Eric Birling Flashcards
“I w i t s w a c e t n.”
“I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty.”
Eric speaks about his drinking problem. It is proposed that, while drunk, Eric was very uncivil with Eva.
“N q a e, h s, h a.”
“Not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive.”
We are made to be very suspicious of Eric’s behaviour from the beginning.
[E s g]
[Eric suddenly guffaws]
Eric is extremely awkward. Perhaps he is worried about Mr Birling finding out about his stealing or maybe he doesn’t like all the attention being on Sheila.
“W s t t f h w?”
“Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?”
He sides with Sheila when Mr Birling explains his motives for firing Eva.
[E e, l e p a d]
[Eric enters, looking extremely pale and distressed]
Created tension for Act Three. Like Sheila, Eric appears to work out what the Inspector’s game is by himself.
“I h t f o t a t t - t o I s s o y r f w”
“I hate these fat old tarts around the town - the ones I see some of your respectable friends with”
Eric speaks up about the murky life style of the upper classes in Brumley.
“Y n t k o f a c c g t w h i t.”
“You’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble.”
Tension in the Birling household!
“M c - y o g - y k t b”
“My child - your own grandchild - you killed them both”
Eric blames Mrs Birling. It is clear that he is mindful of how selfish his mother is from the fact he has to relate it back to her.
“I a o y”
“I’m ashamed of you”
By the end Eric isn’t afraid to speak up against his parents in the name of justice.
“W h t k h”
“We helped to kill her”
Eric accepts responsibility for what happened.
