How does Birling use dramatic irony?
Priestley uses dramatic irony to make Mr Birling look unreliable and foolish as he is wrong about the Titanic, war and labour. Priestley does this to make the audience distrust Mr Birling. If Mr Birling is wrong about history, his capitalist views may also be wrong.
How is Mr Birling presented dramatic irony?
On Page 6, Mr Birling says “The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war…” This is a great example of dramatic irony. Mr Birling makes this ignorant statement without collecting anyone elses’ opinion. Also throughout the first act he makes un-informatvie decisions and predictions.
How is dramatic irony used in an inspector calls?
There is dramatic irony in the way Mrs Birling is trapped at the end of the scene. When she forcefully blames ‘some drunken young idler’, the audience realise that she is describing Eric. This also highlights her hypocrisy to the audience: we know that she would not apply the same standards to her own family.
Why does Priestley make Mr Birling unlikeable?
This presents her as unlikeable because she is showing no sympathy for Eva and JB Priestley has intentionally made the character of Mrs Birling unlikeable to show that there is no hope in the older generation for changing and accepting moral views, but there is hope in the younger generation.
How is Mr Birling presented as foolish?
In the opening of An Inspector Calls, Priestley presents Birling as a foolish individual who is out of touch with society. In response to Eric’s question about war, Birling describes the idea that war is going to break out as ‘fiddlesticks’.
What do we learn about Mr Birling throughout his early speeches?
Mr Birling is a capitalist who values business and profit above all else. He makes his views clear in the early speeches in Act 1, and these do not change. Priestley uses Mr Birling as a symbol to represent the selfishness and arrogance of capitalists in Edwardian society.
What is dramatic irony Macbeth?
Dramatic irony occurs when Macbeth and the lords await the arrival of Banquo. Macbeth already has information about his murder. The audience is aware of Macbeth’s actions, but the characters are deceived.
How does Mr Birling represent capitalism?
It is clear here that Mr Birling is driven by money, he is a capitalist. The fact that he sees his daughter’s engagement as a chance to push for ‘lower costs and higher prices’ shows just how greedy he is. He does not consider the impact ‘higher prices’ might have on anyone else, he just wants more money.
How is Mr Birling ignorant?
Sample answer 1 In this extract Mr Birling is shown as being ignorant; he makes a joke out of young peoples’ behaviour, suggesting “you don’t know what some of these boys get up to nowadays” but he does not know that his own son has been drinking heavily and mistreating Eva Smith.
Why is Birling presented as foolish?
Mr Birling is also made an example of by the Inspector: his individualistic nature contributes to the breakdown of social bonds and leads to irresponsible behaviour that has destructive consequences. The audience must learn from his example and not follow the same selfish path.