Inspected Quotations

‘The Titanic [...] unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’ (Proper noun) A passenger liner that famously sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City (Adjective, dramatic irony) The Titanic sunk on 15th April 1912 ‘The Titanic [...] unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’ As a huge ‘olympic-class ocean liner’ that could carry over 3000 people, the ship was originally upheld as a feat of engineering, a symbol of humanity’s technological progress (Intensifier) ‘absolutely’ exaggerates his certainty alongside the repetition, further deepening the excruciating irony

Mr. Birling Exemplar Paragraph The first act introduces Arthur Birling as a character who is ignorant about many topical issues. He memorably states that ‘the Titanic’ is ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. With the gift of hindsight, Priestley’s original 1945/6 audience would have been astounded by how incorrect Birling is here. RMS Titanic sank on 15th April 1912, having collided with an iceberg, and approximately 1500 passengers drowned: quite the opposite of ‘unsinkable’. Priestley’s wording heightens the dramatic irony; not only does he utter the false adjective ‘unsinkable’, he repeats it and even unnecessarily exaggerates his certainty with the intensifier ‘absolutely’. The audience are left wondering whether, if Birling is so wrong about the Titanic and World War One, are his political views equally misguided?

‘Girls of that class---’ (Common noun) Focusses on their youth, arguably with a patronising tone Priestley satirises the Birlings’ sneering classism. He wanted to raise awareness of the ‘harsh economic realities of our time’ ‘Girls of that class---’ (Determiner) As if even vocalising the phrase ‘working class’ is beneath her (Dash) Represents the overlapping of Sheila: ‘(urgently, cutting in). Also, leaves the rest of the sentence up to the audience’s interpretation: unstable, unpredictable, hysterical?

Mrs. Birling Exemplar Paragraph Near the beginning of Act 2, Mrs. Birling makes several comments that portray her as classist and uncompassionate. While discussing potential motives for Eva’s suicide with Sheila, she dismissively mutters ‘Girls of that class--’. The choice of the common noun ‘Girls’ can be interpreted as patronising because it exaggerates Eva’s young age and thereby implies a certain naivety. More revealing is the unclear determiner ‘that’; it is almost as if even vocalising the phrase ‘working class’ is beneath her. Finally, the dash (signalling Sheila’s interruption) prompts the audience to consider which derogatory adjective she would have used to reductively criticise an entire class of people. As an avowed socialist, Priestley wrote that he wanted to raise awareness of the ‘harsh economic realities of our time’. Mrs. Birling refuses to empathise with the idea that Eva’s ‘economic realities’ likely caused her eventual suicide.

‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour- they’re people.’ (Adjective) Typically applied to purchased objects (Noun) Categorises people solely according to their jobs and the economic value that they can create for the business owner. Dehumanising - more like a machine Implies Birling is primarily interested in minimising costs (reminiscent of Birling’s ‘for lower costs and higher prices) ‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour- they’re people.’ (Conjunction) Clear rebuttal (Juxtaposition) Whereas ‘labour’ dehumanises, ‘people’ connotes more human characteristics: identity, emotion, family etc. (Noun) Implies that the working class are just as much ‘people’ as the middle classes (the Birling family)

‘If you must know, it is you two who are being childish.’

‘We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’

‘taught in fire and blood and anguish’