eric birling Flashcards
stage directions of eric
early twenties half shy half assertive
shows erics immaturity
‘Suddenly I felt I just had to laugh’
why does priestly use eric
as a symbolic of redemption; no matter the atrocities committed in the past he has the capacity to change and improve
quote that shows that hes going against his fathers views
why shouldnt they try for higher wages
i think it was a damn shame
cant blame her
: Talking about Mr. Birling firing Eva, Eric doesn’t agree with this decision, begins to show his socialist views and how he isn’t afraid to stand up to his father
‘He could have kept her on instead of throwing her out’
quote that demonstrates erics regret
yes i remember -
what are erics opinions shown as
socialist by nature as he was standing up for the workers rights and exposing the corruption and exploitation of capitalism
mrs birling giving the blame to the father
he should be made an example of. if the girls death is due to anybody, then its due to him
erics anger coming out to his mother as she blamed him - responsibility
then - you killed her… and the child shed have had too - my child - your own grandchild - you killed them both - damn you damn you
you dont understand anything. you never did. you never even tried
why does erics stage directions change from “shouting” to “quietly”
perhaps eric has been emotionally overwhelmed by the inspector and is therefore not speaking seriously when he supports the inspectors view
he finds it more easier to support the inspector rather than going against him
alcahol?
possibly the amount of him to drink could have thrown his speeches into doubt as it was all in intoxication
eric as gender inequality
“suddenly guffaws, i dont know - really. suddenly i felt i just had to laugh.”
“she wasnt the usual sort” “she didnt know what to do”
“i hate these fat old tarts”
“suddenly guffaws, i dont know - really. suddenly i felt i just had to laugh.” analysis
“guffaws” shows that eric knows that gerald is routinely unfaithful
eric would see this first hand as they both attend the palace bat specifically with the intention of picking up women or prostitutes
“she wasnt the usual sort” “she didnt know what to do” analysis
adjective “usual” implies that visiting prostitutes is the norm for eric. also shows he has had previous experiences
“she didnt know what to do” shows that he was attracted to evas innocence
“i hate these fat old tarts”
reveals his disgust at his own hypocrisy in frequenting the palace bar, looking for sex
upper class’ use of prostitution symbolic of their exploitations of the female lower class who are the prostitutes that are abused by the higher class men
