Eric /

What is Eric like?

A troubled soul, who has turned away from his family and taken up drinking

Do the Birlings notice Eric’s drinking problem?

Maybe not, or they are too polite to mention anything

Does Eric fit in with the family?

No, he is isolated. He says no one understands him and he doesn’t feel like he can talk to any of them

How did Eric force himself onto Eva?

He was drunk, and got her pregnant. He was so drunk, he doesn’t remember it happening

Does Eric learn from his actions?

Yes, he deeply regrets them, by the end of the play, he says he will never forget what he has learnt

What quote supports that Eric is irresponsible?

‘I didn’t even remember - thats the hellish thing’

What quote supports that Eric is unloved?

‘You don’t understand anything. You never did’

What quote supports that Eric is sensitive?

‘My God - I’m not likely to forget’

What quote supports that Eric is an alcoholic?

‘I was in the state where a chap easily turns nasty’

How is Eric described in the opening stage directions?

‘Not quite at ease’ and ‘half shy, half assertive’

How do we know that Eric finds things his family say funny even when their is no joke?

He interrupts Sheila and Gerald when he ‘suddenly guffaws’ but says he doesn’t know why he is laughing

How does Eric react when Gerald says, ‘Unless Erics been up to something’?

Eric acts suspiciously and seriously - ‘I don’t think it’s very funny’, he says ‘still uneasy’, and also answers ‘defiantly’

How does Priestley use Erics odd behaviour to foreshadow?

Hints at Erics later secrets that will disrupt the Birlings whole way of life

What does Erics drunkeness and bad behaviour represent?

The dark side of the family

How can we see that Eric has been a heavy drinker for a long time?

You can see his ‘familiarity with quick heavy drinking’ in the way he pours whiskey in Act 3 - his family sees this too

How does Eric’s first encounter with Eva go?

He gets Eva, a prostitute, pregnant and it is suggested he forced himself on her

Why Erics secrets a threat to the Birlings reputation?

They are potential dynamite - if it got out, then, Birlings knighthood, Sheilas marriage and the whole families reputation could be in jeopardy

What is the connection between how both Eric and Gerald meet Eva/Daisy?

They both meet her in the palace bar, looking for prostitutes

Who else goes to the Palace Bar, looking for prostitutes?

Birlings ‘respectable’ friends. Alderman Meggarty even assaults young women in the town hall, but no one says anything

What is the world like that these ‘respectable’ men live in?

Murky and secretive - suggests Erics behaviour is normal for a middle class man

Why does Eric’s secret about Eva get out?

Lots of men are doing the same thing, but Eric lacks self control, so is secret gets out

What do Erics parents care more about than they do about him?

Their reputation - they dont want a scandal

How does Erics strange interruption at the beginning of the play reflect that their is something murky lying beneath the Birlings reputation?

His behaviour (like the laugh) disrupts the Birlings polite middle class illusion of respectability

How does Eric feel?

Isolated and unsupported

What is Erics angriest moment in the play, highlighting his feelings of loneliness?

He shouts at his mother - ‘You dont understand anything. You never did. You never even tried'‘

Is Eric the obvious villain? But does he accept his responsiblity?

Yes he is the obvious villain, he sexually assaults Eva leading to her pregnancy. But he accepts he was wrong - ‘the fact remains that I did what I did’

Who do the Birlings seem to prefer over Eric?

Gerald - they seem disappointed in Eric

How does Eric begin a scandal?

He starts an affair with Eva, impregantes her whilst drunk and then steals money to try and support her