@@MrSallesTeachesEnglish you're welcome. also i had an idea about aic, could you argue that at the end, the younger gen are just as bad as the older gen? eric passes on the blame to his mother, which completely juxtaposes the inspectors message of being "one body." he has learnt the lesson, but his actions completely contradict this. (of course in an exam i would expand on every point and write in more detail but for time purposes...)
Sybil Birling is constructed as a cold, condescending woman. Her feelings of social superiority is a central theme within this play- key for the understanding of this play and Priestley’s purpose. She and her husband are symbolic of the social elite of 1912 to show the fatal outcomes of their lifestyle. Priestley uses structure and form to make an immediate, negative impression of Mrs Birling. Initially, she and her family are presented in a successful and wealthy way, evident through the stage directions, ‘large… suburban house.’ The audience learns that she is a wealthy, affluent woman, which would be patronising to anyone from a lower social standing from her, just like any other upper class citizen in 1912. This is the first characteristic revealed about her, suggesting the importance of her wealth and capitalist ideals in her life. This presents her as greedy and materialistic, presenting her in such a negative way before her first line of dialogue is even spoken. Once Mrs Birlings wealth is established, Priestley also reveals she is a ‘cold’ woman who feels morally and socially superior to others. Her first assertion of dominance is presented when she boldly remarks, ‘ill ring... when we want coffee.’ The use of the adverbial phrase ‘when we want’ illustrates her power and command. The use of the adverb ‘when’ also connotes control- she demands and also receives. Speaking to Edna, the maid in a commanding tone, illustrates her to be a cold character as she makes demands, not requests. This was purposefully done by Priestley as a reminder to the 1945 audience of the outdated practise of maids. By illustrating the mistreatment of the maid, this acts as a reminder as to why this practise is now abolished. Her condescending nature is further reinforced by her exclamatory remarks as she tries to assert her dominance over her family, ‘Arthur!’, ‘Sheila!’, ‘Eric?’ The constant use of the punctuation such as the question mark and the exclamation mark highlights how she attempts to control her whole family, speaking to them in a condescending tone. Additionally, Mrs Birling again asserts her dominance on to her husband as she says ‘(reproachfully) Arthur you're not supposed to say such things.’ From the stage directions, it is evident that she is almost telling her husband off as she speaks to him in a patronising manner. The use of the determiner ‘such’ indicates her disgust for what he is doing. Arthur had complimented the cook- a working class woman; Sybil disapproved of this so much that she disregarded the gender boundaries which should've been maintained in a patriarchal society, as she orders her husband what to do- this would be uncommon in 1912. This also illustrates her cold nature as she is more concerned that the working class is treated with some dignity rather than the gender imbalance that should have been sustained. However her power in the relationship illustrates that she isn’t like the typical 1912 woman, who has respect for attitudes and tradition. She is independent from her husband, showing that she has the power to do as she pleases. Her ability to separate herself from tradition may indicate that she also has the ability to change from capitalism- a traditional ideology- to socialism. However due to her uncaring nature, she chooses not to as she only cares for what benefits herself rather than society as a whole. Priestley reinforces her unsympathetic nature again as she believes that Eva Smith’s death was the result of her own actions as she remarks that ‘first she called herself Mrs Birling which naturally was one of the things which prejudiced me against her case.’ Sybil justifies her actions leading to Eva's death, blaming the victim for it rather than herself. This is indicated by the adverb ‘naturally,’ as she defends her actions, acting as though she was righteous to deny Eva the help she needed. Additionally, she states that this decision was ‘one’ of the reasons- indicating that there are many more, for example: Eva Smith being pregnant out of wedlock may have been a cause ,in 1912 society would look down on this. However, she may simply have chosen not to aid her due to her disgust for the lower class- this is demonstrated through her use of language when referring to them as ‘girls of that class.’ The determiner ‘that’ illustrates that she feels as though saying the working class is offensive- she refuses to recognise them as people, choosing not to even speak of them as that would associate herself with something filthy. Priestley intentionally placed so many prejudices towards the working class to illustrate that society needs change. Working class girls would turn to charities in their times of need, upper class women such as Mrs Birling were in charge of them. Highlighted in the play, the help is given based on their own moral judgement, whether the upper class women believe the working class are deserving of it or not. The charity system in this play is presented as flawed- which led to Eva's death. Priestley’s purpose is to show the audience that the working class are vulnerable. In 1945 the general election was taking place- the labour party introduced the welfare state- this provides economic aid to anyone who is in need. This contrasts to Mrs Birling giving aid based on her own judgement. Replacing the charity system with the welfare state provides financial security, preventing future outcomes similar to Eva’s tragic life. Her lack of empathy is again highlighted as she pushes the blame of Eva’s death on to others rather than accepting responsibility. She clearly refuses to take any responsibility for her actions as she says ‘ but I accept no blame for it at all.’ The short sentence structure illustrates her lack of empathy as she speaks in a dismissive tone. She makes it clear that she doesn’t want to hear anymore about this ‘girls’ death and refuses to take any accountability. Not only does she shift the blame off of herself, she also gives it to someone else as she believes ‘he ought to be dealt with very severely.’ The intensifier ‘very’ again indicates how unwilling she is to take responsibility as she makes the punishment worse for the other person in hopes of saving herself. However, dramatic irony is used here as she is blaming her son without even knowing. Perhaps if she knew this was her son, she wouldn’t be so quick to make these bold statements, as a mother would typically want to protect her family. Yet, in the previous parts of the play, she purposefully blames her family for Eva’s death while making herself seem innocent; ‘unlike the other three, I did nothing I'm ashamed of.’ The use of the preposition ‘unlike the other three’ indicates that she sees herself as above her family, as she attempts to condemn their actions all in hopes of self preservation. Her heartless nature is demonstrated here as she not only lacks empathy for the working class, she also lacks empathy for her own family. Priestley purposefully portrayed her in such a negative way to expose the selfish attitudes of the upper class in 1912.
This is a really nice essay! if you don't mind, can I have any tips on learning structure in my essays, such as determiners? I'm stuck on a 7 so far and I think my lack of analysis in this part really holds me back from getting higher grades.
