Eric

• At the beginning of the play , Priestley uses stage directions to describe Eric as what?

  " half shy , half assertive " - These two adjectives contrast as it describes Eric as having both a lack of confidence and being dominant - this creates a sense of confusion that suggests Eric is secretive
• From the beginning of the play, why might Priestley want to present Eric to the audience in a negative way?

  To show that the capitalist society is not trustworthy , and to encourage the audience to reject the capitalist ideas that Eric appears to represent
• In the quote " half shy , half assertive " , Why might Priestley use the repetition of half?

  To indicate that Eric's character is not yet fully formed and that he still might change
• From the start of the play, Priestley associates Eric with alcohol when Sheila accuses him of being "squiffy" (Slightly drunk). Why is the word squiffy used?

  It draws the attention of the audience to Sheila's use of Informal language - this presents the 2 siblings as members of the younger generation who adapt their language to the time - and foreshadows both of them adapting their attitudes to social responsibility
• Why does Priestley deliberatley align Eric with alcohol?

  To foreshadow the later revelations about his drunken behaviour when he met Eva Smith - Also, his easy use of alcohol is used to signify the double standard for men and women
• The audience learns that Eric insisted on entering Eva's lodgings : He says that because of alcohol he was "in that state where a chap easily turns nasty". What does the word "that" suggest?

  Eric believes that those listening to him have been drunk before and understand what 'that state' is - this shows a lack of responsibility and may be his excuse for his implied sexual assault on Eva
• The audience learns that Eric insisted on entering Eva's lodgings : He says that because of alcohol he was "in that state where a chap easily turns nasty". What does the word "chap" suggest?

  Chap is an informal word for a male that has positive connotations of being friendly - this distances him from the implied sexual assault of Eva , by not taking responsibility and suggesting this behaviour was caused by alcohol
• Priestley only presents us with Eric's perspective about Eva so we do not know if she was a prostitute - The word prostituion would have been censored in the play
• What does the quote "And that's when it happened. And I don't even remember - that's the hellish thing" suggest?

  The use of short sentences and a hyphen allow reveal Eric's distress and allows the audience to understand that he now takes responsibility and admits his guilt
• In the quote "And that's when it happened. And I don't even remember - that's the hellish thing", what does the sentence "And that's when it happened" suggest?

  This sentence is the implied sexual assault of Eva. His lack of detail about what happened suggests he can barely admit what he's done
• Priestley presents Eric as a man who is not close with his father. What does the quote "not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble" suggest?

  The use of the word chap is Eric making excuses for his behaviour by presenting himself as a victim rather than taking responsibility
• How Priestley present Eric as immature?

  He provides short term solutions (By asking Eva to marry him and supporting her with stolen money) but he cannot see the long term consequences of his criminal behaviour
• Eric does not care about if the inspector is real or not at the end of the play. How does the quote "We did her in all right" suggest he has learned the lesson of social responsibility?

  He uses the plural personal pronoun 'we' to emphasise everyone is responsible for Eva's death - which might symbolise Priestley's view that we all have a responsibility to look after vulnerable members of our society
• What does the quote "It's what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters" suggest?

  Eric has accepted his role in her downfall - the inspectors socialist message of collective responsibility is more important than the identity of the inspector - This is him echoing the inspector (The mouthpiece of Priestley)