How Does Mr Birling Create Tension In An Inspector Calls

The Inspector enters during Birling’s speech where he is at his most arrogant. For example, in Act One the characters say “I’ve learnt in the good hard school of experience” and “Everybody has to look after themselves”. In lines such as these, Mr Birling is portrayed as a self- Confident and opinionated character to the audience. Priestley writes Mr Birling as believing he belongs to a higher social class that makes him superior to others. Therefore, he is more important than the other members of

The character Mr Birling in ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J.B Priestley is a greedy, arrogant and selfish ‘hardheaded businessman’, father of two, Sheila Birling and Eric Birling. Through Mr Birling Priestley shows what upper middle-class men were like in 1912. I believe Priestley set the play in 1912 and first performed it in 1946 because this date represented an era where everything was different. In 1912 there was a strict class system and gender roles, Priestley took the chance the end of the war had given them to create a different, more equal society.

In the book The Inspector Calls, the character of Mr Arthur Birling is portrayed as the owner of his company ‘Birling and Co’ which means that he is the breadwinner so also head of the household looking after his family; his children Sheila and Gerald, as well as his wife Mrs Birling. He is also well known for previously being the Mayor so this gives the reader an impression that he is a well respected, popular and highly knowledgeable man. Mr Birling has strong political views and his beliefs highly linked with Capitalism and the right wing side.

An Inspector Calls is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in 1912, and focuses on the Birling family, who live in a wealthy but not particulary homely house in Brumley. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family. The idea of the play, and particularly the role of the inspector, is to try to bring the Birling family to understand that they have a moral responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, if not a legal one. In Act Three, the Inspector tells the Birling family: “The girl killed herself and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.” But who was really the

In the play “The inspector calls” written by Presley, the story is set in 1912, and describes a family in the middle class. Eric, the son of Mr. Birling is one of the key characters in the play

He relates these ideas to the Birling family although the family members are stereotypes representing people at the time. Mr. Birling is ascribed very Capitalist views and believes "A man has to make his own way - has to look after himself. " These clearly contrast the views portrayed by the Inspector, Priestley's mouthpiece in the play, which are very socialist. "We don't live alone. We are members of one body - we are responsible for each other.

Mr Birling is very selfish towards the other characters, and believes he is in control. However as the play continues, his behaviour becomes increasingly different and he starts to lose control and power over his family. He becomes agitated and uncomfortable, and displays anger towards his children. An example is when Mr Birling responds (angrily) to Eric ”Don't talk to me like that. Your trouble is – you've been spoilt--”. To contrast with Mr Birling’s behaviour, Inspector Goole remains calm and collected throughout the play. Unlike Mr Birling, Inspector Goole asserts his authority successfully over the other characters. He is an authority figure. An example is when the inspector yells “Stop!”, and all the characters are suddenly quiet, looking at him. Looking at both of their behaviours and how they interact with the other characters, can make the audience form an opinion about them both, and can make them place a liking over one character more than the

The play ‘An Inspector Calls’ is set in the North Midlands, the industrial city of Brumley in 1912. The play revolves around the death of a young girl named Eva Smith and the wealthy, middle class Birling family. The Birling family consists of four main members. In addition, there is Gerald Croft who is engaged to the daughter of the family, Sheila Birling, and the maid Edna who plays a small role in the play.

Again, Priestley presents the theme of responsibility to the audience through the structure of the play. Priestley cleverly contrasts the characters who accept their responsibilities and those who don’t, to emphasise the fact that it is a large theme and potential problem in society. The character of Mr Birling is questioned first by the Inspector. “Still, I can't accept any responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with, it would be very awkward." Mr Birling shows in this way, that he has a lot of power to say if the workers have a steady income or not and does not care about the consequences. This quote shows how ignorant and selfish the older generation of the Birling family are and how they can’t even accept such a serious case as the death of a young girl. They just want to protect themselves from being seen as a lower-class family. By using an upper-class man who runs a factory with

This is evident in “We are responsible for each other.” The inspector implies that everyone is responsible for one another, utterly contradicting Mr. Birling’s speech before he came in. The inspector is the most conflicting character in the entire play as he stands cool and hard before the Birlings and the audience and unveils the consequences of their actions on those below them. The dramatic irony reinforces that the inspector is in fact voicing Priestley’s message out, therefore emphasizing the effect. Furthermore, the inspector is presented as the figure of authority in the play. This is reinforced in "massively taking charge as dispute erupts between them." He is the only character that calms down the household when an argument breaks. He also expresses no interest towards Mr. birling’s authoritative friends and disregards his threats. The stage directions reinforce that when capitalism destroys everything, socialism is the only answer. Both contemporary and modern audience is left in a conflicting situation as he creates conflict in the play between other

You feel that the Inspector knows everything already, and that by telling him, you are not giving information, but confessing to what you have done- which he already knows. This makes Sheila and Eric in particular give a lot more information than is necessary to the questions that the Inspector asks. The Inspector sets up a scene, and then inserts snippets of information that two parties will both be able to individually interpret, and will reveal more than necessary. The Inspector makes the information he gives ambiguous in order to draw the largest reaction. In this way, he is able to play off their response and extract more information from them. In some aspects, Inspector's character seems to be ahead of his time. The manner in which he conducts his questioning seems to be more advanced than the way in which they are received. Also the way in which he conducts himself gives the impression of being ahead of the family that he is questioning. He also has the sensibility of someone who lived during the 1945/46, after the wars. The Inspector does not ‘fit' in with the way in which things where done during the time of this play. Priestley makes the Inspector seem ahead of his

command at the end of Act I and the start of Act 2, and the end of Act

Tension is frequently current between the Inspector and Mr Birling due to their contrasting ideas. They are both extremely powerful figures clashing for dominance and status in the household. A major point hidden by Priestley is their political views, Birling represents a capitalists view point whereas the Inspector is a shadow figure of Priestley's ideas and represents a socialist. They are symbols of the global struggle between Capitalism and Socialism in the 40s. The Inspector is prominent to show his power when Birling attemps to interrogate him by warning him that the 'Chief Constable, Colonel Roberts' is 'an old friend of mine' and that they 'play golf together sometimes up at the West Brumley'. In response to this, the Inspector 'dryly'

And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in blood and anguish.” This passage shows that Priestley wanted to make the Inspector the law bringer and the authority in this play because the audience has to agree with what the Inspector is saying for Priestley’s message to be effective. The quote refers to World War 1 and World War 2 and so Priestley uses the power and knowledge of the Inspector to scare the audience by using powerful sentences such as “they will be taught it in blood and anguish” which reminds the watchers of the pain and suffering they have already gone through. The inspector tries to persuade the audience that trying to pursue wealth is dangerous and destructive such as the case of Mr Birling starting the “chain of actions” for Eva Smith. Priestley had completely opposite views on the world to the main characters, mostly Arthur Birling. The Inspector is there to represent the views of Priestley and so is shown to be much of a better person and man than Birling and his family and whereas Mr Birling is shown to be greedy and selfish in his actions, the Inspector is shown to be the opposite. This shows the main role of the inspector is to present Priestley’s ideas.

this is his role in the events of the play. This, and the fact that