An Inspector Calls' Mr. Birling Study of Character

In play 'Inspector Calls' written by J B Priestley, Mr Arthur Birling is a prosperous manufacturer as well as father of Eric and Sheila. He is married to Mrs Birling and lives a stable social life. But does this explain everything? We do not know his character, his appearance or any deeper information about his habits. And yet at the end of the play everything is clear. So the question is how did the author let us know about Mr Birling's inside?

At the beginning of the play Mr Birling seems to be a very happy man. His daughter is engaged to a son of a very wealthy businessman and he regards it as a joyful occasion. By allowing Eric to speak 'rudely', the audience thinks that he is an emotional type of person because he is focused at the deeper aspects of life. The gesture of raising glasses shows even clearer to the audience that Mr Birling is a caring parent and well-mannered man. However, the first impressions are often misleading. During his speech he suddenly starts to talk about 'lower costs and higher prices'. He is even involving Gerald by talking about possible fusion of his father's company and Birlings Limited. His behaviour clearly shows to audience that Mr Birling in fact is a selfish man who puts business and wealth higher in hierarchy than the happiness of his daughter.

According to his business-like appearance, audience would expect Mr Birling to be a man who thinks about today - not tomorrow and has his feet firmly on the ground. But in fact Mr Birling is quite opposite. He appears to be too optimistic and does not know the impact of his findings. His expression like 'there isn't chance of war' shows the lack of correct judgment. As the audience is certainly form post-WII era, they would know straight away that Mr Birling is mistaken. Due to these circumstances, in eyes of audience, Mr Birling looks like a person with too high self-esteem and who jumps too quickly into conclusions.

Mr Birling could be judged as inconsistent person in his motto. During one of his reprimand he says that 'a man has to look after himself'. It means that he thinks that he is only one to blame for his actions. Funnily enough, when the truth about death of Eva Smith comes to light, he is trying as hard as possible to put blame on others. It clearly shows to audience that Mr Birling is not truly faithful to his belief and he is an impulsive man.

Mr Birling also seems to have a distance relationship with his children. He thinks that his children are not alien to him. However, he says 'neither do I' during the argument where Mrs Birling discovers that Eric as an alcoholic. It shows that he had not had a faintest idea about Eric's habit. Not to recognise such an obvious thing about his child means that he surely does not understand more complicated things like emotions. This passage sends a clear message to audience that Mr Birling is not a real caring father and puts wealth over the interest of his family.