Eric Birling Flashcards
“Not quite at ease “
Eric discomfort towards family’s lifestyle / privilege .Foreshadows Erics attitude - not at ease with fathers behaviour or his own
“ that’s when it happened “
Pronoun it = audience fill the gap, retain own option of whether he raped her .
Redeemable ?
“ yes I remember “
Immediate response, repentant remorseful
Authentic regret . Stil thinks about it and his actions
“ when a chap”
Third person to dissociate himself from cruel actions
Alcohol filled violence state all men familiar to = acceptable in society
“ not the kind of father …
“ not cosy or homelike “
Product of poor parenting. Denied care or compassion
Condemned by same callousness
Alcohol = response to coping of hypocrisy and materialism in his family
Pr deflects blame of Eric onto parents and society he lives in
“ my god “ ( involuntary)
Pr presents in favourable fashion. Morals/ emotional response to death of Eva
Moral nature - chose not to express or couldn’t suppress . Society that condemns feminine traits as ‘ hysteria ‘
Pr portrays emotion as necessary for society to improve
Contrasts Mr B reaction wjo dismisses ( rather impatiently)
Distinct older vs younger
“ why shouldn’t they try for higher wages “
Empathises with lower clsss ( audience can align with )
Inherently social views ( despite raping Eva)
Condemns father capitalism and challenges
Symbol of redemption
Capacity to change and improve - remorse and regret, accepts responsibility ( rejects sole respons tho )
Source of optimism
“ you killed her “
Initially fails to take responsibility blames Mrs b
Then learns from Insp “ we all helped to kill her “
Priestly presents Immoral behaviour due to society norms
Following other men footsteps .
Shown by Gerald that “ respectable “ men use prostitutes = normalised
Context of women inferior to men . Value measured thru utility of body and sexual appeal
Audience sympathise
Lack of good father / role model
Considered whether actions are true reflection of character or society conditioned
Treatment of Eva
Symbolic of suffering at hands of rich. Sun not beyond anyone
Abides not social conventions of exploring lower class. Aware of levels of corruption in society
“and that when it happened”
doesn’t directly mention his violence
towards Eva
and clearly feels guilty and distressed
when he said “why shouldn’t they try for higher wages”
moves towards socialism at the end of the play, and shows signs of disagreement with his father
his crimes are arguably unforgivable
so he could be used to show that once you commit certain crimes
• there’s no going back
deterrent for the audience