@@william2344 thank you so much , i wrote this quite a while back and the way i've written has changed a lot. But i have tips from now which i can give you. when given your exam, use five minutes to plan the points you'll make. the quotes i used in this essay are ones i never used again. you don't need to learn a lot of quotes, learn quotes which would be relevant for almost any kind of essay. plan your quotes around the context you use as well. for example one quote i always use for Mrs Birling is 'naturally that was one of the things which prejudiced me against her case.' with this quote you can easily talk about context; the flawed charity system needing to change in to the welfare state. As well as zooming in to the language techniques, you can look in to the context, and while talking about context you can write about Priestley's intention without writing about context you cant really go in to Priestley's intention which gets you the most marks. to write about analysis just do research of the quotes you have in mind and zoom in to the techniques used. e.g. the premodifier 'naturally' suggests that Mrs Birling feels righteous in denying the help needed. a capitalist society conditions the upper-class in to thinking that they are superior in every aspect, including their morals. therefore it is fully justified for Eva to receive such inhumane treatment as it is only 'natural' for Mrs Birling to behave in such a way. then you can write about 'one of the things' then u can again go in to context, describing what prejudices she may have had. then go in to context
11:02 Eva says that her name is Birling because her child is Eric's who is a Birling. If she was married to Eric, her name would be Birling. I think she hints this.
would you consider doing a video like this on edna? she's a very minor character but her role in the play is very very significant and there's a lot of say about her that could link to most questions
@@magdakaliciak6500 When edna is serving the dinner mr birling says “thank you” but mrs Birling doesn’t like Arthur talking to her as she’s lower class. So Edna is disrespected due to her class. This shows Edna is not treated right as well, which backs up the idea of Eva being disrespected due to her class. This shows the audience that lower class people are discriminated often just because they’re poorer. :)
Actually, the first Sybil asked the God Apollo to grant her immortality. He does so, but makes her extremely old and gives her immeasurable knowledge about the future. So the lesson learnt here is really, 'Be careful what you wish for'. In parallel to this, Mrs Birling is constantly blaming the boy who got Eva pregnant, telling the Inspector to go after him. But she doesn't realise that, the boy is her own son Eric. She isn't careful about what she wishes for.
thank you so much for these notes!! i thought the patriarchy angle was really interesting and i really enjoyed writing about this angle in my exam today!!
Really helpful - I've got a different perspective on Mrs Birling as a character, and how she can seem to be logical. This is definitely a good alternative point to all the general negative points made at Mrs Birling.
Thanks for the video. In the exam, wouldn't you have to use (and thoroughly analyse) quotes from the text too? These are mainly concepts or conceptualised points and my target from previous essays was to analyse AO2 in more depth which I can only get through quotations. So, which quotations (that you can explore in depth) would you recommend to support these ideas, particularly the one about Sybil representing the welfare state?
Dasiy may have intentionally presented herself as miss birling to present the desperation within her and that she is trying to receive money by hiding her identity as she thought it was the last resort in order to receive the money without being a criminal. Alternatively, it could hint at the fact that she is carrying erics child. Mrs birling may have also suspected this but with her willful blindness, she decides to be ignorant about it as if this was erics child then it would bring a reduction to their family image/reputation presenting her views on Class that is significantly important to her which is why Sybil decides to turn her away that could be argued to be the last straw that causes her to commit suicide- however, we know that its eric and Gerald who is most to blame by exploiting her and her vulnerability- disintegrating her until she thought life was not worth living anymore.
Very good arguments. I think that blaming Mrs Birling for knowing who Eva and her unborn grandchild are when she refused Eva help does not fit Priestley's purpose as well. If his purpose is to show that the upper classes are prejudiced against the working class, and then get them to question that snobbery, it is much easier to use her as an example of the unintended consequence of upper class beliefs. If, as you suggest, she knew, then Mrs Birling is portrayed as vicious and evil. It is then much more difficult to persuade the upper classes that they are like her, and much less likely that they will change.
That would be an interesting way of reading the way she continues to blame the father of Eva's unborn child for her suicide; you could play this as her being very innocent about him, or you could also see it as her deflecting attention away from her guilt (she doesn't know who he is, she keeps insisting, even although she must suspect) and also hiding his identity (we don't know who it is; it isn't anyone of us here, or why would I blame him all the time?); it is the Victorian culture of not speaking about scandal to its extreme, brutal degree.
Hello Mr Salles, would you say that this video contains all the info in order to answer any question that comes up about Mrs Birling (I do AQA) Thanks!
