My GCSE essay - An Inspector Calls (Mr Birling)

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback for my essay on:

'How does Priestley present Mr Birling in Act 1 of An Inspector Calls'

It's only a few paragraphs so it isn't that long and there isn't a conclusion or clear introduction so it does need some work. But I was hoping if this essay could reach a grade 7 at least.

Mr Birling is presented as ignorant and misguided when he makes falsely-assumed declarations in his speech, which prove his lack of foresight into the events that shaped society after 1912. He believes that ‘the Germans don’t want war’ and that the Titanic is ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. Priestley uses dramatic irony here as a method of presenting Mr Birling as a character with irrational ideologies and a poor judgement; this is effective as the post-war audience would be informed of how drastically society had changed after suffering through both wars so a form of animosity against him is established immediately.

Mr Birling’s character is further developed with a strong connection to capitalism. He manages his profits through ‘lower costs + higher prices’. The oxymoronic language demonstrates the growing imbalance between social classes in terms of wealth and worker’s rights back in Edwardian society. This presents Mr Birling as an archetype of a prospering capitalist through his exploitation and ‘duty to keep labour costs down’. Although many like-minded business-owners of the time would have admired his success, Priestley encourages the reader to look through a socialist’s perspective to understand that most of the wealth generated by cunning capitalists was through the labour and hardship of the less fortunate working-class members.

Through the presentation of Mr Birling as an ambitious capitalist, the opposition towards socialists is also heavily emphasised as he sees them ‘like bees in a hive’. The simile highlights his harsh and insensitive language which compares socialists to bees who are considered as pests; he is intolerant of them and views them as a danger to society. However, Mr Birling fails to understand that just as humans depend on hardworking bees for survival and access to food, society needs socialists in order for it to thrive and be able to accommodate everyone’s needs. This could perhaps demonstrate how he is stuck in his old mentality so J.B.P encourages the younger middle-class audience to use their wealth and influence to guide society to not end up with Mr Birling’s unjust and static personality

Thank you

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