is evident that his inhumane treatment of the working class will only further the class divisions within society. The emphasis of the word ‘lower’ clearly gives the impression that Mr Birling is a self-centered character who is continually striving for better profit which will only correspond by reducing cost further that which they currently stand, it is illustrated to the audience that he is motivated by his never-ending ambition to improve his own wealth rather than to improve the welfare of his staff.Additionally, the use of juxtaposition demonstrates a strong belief in capitalism that would alarm an audience in 1945 because, at this time Labour had won the election and this was a step to socialism. The author purposefully sets the play in 1912 to highlight the changes within society as the way Mr Birling acts mirrors the life lived in 1912. Due to the high levels of unemployment many employers would exploit their workers which would appal the audience of 1945.

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In addition to that, Priestley conveys Mr Birling as a naive and hypocritical man through the use of stage directions. In the stage direction Mr Birling is described to be ‘closing the door sharply behind him’. The adverb ‘sharply’ immediately connotes violence especially, knives. The imagery of ‘closing the door’ ‘behind him’ demonstrates the idea that he is stabbing himself in the back without even noticing it which is ironic as this forebodes what is to come in the play. The room in which the play is set is a metaphor for society in 1912 as each of the characters ...

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