Hello sir, could you please mark my essay on Mrs Birling. In the didactic play “An Inspector Calls”, Priestley presents Mrs Birling as a construct that represents the conservative and ignorant attitudes in Edwardian society. Priestly does this to show how capitalism is unfair and unsustainable in order to make the audience become more socialist and vote for a Labour government in the upcoming election. Priestley creates sympathy for Eva by describing her using the adjectives “young” and “pretty” to show how she could have had a promising life. This makes the audience feel animosity towards characters, such as Mrs Birling, who contributed to Eva’s suicide. This is illustrated when Mrs Birling says “I consider I did my duty” when speaking about how her charity refused to support Eva. The short sentence emphasises how “cold” and cruel she is towards Eva and the working class. It could also symbolise how Eva spent a short amount of time with Mrs Birling, and that Mrs Birling did little to help Eva. Additionally, the abstract noun “duty” may suggest that she doesn’t believe she needs to do more to help society. This contrasts the Inspector’s socialist idea that his “duty” is to “ask questions” towards the Birlings, and towards society in order to improve it by removing capitalism. The Inspector is presented as a foil to Mrs Birling in order to emphasise the stubbornness of the upper class for not converting to socialism. Furthermore, the play is structured so that Mrs Birling is the last of the Birlings to meet Eva which may represent how charities were the last resort for the poor because there was no welfare state. Alternatively, the audience may draw parallels between Mrs Birling’s view on her “duty” and how the government thought they had done their “duty” by giving workers the minimum wage as a result of The Miner Strikes in 1912, or by providing unemployment insurance. But realistically, the government should be more socialist by performing more social reforms to aid the poor. Priestley does this to persuade his post-war audience to vote for a Labour government in the 1945 election so that society can gain a Welfare State which will mean that many of the working class won’t have to rely on charities such as Mrs Birling’s. Additionally, Mrs Birling’s harmful views are shown to be indoctrinated towards the younger generation which is done to warn the audience about the future if women aren’t given more power. At the start of the play, Sheila uses the pronoun “Mummy” to describe her mother, suggesting that she is childish and dependent on her mother. Mrs Birling then tells Sheila that she will have to “get used to” being submissive to men and Gerald’s infidelity. Mrs Birling indoctrinating her patriarchal views warns the audience about how women will continue to suffer in the future. However, Sheila is presented to change when she responds to Sybil calling Eva “impertinent” by saying that it is “such a silly word”. Sheila going against her mother here represents how Sheila has become more independent and is no longer relying on Mrs Birling’s views. Instead, she is challenging patriarchy. Additionally, Sheila calls Eva’s actions in Millwards “impertinent” earlier in the play. Her calling it now “silly” emphasises how Sheila is no longer behaving like an archetypal privileged member of the upper class. In the stage directions, Sheila is “laughing hysterically”. This may imply that the idea of Capitalism is laughable in a modern world. Or, it could perhaps elucidate how Sheila Is childish and still needs to develop more to become more socialist. Priestley sets the play in 1912 when women didn’t have the vote to show the Edwardian audience how women deserve equal rights to men. Through using Sheila as a dynamic character, and contrasting her attitudes with Mrs Birling’s dislikeable capitalist attitudes to create hope for the audience that the younger generation will end patriarchy. Mrs Birling’s name “Sybil” may reflect an older generation name, presenting her as a typical old upper-class woman who is ignorant of the problems in society. Perhaps, her name could also symbolise “Sibyls” in Greek mythology who could see into the future. This can be seen as ironic as Mrs Birling is ignorant and is unable to the suffering of “girls of that class”. However, in the stage directions when the Inspector arrives, the lighting becomes “brighter and harder”, representing how he will show Mrs Birling the truth that she is ignorant and should be more socially responsible. Additionally, the lighting on stage would be changed by Edna announcing the Inspector. This could represent how the working class will bring the truth to the upper class. This can be seen as foreshadowing how Eva’s suicide will change Sheila, encouraging the upper-class audience to become more socially responsible. However, this could also represent how the working class will show the truth to the upper class in the form of a revolution. Priestley’s main intention would have been to reference a Marxist teaching that Capitalism isn’t sustainable because the poor treatment of the working class will eventually lead to a revolution. This Is Priestley’s main purpose because the play was first performed in Moscow. The Russian audience would recognise and relate to this Marxist teaching because of their Communist revolution in 1917, and also because Communism is an extension of Marxism. Therefore, Priestley suggests the idea that the working class will change Mrs Birling’s ignorance in order to please the Russia audience. Priestley presents Mrs Birling as a “cold” and sanctimonious woman in order to show how the “millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths” suffer as a result of a cruel capitalist society, and that women must reject patriarchy. This is exaggerated through Priestley using elements of a Greek tragedy by having the play take place in one day, one place and having one plot. Priestley does this to highlight how Mrs Birling’s charity and capitalist views make her seem like a hero to society. However, as the play goes on, she suffers a downfall as the Inspector questions her so that we can see how being socialist is superior to Mrs Birling’s capitalist viewpoint. Perhaps, this is done to show that we must stop thinking in terms of “property and power”, and start thinking in terms of “community and creation”
If you can write this much in the exam it will get a 9. Not all your paragraphs are linked. The audience is not Edwardian. If you need to cut it, some of the Sheila, Edna and perhaps Eva can be shortened. Well done!
Could you perhaps suggest that both Mr and Mrs Birling (Arthur and Sybil) could be the most responsible for Eva's death as you could suggest that Priestly has put them in that order on purpose, - - > Mr Birling who started the thoughts of suicide then Mrs Birling who finished them
Thank you this was very helpful. Would this be a good thesis for an essay on her? Priestley wrote the morality play AIC as a political diatribe critiquing society and more specifically capitalism as an ideology. He constructs Mrs Birling to criticise upper class prejudices towards those socially inferior to them, but also hints that this is a product of society. Therefore society as a whole needs to change in order for individual growth to happen.
Sir i am just wondering previously Eva rejected the stolen money from Eric as she did not want to be seen as criminal but at the charity she attempted to commit fraud by calling herself Mrs Birling. Is there a bigger picture to this because I see this as a little hypocritical or does it show her desperation?
Desperation yes, but using 'Mrs' rather than Miss when unmarried was more accepted as a polite fiction for an unmarried mother because being pregnant and unmarried was much more scandalous. The audience would see this as Eva trying to stay respectable and give her baby a better start in life, whereas taking stolen money would be much more frowned on.
anyone know how mr salles gets that effect on his mouse? on his other videos there's also a nice ripple effect, does anyone know how he gets that as well?
