Eric Birling Flashcards
“you killed her - and the child… your own grandchild”
(Responsibility)
Priestley encourages the audience to sympathise with Eric. By merely placing all the blame upon his mother, with “you killed her”, Eric attempts to absolve himself from any blame.
“You don’t understand anything. You never did. You never even tried.”
Eric continues to undermine himself as he berates his mother. Priestley’s use of the repetition and hyperbole creates a parody of the sweeping statements we might expect a teenager to use in an arguements with their parents.
“She wasn’t the usual sort”
“She didn’t know what to do”
(Gender inequality)
The adjective “usual” implies that visiting prostitutes is the norm for Eric.
Eric’s observation implies that he is attracted to Eva’s innocence, and also that he might realise that she is a woman he can exploit because of her ignorance.
“I hate these fat old tarts”
(Gender inequality)
Eric’s proclaimation reveals his disgust at his own hypocrisy in frequenting the palace bar, looking for sex.
The phrase “fat old tarts” demonstrates the dehumanizing language used to describe women.
“I insisted - it seems”
(Guilt)
Priestley’s use of the verb “insisted” implies that Eric may have physically overwhelmed Eva’s resistance.
Priestley’s use of the ambiguous verb phrase “it seems” reveals Eric’s attempt to forget his immoral actions, and distance himself from his guilt.
“in that state when a chap easily turns nasty”
(Guilt)
Demonstrates Eric’s subconscious attempts to distance himself from his actions by switching from first person to third person as he refers to himself as “a chap”.
Eric’s trivalisation of such violence of a possible rape, through the colliquial use of “a chap” is an attempt by Eric to soften the harshness of his actions.
“I threatened to make a row”
(Guilt)
Violent language, “I threatened”, is softened through the euphemistic use of “a row”. Demonstrates Eric’s attempts to convince himself that his actions were to a lesser extent of immorality than they actually were.
“[involuntarily] My God!”
(Morality)
Priestley use of the adverb “involuntarily demonstrates the moral nature of Eric as he could not supress his emotional reaction.
