How is Mr Birling presented in ‘An Inspector Calls’? Refer to Priestley’s use of language, form and structure. In J.B Priestley 's ‘An Inspector Calls’, Mr Birling is a wealthy, upper class, businessman in a fictional town called Brumley. Mr Birling is a father and leader of the wealthy Birling family. Through Mr Birling, Priestley demonstrated the life of the 1920s ‘hard-headed businessman’, influenced by greed, money and power. He shows no remorse or concern for his wrongful actions unless they affect his position in society or finances. Priestly believes that capitalism was responsible for both world wars and Mr Birling portrayed as a defiant capitalist. Priestley used Mr Birling in ‘An Inspector Calls’ to highlight the need for change in his 1946 audience if they want a peaceful, fairer, more caring future society. Priestley set his play in 1912 as it purposely contrasts to the time when he was writing in the mid-1940s. In 1912, there was little room for change with substantial, rigid differences between classes and genders. Yet by 1945, most of these differences had been put aside. After 2 world wars, people had mixed with each other and so learnt that people from different classes weren 't much different from themselves. People also wanted change and were getting sick of capitalist ways and Priestley wanted to make the most of these changes and put them to use in his play. ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a crime thriller play; however, the play structure fits into