i have written an ESSAY about Mr Birling as an unlikeable character. if you could read it and give me feedback that would be great. IIn this morality play, ‘An inspector Calls’ Priestley presents Mr Birling as an unlikeable character. Through the adjective “heavy” perhaps illustrates that Mr Birling is metaphorically suggested as a “heavy” weighed “man” which indicates his capitalism has overweighed him physically as well as his mentality which is exemplified through his sullen attitude towards the proletariats. This connotes that Mr Birling is a narrow minded- “foolish man”. Specifically, the hyphen “heavy-looking” could convey endless cruelty which is further reinforced in act1 scene2. Moreover, the concrete noun “man” conveys Mr Birlings as an unlikeable character as he does not value socialism as part of our society his superiority is used against the proletariats and socialists. In 1944 when the play was written Priestey knew about the disjunction that capitalism has bought to society especially to the lower classes as they were super deprived with the workhouses that didn’t provide them with extra shillings to buy extra products especially to buy food with. Mr Birlings unlikeable character is signified through the verb “speak” could emphasise his greed for wealth, power. This has semantic fields of ignorance as he rejects his moral conscience. The Edwardian audience perceive Mr Birling’s unlikeable character as heartless and selfish towards the proletariats as he is unwilling to accept social responsibilities. Priestley’s purpose for creating an unlikeable, ignorance character was to warn the society about what capitalisms can bring in society. However, priestley also wanted to repaint socialism alluding that people at the bottom of thr hierarchy should be treated highly just like the bourgeoisies are being treated. Priestley’s use of the dramatic irony further indicates Mr Birling’s unlikeable character. Through the repetition “unsinkable” could imply that Mr Birling is referring to the bourgeoisies as untouchable, powerful, wealthy because their social classes are more valued than the lower classes. Specifically, the adverb “absolutely” could convey Mr Birling’s speech as “foolish” as he is not sure about what he is saying and how ridiculous it sounds to the modern audience. It could be argued that Mr Birling does not only want to be an upper-class wealthy man. However, Mr Birling also wants to take God’s role of prediction. Mr Birling’s unlikeable character reinforces Dante’s Divine of comedy as he represents greed. The Edwardian audience come across Mr Birling as a “foolish man” illustrating that Mr Birling is incorrect in every prediction that he claims. Priestley’s purpose of involving a static character in contrast to Sheila and Eric (younger generations) is to convey the changes that the younger generation can bring to society’s growth this involves decreasing poverty and sufferings of the lower classes. However, priestley has placed Mr Birling in such unlikeable position in this morality play to spread awareness of capitalism. Priestley also uses the character of Mr Birling to symbolise the bourgeoisies this is highlighted through the capitalisms immortal actions. Priestley’s use of the quotation “is there any reason why my wife should answer questions frmyou. Inspector” solidifies Mr Birling as an unlikeable character as he is self-centred. Specifically, the rhetorical question “inspector?” portrays masculinity as he wants to control the interrogation between Mrs Birling and Inspector Goole. It could perhaps be argued that Mr Birling finds offensive about the fact that his wife is his social superior. In 1912 when the play was set they lived in a patriarchal society therefore men were seen more superior than women because of their gender. Priestley connotes Mr Birling as an unlikeable character as he addresses that he is not “responsible” for damaged women’s such as Eva/Daisy. The Edwardian audience perceive Mr Birling as hubris. Highlighting that Mr Birling is more concerned about maintaining his own reputation than taking any kind of social responsibility. Priestley presents Mr Birling as an unlikeable character through the quotation “lower cost higher prices”. Consequently, the juxtaposition oh “higher” and “lower” could imply the gap between the classes. Mr Birling is exploiting the people that work for him and buy his product of “higher prices”. Priestley indicated here that capitalist’s only have one duty to accomplish and that is to keep on making as much money as possible.it could be argued that Mr Birling is behind the suffering of the lower classes because of his selfishness. Specifically the noun “earth” could imply that Mr Birling thinks that the proletariats will be asking for earth but he himself and his capitalism society are taking over the earth and bringing horror to the society. The Edwardian audience learn the damages that capitalism brings to society as well as their horror “business”. The imperative “be quite Sheila” signifies Mr Birling’s arrogance especially to his own daughter. Priestley is portraying that not only that Mr Birling wants to damage the proletariats women’s; however, Mr Birling also sees his own daughter as an object for Gerald. The adjective “pretty” illustrates that Mr Birling is perhaps taking advantage of his own daughter so that Croft Limited and Birling Co can be in unison. The modern audience see that Mr Birling sees this engagement as a business contract. At the cessation of this morality play Mr Birling fails to learn the inspector’s direct message of social responsibility, reinforcing the inspectors earlier comments about how is the “younger ones” are “more impressionable”. Priestley is criticising the behaviour of the older generation as unlikeable, implying that they are fixed in their traditional mindset. The Edwardian audience see Mr Birling as unlikeable character because of his representation of capitalistic ideology. In conclusion Mr Birling’s unlikeable character does not only affect the society however, it also affects him because of the momento mori capitalists will be punished for their crimes and sins. Mr Birling also becomes against the Marxism theory as he does not allow socialism to be part of our world’s growth. by maryama
Hi Mr Salles, i just wanted to ask which characters for AIC do you think are important to revise? Ive done mindmaps for sheila and sybil using your videos (which have been extremely helpful) but im not sure which ones to do in particular.
Hi! I got 79/96 on literature paper 2 for my English mock exam... been watching your videos for a long time now! All thanks to you
Well done!
OMG that’s so good
Well done!!
Well done!
just a question, u from sg?
What’s sg?
i got a 30/34, 26/30, 18/24 & 7/8 in my english literature paper 2 mocks because of your help, i can't thank you enough!
Well done. Thanks for posting.
@@MrSallesTeachesEnglish you're welcome. also i had an idea about aic, could you argue that at the end, the younger gen are just as bad as the older gen? eric passes on the blame to his mother, which completely juxtaposes the inspectors message of being "one body." he has learnt the lesson, but his actions completely contradict this. (of course in an exam i would expand on every point and write in more detail but for time purposes...)
@@ss-dz8uf what about Sheila? She did not contradict the young vs old ideology Priestley has, however it can be as seen as an early sign of feminism.
@@ss-dz8uf Eric yes to an EXTENT but he does from the start of the play imply senses of socialism and a sympathetic nature for Eva Smith.
Yessir
I got 32/34 in my mock after watching this video, thanks so much! I always recommend your videos to my friends :)
Can u Link your essay pls?
MR Salles coming in clutch for the best revision notes there is , thank God
fr
mans abt ti save me 4 eeks left
Sybil Birling is constructed as a cold, condescending woman. Her feelings of social superiority is a central theme within this play- key for the understanding of this play and Priestley’s purpose. She and her husband are symbolic of the social elite of 1912 to show the fatal outcomes of their lifestyle.
Priestley uses structure and form to make an immediate, negative impression of Mrs Birling. Initially, she and her family are presented in a successful and wealthy way, evident through the stage directions, ‘large… suburban house.’ The audience learns that she is a wealthy, affluent woman, which would be patronising to anyone from a lower social standing from her, just like any other upper class citizen in 1912. This is the first characteristic revealed about her, suggesting the importance of her wealth and capitalist ideals in her life. This presents her as greedy and materialistic, presenting her in such a negative way before her first line of dialogue is even spoken.
