Marking First An Inspector Calls Essay

Hello everyone, this is the first essay for An Inspector Calls that I've done. Could anyone mark it for me please (out of 30).
Question: How is Mr Birling presented in Act 1?
My answer:
In 'An Inspector Calls', Mr Birling is a construct created to represent capitalism, which is an ideology in which the means of production are held by the bourgeoisie, who exploit the proletariat, the oppressed working class who sell their labour to the capitalists.
Firstly, Mr Birling is presented as being a symbol of capitalist greed. This idea is first introduced during the stage directions at the beginning of the play, which describe him as a 'prosperous manufacturer', owning a 'heavily comfortable', 'but not cosy and homelike' house. 'Heavily comfortable' is an oxymoron - very unnatural language, which implies that the house is filled with expensive furniture and symbols of their wealth, but there is no real family feeling. As Mr Birling is supposed to represent the wealthy aristocracy, this suggests that they are overly materialistic and prioritise their external appearance above all else. One interpretation of the play is thatl, as Britain was a majority Christian country at the time, the characters' levels of guilt is determined by which of the seven deadly sins they violate - Mr Birling could be said to violate the sin of Greed, which is portrayed as the root of Eva Smith's problems - just as a Marxist believes capitalism the root of all of society's problems. His greed is reflected when he tells Gerald that he wants their businesses to collude to dominate the market and 'work together' for 'lower costs and higher prices'. It is ironic that the only like Mr Birling is willing to collaborate with someone is to exploit the poor. Making a lengthy speech like this at his daughter's engagement shows that this is likely the only reason the marriage 'means a tremendous lot' to him, and reflects how Karl Marx wrote that capitalism destroys the family, as it is corrupted by its inherent greed as all relations ae seen in terms of money and profit.
Secondly, Mr Birling is also described as a 'heavy-looking' man which reflects his greed as a symbol of capitalism and a lack of self-control, but also has the connotation that he is quite stupid and does not think about the long-term consequences of his actions, just as how he did not consider how his actions could affect Eva as well as his other striking workers. Dramatic irony is used to further convince the reader of his unintelligence, as he says with full certainty that the Titanic is 'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable', and that 'The Germans don't want war'. His predictions are completely wrong, and as 'An Inspector Calls' was first performed in the Soviet Union in 1946, which had been heavily damaged by its war against Nazi Germany (The Great Patriotic War), the audience would know how wrong Birling was. This shows that despite what the rich believe about their own intelligence as they have 'learned from experience', they can be easily overthrown and proven wrong by the stronger working class. Whilst Mr Birling is described as 'heavy-looking', The Inspector is described as having 'an impression of massiveness', which shows that although the working class is materially weaker, they can easily dominate the capitalist class, which is said by Marxist theory to be inevitable. Priestley fought in WW1, during which he witnessed many horrors in the trenches and criticised the officers, who had usually got into their positions due to their high statuses, for their poor judgement and lack of strategy, and he wrote that the British military specialised in throwing away the lives of soldiers needlessly. Perhaps Priestley wishes to present the richest people in society as stupid and lacking foresight (like Mr Birling) and drunk (like Eric), due to these experiences. How much of Eva's tragedy was caused by these factors?
Thirdly, Priestley presents Mr Birling as an overly self-confident man who does not respect the opinions and ideas of others - which may represent the vanity of the aristocracy and a conservative's unwillingness to allow social change and progress. He describes himself as a 'hard-headed man of business'. 'Hard-headed', may suggest that he is not receptive to new ideas and solutions for problems, thus halting the progress of society. His narrow-mindedness is also reflected by how the place takes place entirely in the Birlings' 'suburban house', which links back to the implication that he does not have a good understanding of others and the wider world, and suggests that he is very self-interested. 'hard-headed' also links to the phrase 'hard-hearted'. Priestley feels that his status makes him not care about those whom he employs, just as Mrs Birling being her husband's 'social superior' made her 'cold'. This is especially ironic for Mr Birling, as he is described during the beginning stage directions as being 'rather provincial in his speech', which could mean that he came from proletarian roots, yet has completely abandoned them, possibly to fit in with the new class of people he finds himself in.
There are hints that Mr Birling does not feel completely at home with his new status, which he seeks to solidify by receiving a knighthood - a mark of honour that wealth alone cannot achieve. This is first shown by how the table is described as having 'no cloth'. This has deeper connotations - it was standard Edwardian ettiquette for all dinner tables of the rich to have a white cloth on. If the Birlings do not know this, it may suggest that they are not as high-status as they feel they are, and that it is all a façade. It could also be done to show their evil - implying that they are not worthy of the purity and innocence of a white cloth. Perhaps Priestley wants to portray Mr Birling as in an awkward position, rejected by the bourgeoisie due to his lower-class origins and also rejected by the proletariat for being a capitalist. His struggle to fit in reveals his insecurities and shows his motivations for getting a knighthood, and solidified the basis for his respect for Gerald.