Eric Birling context and analysis
- Created by: simrik
- Created on: 03-05-22 14:00
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- Eric Birling
- He does not take responsibility
- He forces himself on Eva Smith (modern day crime) but claims he has no memory of what happened- he said "it seems" DEFLECTS BLAME
- He distances himself from what he has done by refusing to use the personal pronoun "I" when he says "in that state when a chap turns nasty" as though it is not really him and if it was him then all "chaps" do the same so it isn't as bad. CYNICAL
- He commits the only other crime in the play- THEFT- by stealing money from his fathers business but when he is accused of this he replies with "not really" to deflect responsibility
- £50 is over 40 weeks of Eva's earnings which is apparent to 1945 audience but him and Eva have only been together for 16 weeks which shows he kept most of this money for himself and for his drinking
- BARE FACED LIE which Priestley uses to convey that Capitalists are prepared to LIE to themselves about doing it for the benefit of others WHEN IT BENEFITS THEM THE MOST
- £50 is over 40 weeks of Eva's earnings which is apparent to 1945 audience but him and Eva have only been together for 16 weeks which shows he kept most of this money for himself and for his drinking
- Priestley presents Eric as a SYMBOL of the FUTURE OF CAPITALISM- to present the idea that capitalism is THEFT.. Eric personifies capitalism as theft
- In order for some members of society to get incredibly rich they have to make others work for less money than they get themselves instead of equally distributing the money. STEALING from the workers- CAPITALISM
- He commits the only other crime in the play- THEFT- by stealing money from his fathers business but when he is accused of this he replies with "not really" to deflect responsibility
- BARE FACED LIE which Priestley uses to convey that Capitalists are prepared to LIE to themselves about doing it for the benefit of others WHEN IT BENEFITS THEM THE MOST
- BARE FACED LIE which Priestley uses to convey that Capitalists are prepared to LIE to themselves about doing it for the benefit of others WHEN IT BENEFITS THEM THE MOST
- He forces himself on Eva Smith (modern day crime) but claims he has no memory of what happened- he said "it seems" DEFLECTS BLAME
- Symbol of upperclass drunkenness
- Upper classes use alcohol at every occasion and with every meal
- Capitalism is not just greed for money but is greed for food and drink too- QUESTIONS THE LOGIC OF CAPITALIST THINKING.. are they making all these decision, like Eric did, while they were drunk?
- Eric was just "squiffy" at the beginning but the inspector had given him a lot more brandy which implies that he is very drunk towards the end
- APPARENT siding with inspector and APPARENT learning a lesson is because of his drunkenness and in actuality he won't remember much the next morning because he is BLIND DRUNK which audience will see from frequent dashes- SLURRED and HESITANT SPEECH
- Second death (symbol of WW2) would have never happened if the upper classes were rational and the APPARENT LEARNING OF A LESSON is simply an illusion because a second death occurs (WW2)
- Upper classes use alcohol at every occasion and with every meal
- Symbol of future generations of upper class men
- The lesson was learnt but the lessons were lost because the older generation held on to power too long and sacrificed their own youth in the war
- Eric would have fought in the war around the same time Priestley had. Although Priestley had a relatively normal upbringing with a father as a teacher, he later went to Cambridge where he witnessed the "varsity life" first hand among his peers
- PRIESTLEY HATED HEDONISM AND ERIC SHOWS THIS
- He does not take responsibility
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