Once Mrs Birlings wealth is established, Priestley also reveals she is a ‘cold’ woman who feels morally and socially superior to others. Her first assertion of dominance is presented when she boldly remarks, ‘ill ring... when we want coffee.’ The use of the adverbial phrase ‘when we want’ illustrates her power and command. The use of the adverb ‘when’ also connotes control- she demands and also receives. Speaking to Edna, the maid in a commanding tone, illustrates her to be a cold character as she makes demands, not requests. This was purposefully done by Priestley as a reminder to the 1945 audience of the outdated practise of maids. By illustrating the mistreatment of the maid, this acts as a reminder as to why this practise is now abolished.
Her condescending nature is further reinforced by her exclamatory remarks as she tries to assert her dominance over her family, ‘Arthur!’, ‘Sheila!’, ‘Eric?’ The constant use of the punctuation such as the question mark and the exclamation mark highlights how she attempts to control her whole family, speaking to them in a condescending tone. Additionally, Mrs Birling again asserts her dominance on to her husband as she says ‘(reproachfully) Arthur you're not supposed to say such things.’ From the stage directions, it is evident that she is almost telling her husband off as she speaks to him in a patronising manner. The use of the determiner ‘such’ indicates her disgust for what he is doing. Arthur had complimented the cook- a working class woman; Sybil disapproved of this so much that she disregarded the gender boundaries which should've been maintained in a patriarchal society, as she orders her husband what to do- this would be uncommon in 1912. This also illustrates her cold nature as she is more concerned that the working class is treated with some dignity rather than the gender imbalance that should have been sustained. However her power in the relationship illustrates that she isn’t like the typical 1912 woman, who has respect for attitudes and tradition. She is independent from her husband, showing that she has the power to do as she pleases. Her ability to separate herself from tradition may indicate that she also has the ability to change from capitalism- a traditional ideology- to socialism. However due to her uncaring nature, she chooses not to as she only cares for what benefits herself rather than society as a whole.
Priestley reinforces her unsympathetic nature again as she believes that Eva Smith’s death was the result of her own actions as she remarks that ‘first she called herself Mrs Birling which naturally was one of the things which prejudiced me against her case.’ Sybil justifies her actions leading to Eva's death, blaming the victim for it rather than herself. This is indicated by the adverb ‘naturally,’ as she defends her actions, acting as though she was righteous to deny Eva the help she needed. Additionally, she states that this decision was ‘one’ of the reasons- indicating that there are many more, for example: Eva Smith being pregnant out of wedlock may have been a cause ,in 1912 society would look down on this. However, she may simply have chosen not to aid her due to her disgust for the lower class- this is demonstrated through her use of language when referring to them as ‘girls of that class.’ The determiner ‘that’ illustrates that she feels as though saying the working class is offensive- she refuses to recognise them as people, choosing not to even speak of them as that would associate herself with something filthy. Priestley intentionally placed so many prejudices towards the working class to illustrate that society needs change. Working class girls would turn to charities in their times of need, upper class women such as Mrs Birling were in charge of them. Highlighted in the play, the help is given based on their own moral judgement, whether the upper class women believe the working class are deserving of it or not. The charity system in this play is presented as flawed- which led to Eva's death. Priestley’s purpose is to show the audience that the working class are vulnerable. In 1945 the general election was taking place- the labour party introduced the welfare state- this provides economic aid to anyone who is in need. This contrasts to Mrs Birling giving aid based on her own judgement. Replacing the charity system with the welfare state provides financial security, preventing future outcomes similar to Eva’s tragic life.
Her lack of empathy is again highlighted as she pushes the blame of Eva’s death on to others rather than accepting responsibility. She clearly refuses to take any responsibility for her actions as she says ‘ but I accept no blame for it at all.’ The short sentence structure illustrates her lack of empathy as she speaks in a dismissive tone. She makes it clear that she doesn’t want to hear anymore about this ‘girls’ death and refuses to take any accountability. Not only does she shift the blame off of herself, she also gives it to someone else as she believes ‘he ought to be dealt with very severely.’ The intensifier ‘very’ again indicates how unwilling she is to take responsibility as she makes the punishment worse for the other person in hopes of saving herself. However, dramatic irony is used here as she is blaming her son without even knowing. Perhaps if she knew this was her son, she wouldn’t be so quick to make these bold statements, as a mother would typically want to protect her family. Yet, in the previous parts of the play, she purposefully blames her family for Eva’s death while making herself seem innocent; ‘unlike the other three, I did nothing I'm ashamed of.’ The use of the preposition ‘unlike the other three’ indicates that she sees herself as above her family, as she attempts to condemn their actions all in hopes of self preservation. Her heartless nature is demonstrated here as she not only lacks empathy for the working class, she also lacks empathy for her own family. Priestley purposefully portrayed her in such a negative way to expose the selfish attitudes of the upper class in 1912.
This is amazing bro 👍👍👍🙌🙌
@@preterm28 thank you!!!
This is a really nice essay! if you don't mind, can I have any tips on learning structure in my essays, such as determiners? I'm stuck on a 7 so far and I think my lack of analysis in this part really holds me back from getting higher grades.
@@william2344 thank you so much , i wrote this quite a while back and the way i've written has changed a lot. But i have tips from now which i can give you.
when given your exam, use five minutes to plan the points you'll make.
the quotes i used in this essay are ones i never used again. you don't need to learn a lot of quotes, learn quotes which would be relevant for almost any kind of essay.
plan your quotes around the context you use as well.
for example one quote i always use for Mrs Birling is 'naturally that was one of the things which prejudiced me against her case.'
with this quote you can easily talk about context; the flawed charity system needing to change in to the welfare state. As well as zooming in to the language techniques, you can look in to the context, and while talking about context you can write about Priestley's intention
without writing about context you cant really go in to Priestley's intention which gets you the most marks.
to write about analysis just do research of the quotes you have in mind and zoom in to the techniques used.
e.g. the premodifier 'naturally' suggests that Mrs Birling feels righteous in denying the help needed. a capitalist society conditions the upper-class in to thinking that they are superior in every aspect, including their morals. therefore it is fully justified for Eva to receive such inhumane treatment as it is only 'natural' for Mrs Birling to behave in such a way.
then you can write about 'one of the things' then u can again go in to context, describing what prejudices she may have had. then go in to context
@@william2344 then talk about the welfare state and preistleys intention was to shpw that the charity system is flawed and needs replacing
This video alone has made me understand the play even better bro , this single video i needed to revise character analysis tysm tysm
Good luck
11:02 Eva says that her name is Birling because her child is Eric's who is a Birling. If she was married to Eric, her name would be Birling. I think she hints this.
