Notes on "Mr Birling as a construct."

My notes on this article: Character Insights: Mr Birling as a construct.

Birling's attitude towards his daughter.

• He's essentially willing to sell his daughter on in order to get a business deal. He's willing to sacrifice his daughter's happiness for his own gain.

• The statement "your engagement to Sheila means a tremendous lot to me. She’ll make you happy, and I’m sure you’ll make her happy." is suggesting that only he and Gerald's happiness matters, not Sheila's.

• To him, Sheila is simply a resource to be used to further his own goals.

Birling's attitude towards his employees.

• Birling is happy to exploit the workers in his factory. In particular, vulnerable female workers.

• He is a perfect embodiment of factory and business owners at the time, who would happily exploit the poor for their own gain.

How he's presented.

• Birling is presented as foolish. He makes ironic remarks, regarding that the Titanic is "Unsinkable." and that war will never happen.

• He's also presented as arrogant. He's very confident in his own abilities, and is very sure of himself.

• He's also very protective of his reputation. He's very concerned about what people think of him, and is very concerned about his social status.

Mr Birling is a character who really cares about how others perceive him. He is also a model to the younger generation on how not to act.