Eric Flashcards
‘why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices’
L= question. D = later I. makes him question his father’s political and economic ideologiy. Contrast comp. adj and superlative adj – makes workers requests seem reasonable and capitalist businesses seem exploitative of workers
‘she didn’t want me to go in…I was in that state where a chap easily turns nasty’
C = Eric effectively rapes Daisy. Illustrates power of men over women and rich over poor and vulnerable. R = shocking to MC audience; makes them consider their own behaviour and attitudes to WC
‘she treated me – as if I were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was’
L = noun ‘kid’. Eric less mature than Daisy. C = Daisy has had to grow up faster – less privileged WC life and no parents; had to fend for herself
‘you killed her – and…your own grandchild’
L = emotive, accusatory language. Emphasizes impact of Mr B’s actions – by making it personal to the Birlings Priestley illustrates how an action by Mrs B that she dismisses as unimportant can have huge, tragic consequences on others. We are responsible for each other
‘the girl’s dead and we all helped to kill her’
Eric understands whether or not the Inspector was a hoax is irrelevant. He does not seek to pass the blame for the girl’s death but accepts we share responsibility. R = audience feels he has atoned for his terrible treatment of Daisy by accepting it and trying to change and become a better, socially responsible person
‘He was our police inspector all right’
I = he ‘interrogated’ them and made them confess. He was their MORAL inspector rather than a police inspector. They have all committed moral crimes against another innocent individual.
you don’t understand anything. You never did’
Mrs B does not understand her son but she also refuses to understand the Inspector’s message that she is responsible for others. R = creates sympathy for Eric. His own mother has never tried to understand him. He feels isolated and alone.
‘you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble’
Illustrates divide between father and son personally as well as ideologically. R = feel sympathy for Eric. He has no one to turn to emotionally despite his privileged life. May explain his alcoholism
