The Presentation of Birling, in An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls

Discuss the presentation of the character Arthur Birling in Act One of ‘An Inspector Calls’.

The playwright of ‘An Inspector Calls’, J B Priestley, uses Arthur Birling, a stereotypical man of the right wing conservativism, as propaganda against the right-wing social and political views. Conservativism is a political orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes.

Propaganda makes use of stereotypes to prejudice the audience against a particular political viewpoint which is contrary to the point of view of the propagandist. He uses Birling to prejudice the audience, likely to be the younger generation and the working class, against people like Birling himself i.e. the industrial ruling class and the aristocracy of 1912. Priestley discredits the right wing views through his left wing perspective. He systematically discredits Birling right from the beginning of the play through Birling’s ignorant predictions, while the audience knows the reality. After all, they are looking backwards into the past, whereas Birling is merely predicting the future. In other words, Priestley employs dramatic irony to manipulate and persuade the audience into despising Birling and everything for which he stands. Dramatic irony in this sense is when the audience knows something the characters don’t.

In contrast, the younger generation within the play is the most sympathetic to Eva Smith, the character who commits suicide and with whom every member of the Birling family has come in contact. Priestley does this to tell the audience that times have changed and that the post war society should not revert back to its pre-war ways, to the society of Edwardian England. This society was ...

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...ience agree with Priestley’s socialist views. It is ironic that Priestley wants everyone to accept his own views, when that is exactly what he patronises Birling for trying to do!

In conclusion, Priestley presents Birling as a pompous, morally corrupt ruthless patriarch from the industrial ruling class. Through his presentation of Birling, he undermines the views for which Birling stands namely capitalism and conservativism. The purpose of his play ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to tell the post war audience of 1945 that the patriarchal Edwardian Era was not a time to be envied, and it was unwise to think of returning to that era. He displays the younger generation as the one which is sympathetic and the one which is prepared to change its ways and admit its wrongs. Priestley’s presentation of Birling highlights his own thoughts on the political issues of the time.