Yes, this would be a very good reason.
would you consider doing a video like this on edna? she's a very minor character but her role in the play is very very significant and there's a lot of say about her that could link to most questions
Yes, I could do that. I'll give it some thought - there's a whole section on her in my guide, so it won't be hard.
Edna litraly does nothing im so confused😯
@@magdakaliciak6500 When edna is serving the dinner mr birling says “thank you” but mrs Birling doesn’t like Arthur talking to her as she’s lower class. So Edna is disrespected due to her class. This shows Edna is not treated right as well, which backs up the idea of Eva being disrespected due to her class. This shows the audience that lower class people are discriminated often just because they’re poorer. :)
@@Xashleeox ok u swet no one cares the world is ending anyway 🙄
@@magdakaliciak6500 ur just salty lol
Actually, the first Sybil asked the God Apollo to grant her immortality. He does so, but makes her extremely old and gives her immeasurable knowledge about the future. So the lesson learnt here is really, 'Be careful what you wish for'. In parallel to this, Mrs Birling is constantly blaming the boy who got Eva pregnant, telling the Inspector to go after him. But she doesn't realise that, the boy is her own son Eric. She isn't careful about what she wishes for.
That’s very good! I didn’t know that.
@@MrSallesTeachesEnglishThanks Sir!
Thank you sir! I purchased all the books for English Lit. They are really helping me a lot! Ur the goat of English!
Glad you like them! Thanks for buying them.
thank you so much for these notes!! i thought the patriarchy angle was really interesting and i really enjoyed writing about this angle in my exam today!!
I'm so glad!
Sybil is my favorite charicter becouse how cold an plain she seems but underneeth....
Really helpful - I've got a different perspective on Mrs Birling as a character, and how she can seem to be logical. This is definitely a good alternative point to all the general negative points made at Mrs Birling.
Also, my English exam is in two months, and I really find your videos helpful. Thank you
this video and your kamikaze analysis saved me in today’s exam, thank you so much!!!
this got me a grade 9 on my sybil essay thanks sir
Thanks a lot daddy
WOAHHH
WTF?!
Girl
preparing for mocks with your videos mr salles. Can't put the pen down!
Good luck
Thanks for the video. In the exam, wouldn't you have to use (and thoroughly analyse) quotes from the text too? These are mainly concepts or conceptualised points and my target from previous essays was to analyse AO2 in more depth which I can only get through quotations. So, which quotations (that you can explore in depth) would you recommend to support these ideas, particularly the one about Sybil representing the welfare state?
Dasiy may have intentionally presented herself as miss birling to present the desperation within her and that she is trying to receive money by hiding her identity as she thought it was the last resort in order to receive the money without being a criminal. Alternatively, it could hint at the fact that she is carrying erics child. Mrs birling may have also suspected this but with her willful blindness, she decides to be ignorant about it as if this was erics child then it would bring a reduction to their family image/reputation presenting her views on Class that is significantly important to her which is why Sybil decides to turn her away that could be argued to be the last straw that causes her to commit suicide- however, we know that its eric and Gerald who is most to blame by exploiting her and her vulnerability- disintegrating her until she thought life was not worth living anymore.
Very good arguments. I think that blaming Mrs Birling for knowing who Eva and her unborn grandchild are when she refused Eva help does not fit Priestley's purpose as well. If his purpose is to show that the upper classes are prejudiced against the working class, and then get them to question that snobbery, it is much easier to use her as an example of the unintended consequence of upper class beliefs. If, as you suggest, she knew, then Mrs Birling is portrayed as vicious and evil. It is then much more difficult to persuade the upper classes that they are like her, and much less likely that they will change.
That would be an interesting way of reading the way she continues to blame the father of Eva's unborn child for her suicide; you could play this as her being very innocent about him, or you could also see it as her deflecting attention away from her guilt (she doesn't know who he is, she keeps insisting, even although she must suspect) and also hiding his identity (we don't know who it is; it isn't anyone of us here, or why would I blame him all the time?); it is the Victorian culture of not speaking about scandal to its extreme, brutal degree.
I got 56/60 on my english lit mock paper 1 thanks to u tbh!!!!
Hello Mr Salles, would you say that this video contains all the info in order to answer any question that comes up about Mrs Birling (I do AQA) Thanks!
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you
You are welcome
this is great! never seen any ideas like this before.
additionally to this using this video, I received a grade 8 on my exam :)
Hello sir, could you please mark my essay on Mrs Birling.
In the didactic play “An Inspector Calls”, Priestley presents Mrs Birling as a construct that represents the conservative and ignorant attitudes in Edwardian society. Priestly does this to show how capitalism is unfair and unsustainable in order to make the audience become more socialist and vote for a Labour government in the upcoming election.
