eric

• "you killed her - and the child...your own grandchild

  Priestley encourages the audience to sympathise with Eric. Despite the Inspector's attempts to enlighten the Birling family that they are all jointly responsible, Eric's accusation of blame upon his mother is tantamount (equivalent) to Mrs Birling's blame of the "father". By merely placing all the blame upon his mother, with "you killed her,'' Eric attempts to absolve himself from any blame.
• "You don't understand anything. You never did. You never even tried"


  Eric continues to undermine himself as he berates his mother "You don't understand anything. You never did. You never even tried". Priestley's use of repetition and hyperbole creates a parody of the sweeping statements we might expect a teenager to use in an argument with their parents.
• Suddenly guffaws] I don't know - really. Suddenly I felt I just had to laugh."


  Priestley's use of the stage directions to portray Eric as he "suddenly guffaws" occurs directly after Gerald tells Sheila that he will "be careful" after she has told him that she is suspicious of Gerald's time away from her in the summer. Perhaps this sudden "guffaw" indicates that Eric knows that Gerald is routinely unfaithful. Eric would certainly see this first hand as they both attend the Palace Bar specifically with the intention of picking up women or prostitutes
• "She wasn't the usual sort"

  "She didn't know what to do"


  Priestley reveals Eric's previous experiences with prostitutes, as Eva "wasn't the usual sort". The adjective "usual" implies that visiting prostitutes is the norm for Eric. Eric's observation that "she didn't know what to do" implies both that he is attracted to Eva's innocence, and also that he might realise that she is a woman he can exploit because of her ignorance
• "I hate these fat old tarts"


  Eric's proclaimation of "I hate these fat old tarts" reveals his disgust at his own hypocrisy in frequenting the palace bar, looking for sex. Priestley implies, through Eric, that - for all men - it is a social norm to pay for sex. The upper-class' use of prostiution symbolic of their exploitation of the female lower-class, who are the prostitutes that are abused by high-class men.
• "I insisted - it seems"


  On Eric's visit to Eva's lodgings: "I insisted - it seems". Priestley's use of the verb "insisted" implies that Eric may have physically overwhelmed Eva's resistance. Priestley's use of the ambiguous verb phrase "it seems" reveals Eric's attempt to forget his immoral actions, and distance himself from his guilt.
• "in that state when a chap easily turns nasty"


  Priestley demonstrates Eric's subconscious attempts to distance himself from his actions by switching from first person to third person as he refers to himself as "a chap" rather than 'I'. Eric's trivialisation of such violence of a possible rape, through the colliquial use of "a chap" is an attempt by Eric to soften the harshness of his actions.
• "I threatened to make a row"


  Eric's violent language, "I threatened", is softened through the euphemistic use of "a row". Priestley demonstrates Eric's attempts to convince himself that his actions were to a lesser extent of immorality than they actually were.
• "(Involuntarily) My God!"


  Eric's emotional response to the news of Eva's death as Priestley demonstrates his innate rectitude (morality) through the stage directions. Priestley's use of the adverb "involuntarily" demonstrates the moral nature of Eric as he could not suppress his emotional reaction; it is involuntary. Eric would not choose to reveal his emotions, within a patriarchal society which condemns feminine traits, such as excessive emotion.
• "[not too rudely] Well, don't do any. We'll drink to their health and have done with it.

  Eric is eager to be done with talk of their engagement as he realises the ridiculousness of the toasts for a marriage which is merely a transaction. Eric disapproves, however, he is powerless to do anything. This is aptly demonstrated by Priestley through the stage directions as Eric interrupts "[not too rudely]" as he doesn't have the power to challenge his father directly yet is not quite at ease with the capitalist purpose of his sister's marriage.
• "Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?"

  "you said yourself she was a good worker


  Eric questions "why shouldn't they try for higher wages?" as he believes that the capitalist system ought to be fair to both employers and employees. He puts forward a moral form of capitalism, pointing out to Birling, "you said yourself she was a good worker", implying that she should be financially rewarded for this.
• "early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive

  Priestley demonstrates Eric's discomfort towards his family's lifestyle and privilege, through the stage directions "not quite at ease". These foreshadow Eric's attitude throughout the entire play; he is not quite at ease with his father's behaviour, nor is he quite at ease with his own.
• "[Laughs bitterly] I didn't notice you told him that it's every man for himself".

  Eric recognises how his father is hypocritical in hiding his views from Inspector. Eric lets out a "bitter" laugh because he realises Mr Birling's hypocrisy, yet, there is no humour to be found in the moraless capitalism, which his father abides by.
• "and that's when it happened

  The use of the pronoun "it" allows the audience members to fill in the gaps about what 'it' is that Eric did to Eva. Thus, Priestley manipulates the audience into perceiving Eric as redeemable as they retain their own opinion of whether he actually did rape Eva
• "[shouting]" to "[quietly]".

  Priestley conveys this ambivalence (uncertainty) in Eric's mindset through a heightened emotional state as he acts erratically in the stage directions changing quickly from "[shouting]" to "[quietly]
• I don't give a damn'

  Eric openly, and loudly, dismisses his father in front of his entire family and Gerald.

  He shows that he does not respect his father at all, which leaves the audience wondering what their relationship will be like after the play finishes.

  Eric is tired of his parents taking no responsibility for their actions and is fed up of Mr Birling's obsession with his knighthood and himself.

  This line shows the breaking point in Eric's relationship with his parents.
• "In a way she treated me - as if I were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was."


  Eva realises Eric's immaturity and ignorance to the societal conventions of 1912 British society, which essentially forbids inter-class relationships