Mr Birling Quotes
English Lit: AQA GCSE An Inspector Calls, topic 3.1.2
Mr Birling - Key Quote (Act 1)
‘Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs.’ Here's an analysis of this key quote from Act 1:
Negativity of capitalism
- Mr Birling is used to show the capitalist viewpoint throughout the play.
- His primary aim is to succeed in business, and so he cares about money more so than people.
- He argues with Inspector Goole that he could not have raised Eva Smith and the others’ wages, as he needs to run his business effectively – he needs to earn all the money that he can, which he cannot do if he pays the workers more.
- This highlights the selfishness of capitalism. Capitalism was designed to reward the business owners, not those actually doing the work.
Mr Birling - Key Quote (Act 2)
‘Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you, Inspector?’ Here's an analysis of this key quote from Act 2:
Patriarchal head of the household
- This quotation highlights Mr Birling as the patriarchal (male ruling) head of his household.
- Mr Birling assumes a protective role over his wife.
- He tries to defend her while treating her as if she cannot defend herself. This power struggle returns between the two men, while Mrs Birling is not directly addressed, even though the conversation is about her.
Entitled upper-middle-class man
- Alternatively, this could be more about Birling highlighting his expectations as a member of the upper middle class – he does not feel that the Inspector’s questions deserve any sort of response from his upper-class wife.
- He feels that she is above this interrogation.
- The tone of this seems quite condescending on Birling’s part, and is designed to put the Inspector in his place.
- Mrs Birling will not even respond to him herself because he is beneath her.
Mr Birling - Key Quote (Act 3)
'You! You don’t seem to care about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List.’ Here's an analysis of this key quote from Act 3:
Irony
- Mr Birling exclaims this at Eric.
- The irony here is clear – Mr Birling repeatedly says that Eric doesn’t care about anything; in reality, it is Mr Birling who does not care about anyone but himself.
Disconnects from family
- Mr Birling uses the second person pronoun ‘you’ to verbally (with words) attack his son and show how he is separating Eric’s ideas from his own – they have become ‘you’ and ‘I’, two very different people who have completely opposite ideas about life.
- Eric wants the family to take responsibility for their actions and think of other people, while Birling is obsessed with his reputation and is desperate to get his knighthood.
- This shows a huge crack in the façade (fake image) of the Birling family.
Test yourself on Mr Birling Quotes
‘Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs’.
What does this quote show about Mr Birling?‘Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs'
According to this quote, what's Mr Birling's excuse for not giving Eva and the other workers a pay rise?‘Well, it’s my duty to keep ??? costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our ??? costs'.
Which word should replace the question marks in this quote?‘Well, it’s my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs’.
What's Priestley trying to show with this quote?‘Is there any reason why my wife should answer questions from you...?’
Who is Mr Birling speaking to condescendingly in this quote?