Priestley creates sympathy for Eva by describing her using the adjectives “young” and “pretty” to show how she could have had a promising life. This makes the audience feel animosity towards characters, such as Mrs Birling, who contributed to Eva’s suicide. This is illustrated when Mrs Birling says “I consider I did my duty” when speaking about how her charity refused to support Eva. The short sentence emphasises how “cold” and cruel she is towards Eva and the working class. It could also symbolise how Eva spent a short amount of time with Mrs Birling, and that Mrs Birling did little to help Eva. Additionally, the abstract noun “duty” may suggest that she doesn’t believe she needs to do more to help society. This contrasts the Inspector’s socialist idea that his “duty” is to “ask questions” towards the Birlings, and towards society in order to improve it by removing capitalism. The Inspector is presented as a foil to Mrs Birling in order to emphasise the stubbornness of the upper class for not converting to socialism. Furthermore, the play is structured so that Mrs Birling is the last of the Birlings to meet Eva which may represent how charities were the last resort for the poor because there was no welfare state. Alternatively, the audience may draw parallels between Mrs Birling’s view on her “duty” and how the government thought they had done their “duty” by giving workers the minimum wage as a result of The Miner Strikes in 1912, or by providing unemployment insurance. But realistically, the government should be more socialist by performing more social reforms to aid the poor. Priestley does this to persuade his post-war audience to vote for a Labour government in the 1945 election so that society can gain a Welfare State which will mean that many of the working class won’t have to rely on charities such as Mrs Birling’s.
Additionally, Mrs Birling’s harmful views are shown to be indoctrinated towards the younger generation which is done to warn the audience about the future if women aren’t given more power. At the start of the play, Sheila uses the pronoun “Mummy” to describe her mother, suggesting that she is childish and dependent on her mother. Mrs Birling then tells Sheila that she will have to “get used to” being submissive to men and Gerald’s infidelity. Mrs Birling indoctrinating her patriarchal views warns the audience about how women will continue to suffer in the future. However, Sheila is presented to change when she responds to Sybil calling Eva “impertinent” by saying that it is “such a silly word”. Sheila going against her mother here represents how Sheila has become more independent and is no longer relying on Mrs Birling’s views. Instead, she is challenging patriarchy. Additionally, Sheila calls Eva’s actions in Millwards “impertinent” earlier in the play. Her calling it now “silly” emphasises how Sheila is no longer behaving like an archetypal privileged member of the upper class. In the stage directions, Sheila is “laughing hysterically”. This may imply that the idea of Capitalism is laughable in a modern world. Or, it could perhaps elucidate how Sheila Is childish and still needs to develop more to become more socialist. Priestley sets the play in 1912 when women didn’t have the vote to show the Edwardian audience how women deserve equal rights to men. Through using Sheila as a dynamic character, and contrasting her attitudes with Mrs Birling’s dislikeable capitalist attitudes to create hope for the audience that the younger generation will end patriarchy.
Mrs Birling’s name “Sybil” may reflect an older generation name, presenting her as a typical old upper-class woman who is ignorant of the problems in society. Perhaps, her name could also symbolise “Sibyls” in Greek mythology who could see into the future. This can be seen as ironic as Mrs Birling is ignorant and is unable to the suffering of “girls of that class”. However, in the stage directions when the Inspector arrives, the lighting becomes “brighter and harder”, representing how he will show Mrs Birling the truth that she is ignorant and should be more socially responsible. Additionally, the lighting on stage would be changed by Edna announcing the Inspector. This could represent how the working class will bring the truth to the upper class. This can be seen as foreshadowing how Eva’s suicide will change Sheila, encouraging the upper-class audience to become more socially responsible. However, this could also represent how the working class will show the truth to the upper class in the form of a revolution. Priestley’s main intention would have been to reference a Marxist teaching that Capitalism isn’t sustainable because the poor treatment of the working class will eventually lead to a revolution. This Is Priestley’s main purpose because the play was first performed in Moscow. The Russian audience would recognise and relate to this Marxist teaching because of their Communist revolution in 1917, and also because Communism is an extension of Marxism. Therefore, Priestley suggests the idea that the working class will change Mrs Birling’s ignorance in order to please the Russia audience.
Priestley presents Mrs Birling as a “cold” and sanctimonious woman in order to show how the “millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths” suffer as a result of a cruel capitalist society, and that women must reject patriarchy. This is exaggerated through Priestley using elements of a Greek tragedy by having the play take place in one day, one place and having one plot. Priestley does this to highlight how Mrs Birling’s charity and capitalist views make her seem like a hero to society. However, as the play goes on, she suffers a downfall as the Inspector questions her so that we can see how being socialist is superior to Mrs Birling’s capitalist viewpoint. Perhaps, this is done to show that we must stop thinking in terms of “property and power”, and start thinking in terms of “community and creation”
If you can write this much in the exam it will get a 9. Not all your paragraphs are linked. The audience is not Edwardian. If you need to cut it, some of the Sheila, Edna and perhaps Eva can be shortened. Well done!
Hey Mr salles, could you write a quick thesis statement on Mrs Birling based on the ideas that you covered in this video?
Yes, but so could you if you’ve watched it!
does anyone have any tips about how an essay using these points would be structured? it would be very helpful :)
Could you perhaps suggest that both Mr and Mrs Birling (Arthur and Sybil) could be the most responsible for Eva's death as you could suggest that Priestly has put them in that order on purpose, - - > Mr Birling who started the thoughts of suicide then Mrs Birling who finished them
Yes you could argue that
Thank you this was very helpful. Would this be a good thesis for an essay on her?
Priestley wrote the morality play AIC as a political diatribe critiquing society and more specifically capitalism as an ideology. He constructs Mrs Birling to criticise upper class prejudices towards those socially inferior to them, but also hints that this is a product of society. Therefore society as a whole needs to change in order for individual growth to happen.
Excellent!
@@MrSallesTeachesEnglish thank you!
These videos are amazing
I just purchased your English language guide too from Amazon. I hope this helps aswell❤️👊🏾.
Thank you!
Amazing video, thanks
Sir i am just wondering previously Eva rejected the stolen money from Eric as she did not want to be seen as criminal but at the charity she attempted to commit fraud by calling herself Mrs Birling. Is there a bigger picture to this because I see this as a little hypocritical or does it show her desperation?
It’s because Eva upholds the expectation of being married before being pregnant and foreshadows that Eric is the father of the child
Desperation yes, but using 'Mrs' rather than Miss when unmarried was more accepted as a polite fiction for an unmarried mother because being pregnant and unmarried was much more scandalous. The audience would see this as Eva trying to stay respectable and give her baby a better start in life, whereas taking stolen money would be much more frowned on.
