Responsibility/Eric Birling Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Responsibility/Eric Birling Deck (2)
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1
Q

“you killed her – and the child…your own grandchild”

A
  • Creates sympathy for Eric
  • Ignores Inspector’s message of joint responsibility
  • Perhaps, Eric did not change
  • morally dubious
  • Eric’s accusation of blame upon his mother is​ tantamount (equivalent) to Mrs Birling’s blame of the “father​”.
  • Attempts to blame mother to absolve himself of any blame
  • instinctual and his genuine belief
2
Q

“You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried”

A

Eric continues to ​undermine himself​ as he berates his mother “​You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried​”. Priestley’s use of​ repetition​ and hyperbole​ creates a ​parody​ of the ​sweeping statements​ we might expect a teenager to use in an argumen​t ​with their parents.