Eric Birling

• Key Context

  Alcohol is a widespread motif in ‘An Inspector Calls’, and one that has deep roots in myopia and hypocrisy. Though this may seem obvious, with various descriptions of Eric overindulging in ‘port’ in order to convey his true thoughts and attempt to build up myopia to his family’s wrongdoings, there is also a more subtle hint of this when you look at the various conversations about alcohol and their significance in the rest of story.
•  “Giving us the port, Edna? That’s right.( he pushes it towards Eric.) you ought to like this port”

  spoken by Mr Birling. The imperative “ought” suggests forcefulness, that this’ port’ is being forced into Eric’s mouth by Mr Birling in order to impress Gerald so that the Birling family can move up in class, rank and further distance themselves from the lower classes. This highlights Eric’s downfall: he drinks is to forget and the reason he wants to forget is because of the drink (and what it, in part, led to with Eva). It’s an endless cycle which cannot be broken, quite like the structure of this play, and the place the circle started with was with the Birlings, and the place it must end is with the Birlings.