erned about financial gain, if he gets the corporate contacts, he gets the contracts for his business. He hopes that the Crofts would be happy to be part of the Birling institution. Crofts Limited has an established reputation because it is older and from an aristocratic association, so Mr Birling wants a firm hold upon this renowned name. He wants people to know that Crofts are part of Birling so he can gain more business and profit; to take over Crofts would be to seal his rise to social status.
             'We may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birling are no longer competing but are working together-for lower costs and higher prices.'
             Basically Mr Birling wants a monopoly and doesn't really care if this is achieved at the expense of the workers.
             Mr Birling was previous to his marriage, a working/middle class man but now he is firmly middle/upper class because he is of his wife's class. This has meant he has been accepted in materialistic terms but not quite socially. He is a man who is socially climbing all the time and he sees his daughter's marriage as a step towards social acceptance This makes it clear that he started this in his own private life and he now wants his daughter to do the same, marry into status. He believes success is wealth, class and power and the easiest route to success is to marry into it. Success brings good fortune and contacts, something he wants more of especially for his daughter.
             'You ought to like this port, Gerald. As a matter of fact, Finchley told me it's exactly the same port as your Father gets from him.'
             You can tell from this statement that Arthur Birling wants a great deal and worries a great deal about being accepted. He is just a man who really likes to please those in higher circles. He has also implied that he has a will to buy something that someone else with influence purchases as well. He is a weak man in this sense and doesn't want to get left behind in the 'purchasing game.'
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