Eric Birling Flashcards
(10 cards)
How is Eric Birling presented before the Inspector arrives?
- awkward - laughs out - stops himself for saying things - suspicious
- his father treats him dismissively - ignoring his comments, shoving the port at him to shut him up
How is Eric presented during the investigation?
- Eric’s impulsive and immoral actions
- Not taking personal responsibility
- However, sympathy due to the way he has been treated by his parents
How is Eric presented after the Inspector has left?
- Eric accepts responsibility and takes it seriously, a contrast to his parents, although we may not sympathise we begin to respect
What are some quotes at the start of the play that show Eric is suspiciously awkward?
Eric suddenly guffaws
“I’m not”
(rather noisily)”All the best”
(who is uneasy, sharply) “Here, what do you mean?”
(sharply, staring at him) What’s the matter with you?
(Defiantly) Nothing.
What are some quotes to show that there is some tension between Eric and his father who treats him dismissively?
“(not too rudely) Well, don’t do any. We’ll drink their health and have done with it”
“What about war?”
“but still - Just let me finish, Eric. You’ve a lot to learn yet’
“What’s the joke? Started telling stories?”
“Nothing?”
(amused)”Sounds a bit fishy to me.”
What are quotes to show Eric’s impulsive and immoral actions?
“She’d not had much to eat that day”
“Yes, I insisted - it seems”
“I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty- - and I threatened to make a row”
“And that’s when it happened”
What quotes show that Eric doesn’t take responsibility and doesn’t really help Eva?
“She’d not had much to each that day”
“No, not really. I intended to pay it back”
What quotes show that despite Eric’s actions we still feel sympathy to him?
“You’re not the kind of father a chap can go to when he’s in trouble”
“you killed her”
“you turned her away - yes, and you killed her”
“You don’t understand anything. You never even tried”
What quotes show that Eric accepts responsibility and takes it seriously, a contrast to his parents, although we may not sympathise we begin to respect?
“(laughing) Oh for God’s sake! What does it matter now whether they give you a knighthood or not”
“Well I don’t blame you”
“He was our police inspector all right”
“And I say the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her - that’s what matters”
Why did JB Priestly create this character?
- social criticism of the irresponsible way in which rich young men treated working class women
- but also a glimmer of hope that Eric’s generation would not going on behaving as his parent’ generation had - this is the era of the birth of the welfare state, after the war - a new Britain was being built
