Eric Crild Flashcards
‘why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices’
L = question
D = later I. Make him question his fathers political and economic ideology’s. Contrast comp. Adj and superlative adj - makes workers requests seen reasonable and capitalistic business’s seem exploitative of workers.
‘She didn’t want me to go in…. I was in that state where a chap easily turns nasty.’
C= Eric effectively rapes Daisy. Illustrates power of men over women and rich over poor and vulnerable. R = shocking to MC audience; makes them consider their own behaviour and attitudes to WC.
‘ she treated me as if I were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was’
L = noun ‘kid’. Eric less mature then Daisy. C = Daisy has had to grow up faster - less privileged WC life and no parents; had to fend for herself.
‘ you’re not the kind of father a chap could go to when he’s in trouble’
Illustrates divide between father and son personally as well as ideologically. R = feel sympathy for Eric. He has no one to turn to emotionally despite his privileged life. May explain his alcoholism.
‘ you killed her - and… your own grandchild’
L = emotive, accusatory language.
Emphasises impact of Mrs B’s action - by making it personal to the Birlings. Priestley illustrates how and action by Mrs B that she dismisses as unimportant can have huge, tragic consequences on others. We are responsible for each other.
‘ you don’t understand anything. You never did’
Mrs B does not understand her son but she also refuses to understand the Inspectors message that she is responsible for others. R = creates sympathy for Eric. His own mother has never tried to understand him. He feels isolated and alone.
‘ he was our police inspector all right’
L/I = he ‘interpreted’ them and made them confess. He was their Moral inspector rather than a police inspector. They have all committed moral crimes against another innocent individual.
‘ the girls dead and we all helped to kill her’
Eric understands whether or not the inspector was a hoax is irrelevant. He does not seek to pass blame for the girls death but accepts we share responsibility. R = audience feels he has atoned for his terrible treatment of Daisy by accepting it and trying to change and become a better, socially responsible person.
