wever what happens by the end of the play quite contrasts with this. As the play progresses, the audience lose trust in Arthur Birling's ability to make accurate predictions, as show his lines, 'The Germans don't want war. Nobody wants war...' and Titanic is, 'unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.' This paves the way towards what happens at the end of the play as even the most law abiding citizen could not foresee the inspector's arrival.
             Arthur Birling has a strong belief in his strong philosophy, that, 'a man has to
             mind his own business and look after himself.' It implies that he has no sense of community or Christian ethics. It is ironic therefore that this is the last thing that Birling says before the arrival of the inspector.
             During the play we find out that Birling had Eva Smith sacked for asking for a
             pay rise. The fact that he openly refused her, and dismissed her request suggests that he is an early twentieth century 'fat-cat boss' and that it is his belief that people seeking a better life are traitors to his company. He says, 'We can't let these Bernard Shaws' and H.G. Wellses do all the talking. We hard headed businessmen must do something sometime.' This was because these two authors wrote in their works against the ideas of capitalism, which Mr Birling epitomises. They also sympathised with poor workers, such as Eva Smith.
             Initially, when Mr Birling hears of the suicide, he attempts to brush it aside,
             saying, 'Obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girls suicide,' when explaining why he dismissed her. The fact he calls her a 'wretch' shows his lack of respect for those of lower class than his own. He also gets very annoyed at certain questions the inspector puts to him on th
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