Eric Birling Flashcards
Big ideas
Priestley uses Eric as symbolic of redemption; no
matter the atrocities committed in the past, he has the capacity to change and improve.
● Priestley presents Eric in a sympathetic light through Eric’s opposition to Mr Birling’s
capitalist and individualistic attitudes.
“early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half
assertive”
the asyndetic list here creates the sense that he is overwhelming and overbearing (perhaps alluding to the self-righteous superiority that his bourgeois lifestyle has instilled in him). In addition to this impression is his ‘half shy, half assertive’ nature. The adjective ‘shy’ connotes apprehension and nervousness which juxtaposes the implications of dominance and confidence with the adjective ‘assertive’. The contrast displays the inner turmoil Eric is experience as he is not ‘at ease’ with himself.
‘Because you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.’
This demonstrates the idea that Eric cannot rely on his father as a father figure.
Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?
Eric’s first piece of genuine sympathy for Eva, and Priestley starts to show the audience it is an allegory; a story with a double meaning. On the surface it is about the death of a worker that they have all been connected too, but underneath it is about the realisation of moral responsibilities.
Whilst Eric’s is siding with Eva Smith, it is still evident from his use of pronouns that he regards her as something separate to his family.
