Eric Flashcards
“Not quite at ease” (stage direction)
Eric is immediately described as someone who seems to be uncomfortable being a part of the birling family.
On the other hand He seems to be hiding something
Priestley believed change needed to come in society and this hope lay in the younger generation
“Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages.
Eric is the first to suggest that lower class people should be treated better
It is clear why eric has a bad relationship with his parents-their personalities differ greatly
[why-relative adverb]
“You killed her!…damn you”
This is the first time we see eric furious and verbally attack his mother. He directly addresses her with the [personal pronoun-you] in order to let mrs birling know that eric blames her for the death of his grandchild.
“I liked her, she was pretty and a good sport”
[good sport- noun phrase]- highlights how he sees their brief relationship and Evas pregnancy as a sort of game
“I liked her”- he acted on his impulse without considering any consequence of his own actions. Shows the recklessness of the upper class
“(Unhappily) my god-im not likely to forget”
[unhappily-adverb= regretful and resentful tome, eric quickly takes responsibility for his reckless actions]
Eric represents hope for the younger generation and for the future
Many problems in the 20th century were a result of the selfish (mr birling) and prejudiced (Mrs birling) actions of the older generation. Priestley saw the need for change and knows this can only come from the younger generation
“In that sate when a chap easily turns nasty”
Determiner “that” implies that this “nasty” behaviour is common to all men
As a result eric is aligning himself with the idea that he just a friendly young man, who doesn’t take responsibility, which is solely due to the effect if alcohol.
