pages 2-11 (up to "EDNA: .... Inspector Goole). On the BBC film, from the start to 08.28.
AIM: To analyse how Priestley uses dramatic irony and other linguistic devices to develop the characterisation of Mr Birling.
Having read the first ten pages of the play, we realised that the pattern that Priestley's set up in the stage directions (that at first glance, the lives of the Birlings seems fabulous and optimistic; but on closer analysis, there is actually tension and uncertainty everywhere) finds its way through the opening ten pages of the play.
A mix and match task, with analytical extensions, was the first task. The aim is to realise just how frequently Priestley attempts to destabilise the apparently-happy scenario before us - that if you scratch away at the surface, you will discover how corrupt capitalist society is underneath. The documents can be accessed below:
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underlying_tension_1-11.doc |
We then looked much more closely at Birling, and how Priestley created this character, focusing particularly on pp6-7. Take a look at some of these actors who played Birling. What kind of characteristics are the actors trying to put forward about him?
For Priestley, remember, Birling is not real - none of these characters are. However, they stand for something real; these characters are constructions designed for purpose; they exist to fulfil Priestley's authorial intentions. And in a play designed to show the horrors of capitalism and the benefits of socialism in a historical period of potential change, Birling is THE ENEMY.
Birling is a metaphor for capitalism; he represents the wealthy upper-middle classes; worse still, he stands for the ignorance and foolishness of the rich.
Looking at four key excerpts in this section, we examined how Priestley uses dramatic irony and powerful language to show the foolishness and arrogance of capitalism, symbolised by Birling. Through effective characterisation, which we appreciate through analysis, we the reader understand that Birling is nothing more than a pompous, ignorant fool - and if this is what capitalism stands for, then we should do all we can NOT to become such a person.
You can find the lesson's key handouts below. For prep, use your notes from today's lesson to answer the question, "How does Priestley use dramatic irony and language to show Birling as a capitalist fool?". Give 1/2 PEEEs, focusing on 1/2 pieces of evidence. Please upload these in the comments section below. Please also prepare yourself for next lesson: please read pages 11-18 (up to The other four exchange bewildered and perturbed glances), and watch the section of the BBC film from 08.28-16.23.
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Again, your ideas were excellent in the feedback session after your work. In the speech beginning, "She'll make you happy, and I'm sure you'll make her happy", the following ideas were considered:
- semantic field of business - "business", "competing", "costs", "prices" - all seem totally out of place in a scene celebrating a family engagement - all illustrating the selfishness of Birling, who is taking advantage of the situation for his own ends
- "friendly rivals" in business - there seems to be a sense of pretense about these words. They are an oxymoron - a contradiction - they oppose each other, and it's a little bit like Birling is shown to be pretending that their relationship with the Croft family were always friendly - though we suspect not. The contradiction seems to indicate the lack of trust we have in Birling.
- There's also the last line "Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices" - there's a horrible irony in that Birling unconsciously touches on the socialist idea of cooperation and community (through "working together") but then re-asserts the selfish capitalist mindset - "lower costs" (for them, the wealthy factory owners) "and higher prices" (for the vast majority of the struggling working classes.)
In the second section, beginning "There's a good deal of silly talk about":
- the adjective "silly" indicates a patronishing tone - that the people speaking are children and immature and foolish - therefore putting himself in the position of knowledgeable adult (highly ironic given what is to come). A similar effect is created when he uses the word "fiddlesticks"!
- "hard-headed businessman" - the adjective "hard-headed" could be seen as positive, with connotations of strength and solidity, as if he's hard as a rock - no doubt exactly how Birling would like to see himself. However, this could be interpreted negatively - with connotations of stubborness, and foolishness, perhaps reflecting his unwillingness to change and his determined hold on capitalistic ideologies.
- Lots of dramatic irony, which all serves to emphasise the foolishness of Birling, how we mustn't trust him, and if we don't trust him, we don't trust capitalism. "You'll be marrying at a very good time" - two years before WW1, this is patently untrue. To emphasise Birling's foolishness, Priestley repeats the same foolish comment - "Yes, a very good time" - and then to really intensify Birling's idiocy, "soon, it'll be an even better time." Even better!? Millions will die - and Birling predicts improvements! His perspective is absurd - and we as an audience are encouraged to look at him with suspicion and disbelief.
