Eric - His reaction to the inspector

Question 1

“(involuntarily) My god!”

Answer 1

This quote highlights to the audience the shock the suicide has brought onto the family; this is reinforced by Priestley’s use of the exclamation mark, which not only shows how Eric is shocked but also reflects the audience’s shock. The use of the word “God” shows religious connotations which would have a much greater effect on the 1946 audience as they were much more religious, the specific use of this word shows how great and shocking this news is to Eric and creates tension on what will come next.

Question 2

“It isn’t if you can’t go and work somewhere else.”

Answer 2

Eric puts the Inspector’s notion of responsibility into contrast with Birling’s previous lecture about the sole necessity of looking after oneself and not concerning oneself with the well- being of others. Eric sees that the “free” world that Birling sees is not so free, in actuality, for the poor. That in some sense Birling’s position is based on an illusory and self-serving view of the world.

Question 3

“(sulkily) Well, we don’t need to tell the Inspector all about that, do we?”

Answer 3

Seems ashamed of what he’d done, scared of what the Inspector might say or do, overpowers/frightens Eric