Eva wasn't lying when she said she was Mrs Birling because she would have been the next Mrs Birling since she was pregnant with eric's child
anyone know how mr salles gets that effect on his mouse? on his other videos there's also a nice ripple effect, does anyone know how he gets that as well?
i have written an ESSAY about Mr Birling as an unlikeable character. if you could read it and give me feedback that would be great.
IIn this morality play, ‘An inspector Calls’ Priestley presents Mr Birling as an unlikeable character. Through the adjective “heavy” perhaps illustrates that Mr Birling is metaphorically suggested as a “heavy” weighed “man” which indicates his capitalism has overweighed him physically as well as his mentality which is exemplified through his sullen attitude towards the proletariats. This connotes that Mr Birling is a narrow minded- “foolish man”. Specifically, the hyphen “heavy-looking” could convey endless cruelty which is further reinforced in act1 scene2. Moreover, the concrete noun “man” conveys Mr Birlings as an unlikeable character as he does not value socialism as part of our society his superiority is used against the proletariats and socialists. In 1944 when the play was written Priestey knew about the disjunction that capitalism has bought to society especially to the lower classes as they were super deprived with the workhouses that didn’t provide them with extra shillings to buy extra products especially to buy food with. Mr Birlings unlikeable character is signified through the verb “speak” could emphasise his greed for wealth, power. This has semantic fields of ignorance as he rejects his moral conscience. The Edwardian audience perceive Mr Birling’s unlikeable character as heartless and selfish towards the proletariats as he is unwilling to accept social responsibilities. Priestley’s purpose for creating an unlikeable, ignorance character was to warn the society about what capitalisms can bring in society. However, priestley also wanted to repaint socialism alluding that people at the bottom of thr hierarchy should be treated highly just like the bourgeoisies are being treated.
Priestley’s use of the dramatic irony further indicates Mr Birling’s unlikeable character. Through the repetition “unsinkable” could imply that Mr Birling is referring to the bourgeoisies as untouchable, powerful, wealthy because their social classes are more valued than the lower classes. Specifically, the adverb “absolutely” could convey Mr Birling’s speech as “foolish” as he is not sure about what he is saying and how ridiculous it sounds to the modern audience. It could be argued that Mr Birling does not only want to be an upper-class wealthy man. However, Mr Birling also wants to take God’s role of prediction. Mr Birling’s unlikeable character reinforces Dante’s Divine of comedy as he represents greed. The Edwardian audience come across Mr Birling as a “foolish man” illustrating that Mr Birling is incorrect in every prediction that he claims. Priestley’s purpose of involving a static character in contrast to Sheila and Eric (younger generations) is to convey the changes that the younger generation can bring to society’s growth this involves decreasing poverty and sufferings of the lower classes. However, priestley has placed Mr Birling in such unlikeable position in this morality play to spread awareness of capitalism. Priestley also uses the character of Mr Birling to symbolise the bourgeoisies this is highlighted through the capitalisms immortal actions.
Priestley’s use of the quotation “is there any reason why my wife should answer questions frmyou. Inspector” solidifies Mr Birling as an unlikeable character as he is self-centred. Specifically, the rhetorical question “inspector?” portrays masculinity as he wants to control the interrogation between Mrs Birling and Inspector Goole. It could perhaps be argued that Mr Birling finds offensive about the fact that his wife is his social superior. In 1912 when the play was set they lived in a patriarchal society therefore men were seen more superior than women because of their gender. Priestley connotes Mr Birling as an unlikeable character as he addresses that he is not “responsible” for damaged women’s such as Eva/Daisy. The Edwardian audience perceive Mr Birling as hubris. Highlighting that Mr Birling is more concerned about maintaining his own reputation than taking any kind of social responsibility.
Priestley presents Mr Birling as an unlikeable character through the quotation “lower cost higher prices”. Consequently, the juxtaposition oh “higher” and “lower” could imply the gap between the classes. Mr Birling is exploiting the people that work for him and buy his product of “higher prices”. Priestley indicated here that capitalist’s only have one duty to accomplish and that is to keep on making as much money as possible.it could be argued that Mr Birling is behind the suffering of the lower classes because of his selfishness. Specifically the noun “earth” could imply that Mr Birling thinks that the proletariats will be asking for earth but he himself and his capitalism society are taking over the earth and bringing horror to the society. The Edwardian audience learn the damages that capitalism brings to society as well as their horror “business”.
The imperative “be quite Sheila” signifies Mr Birling’s arrogance especially to his own daughter. Priestley is portraying that not only that Mr Birling wants to damage the proletariats women’s; however, Mr Birling also sees his own daughter as an object for Gerald. The adjective “pretty” illustrates that Mr Birling is perhaps taking advantage of his own daughter so that Croft Limited and Birling Co can be in unison. The modern audience see that Mr Birling sees this engagement as a business contract.
At the cessation of this morality play Mr Birling fails to learn the inspector’s direct message of social responsibility, reinforcing the inspectors earlier comments about how is the “younger ones” are “more impressionable”. Priestley is criticising the behaviour of the older generation as unlikeable, implying that they are fixed in their traditional mindset. The Edwardian audience see Mr Birling as unlikeable character because of his representation of capitalistic ideology. In conclusion Mr Birling’s unlikeable character does not only affect the society however, it also affects him because of the momento mori capitalists will be punished for their crimes and sins. Mr Birling also becomes against the Marxism theory as he does not allow socialism to be part of our world’s growth.
by maryama
The goat❤️👊🏾.
hi mr salles what would you put for the techniques of the quotes
Can this be used for an essay about gender?
hi sir, could you mark this please
what does evas surname have to do with sybil refusing her help
Hi Mr Salles, i just wanted to ask which characters for AIC do you think are important to revise? Ive done mindmaps for sheila and sybil using your videos (which have been extremely helpful) but im not sure which ones to do in particular.
Well, do all of them! Sheila and Birling come up most frequently
thankyou so much sir
Can we all agree that she was in the wrong to not give Eva any money
Oeuf no you idiot
8:09 i dont get this bit
nvm i do
cheers
so we all here rn
Hi Mr Salles just wanted to know when you will send me my giveaway prize, as I haven't had a response from you since I emailed you last week. Thanks
aired
RIP termile, 2 years and waiting
Did you get it bro