In the third section, beginning, "I'm talking as a hard-headed man of business":
- "I say there isn't a chance of war" - terrible dramatic irony. He is so certain as well, with powerful short sentences to emphasise his apparent certainty. He couldn't be more wrong and more untrustworthy.
- The Titanic references are more examples of dramatic irony - the repetition of the weight ("forty-six thousand eight hundred tons") merely intensifies the horror in the audience, reminding them of the sheer size and weight of the vessel that lies at the bottom of the sea. "Unsinkable" (dramatic irony; Birling clearly wrong) "absolutely [intensifier, to emphasise the strength of his incorrect beliefs] unsinkable" (repetition to emphasise the scale of his foolishness). This all serves to make Birling out to be a foolish character that the 1945/2014 audience simply shouldn't sympathise with. Also, there is something about the total obsession Birling has with the Titanic - the awe and amazement he feels - that links into the superficial obsessions of Capitalism. The Titanic was built as a symbol of Britain's wealth and status and power - no wonder the Capitalist Birling felt that this was the most awesome sight he had ever seen. That it is now associated with waste, death and destruction is a metaphor for the selfish and ultimately purposeless desires of British capitalism.
- "silly little war scares" - "silly" again works to patronise the audience and ridicule the seriousness of the war to come; "little" trivialises the millions of deaths, making Birling look both foolish but also heartless.
- "There'll be peace and prosperity and rapid progress everywhere" - three totally incorrect assumptions about the future (more dramatic irony; more Birling, and therefore capitalism, looking foolish and wrong). The alliteration (p) links these all together and emphasises how many things Birling has got completely incorrect. The plosive qualities of the letter "p" do two things - it creates an aggressive effect (with each word, the exploding consonant sound seems to remind the audience of the explosions to come - though Birling is completely unaware of this), and it gives the audience a feel for the aggressive Birling himself, who seems to make even good ideas like "peace and prosperity" sound violent and unappealing.
The fourth section looks at the impact a negative capitalism seems to have on the rest of the family:
- Capitalism seems to split up individuals. The new generation of Capitalists are not seen as whole or complete - both Eric and Sheila are "half"; they are somehow torn apart. Eric is "half shy, half assertive" and this indecision is completely unexpected given his position as firstborn son and heir to the Birling company fortune. This immediately indicates that money and wealth and status does not necessarily lead to personal, moral happiness.
- An alternative interpretation, looking at Sheila's "half serious, half playful" is to indicate how effectively these characters can perform. These emotions are total contradictions, and perhaps - like the lighting - this indicates that the capitalists can deceive and pretend, feeling one emotion ("serious") but performing another ("playful"). There does not seem to be an opportunity to be open and honest in this capitalist family - perhaps the capitalist belief does not allow them to.
- When Sheila and Gerald converse about Gerald's absence, there is an awful lot of repetition of the personal pronoun "you". The effect is significant. Not calling one another by their Christian names does seem to rob the scene of any emotional, or even friendly quality - unexpected given they are engaged to be married. Indeed, the use of "you" is forceful, even aggressive - and indicates the subtle, repressed aggression both may feel about the other (this links in to the "split personality" discussed above).
- Mrs Birling's stage direction also tells us a lot about the relationships within a capitalist set-up. Mrs Birling talks "reproachfully" to her husband - "reproachfully" has connotations of scolding and shame. This is significant for several reasons. This immediately alludes to the clear tensions that exist within the family - Capitalism is associated with fractures and tension. It is surprising that the (higher-class) wife talks in such a way to her husband in front of guests - one would expect her to behave more carefully so as not to give away her true feelings. That this is exposed shows how forceful those negative feelings are, which are associated to Capitalism. Mrs Birling objects to Mr Birling's praise of the cook - "you're not supposed to say such things". How heartless this makes capitalism to be: one cannot praise another for a job well done, one cannot speak of another's work that has been given to benefit you. Capitalists seem intent to ignore and repress others, while only showing themselves for praise and reward.