Mr Birling Quotes Act 3
English Lit: AQA GCSE An Inspector Calls, topic 5.1.3
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.
Mr Birling - Key Quotes (Act 3)
‘I’ve got to cover this up as soon as I can’
- Mr Birling, as is consistent (stays the same) with his character throughout the play, only cares about covering up this story so it doesn’t affect their reputations, social status, or his chance at receiving a knighthood.
- He consistently shows a selfish, self-centred attitude. He obsesses over his reputation. He is not very concerned with the consequences of his actions.
‘this makes a difference...'
- ‘This makes a difference, y’know. In fact, it makes all the difference’.
- As far as Mr Birling is concerned, the most important factor in the story is that Inspector Goole is not a real police inspector.
- This is vital for Birling because he knows that the story of Eva Smith is now unlikely to end in a scandal for him.
- He doesn’t care about his actions on the girl’s life or the effect of these actions on the girl herself.
- If the Inspector has no connection to the police, he has no power to cause problems for Birling, and so Mr Birling is prepared to forget the whole story and continue with life as before.
Test yourself on Mr Birling Quotes 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.’
Which word emphasises Mr Birling's attack on Eric?'You! You don’t seem to care about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List.’
What's ironic about what Mr Birling is saying here?'You! You don’t seem to care about anything. But I care. I was almost certain for a knighthood in the next Honours List.’
Which words in this quote highlight the contrast between Eric and Mr Birling?Which of these are key quotes from Mr Birling in Act 3?
What does Mr Birling think is the most important thing?
‘This makes a difference, y’know. In fact, it makes all the difference’.