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A grade 9 AQA GCSE exemplar essay that answers the question: "How far does Priestley present Eric as a character who changes his attitudes towards himself and others during the couse of the play?"£5.48
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A grade 9 AQA GCSE exemplar essay that answers the question: "How far does Priestley present Eric as a character who changes his attitudes towards himself and others during the couse of the play?"
How far does Priestley present Eric as a character who changes his attitudes towards
himself and others during the play?
In Priestley’s enigmatic morality play, “An Inspector Calls”, Eric is presented as a transitional,
remorseful and passionate character who is used as a device to promote socialism and
highlight the changing values of the younger generation. Despite beginning the play as an
unstable and irresponsible, Eric’s character develops as he gradually becomes repentant and
mature during and following the Inspector’s interrogation. Through his honest portrayal of
Eric Birling, Priestley intends for the audience to reflect on their own behaviour in the hope
that awareness and acceptance of responsibility will create a more thoughtful and
integrated society. Although the play is set in 1912, the play was written in1945 and so his
post war audience – having suffered serious hardships – would be willing to embrace a more
caring culture.
In the opening stage directions, Eric is described as being “in his early twenties, not quite at
ease, half shy, half assertive”. At this point, it seems that Eric being a young man is less of a
source of hope for a brighter future, and more as a justification for his immaturity. It is likely
that his age and status as a wealthy man have allowed him to become accustomed to his
poor behaviour being overlooked and allowed. Priestley’s repetition of the adjective “half”
is indicative of him having a lack of confidence and understanding. “Half” has connotations
of being insufficient or incomplete, which hints at a state of confusion and him not having
fully matured. Alternatively, there is hope for Eric’s future (and the younger generation that
he symbolises) as he is not fully formed either way and so has the capacity to change.
Moreover, the contrasting adjectives “shy… assertive” - adjectives reiterate this state of
confusion and make him seem uneasy. He is awkward and unsure of himself.
From the offset, Eric’s dialogue hints that he is morally superior to his parents. This is
apparent in his defiant questioning of his father’s treatment of workers when he says “Why
shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for higher prices”. This directly contrasts Mr
Birling’s avaricious moto “lower costs and higher prices”, which serves to emphasise Erics
compassion and sympathy for the working classes that his parents lack. His
acknowledgement that the workers are people and merely cheap “labour” with the pronoun
“they” highlights that he is forward thinking and willing to support other, even if ultimately,
he will have no impact. Notably, however, his subsequent use of the pronoun “we” subtly
reiterates to the audience that despite his socialist views he is still very much separate from
the working class. His blatant challenging of his father’s views despite his sheltered and
privileged upbringing conveys that he is open to change. His assertive manner in this
instance shows that the is not intimidated by his father’s influence and power. An audience
in 1945 would have been impressed with Eric’s progressive rejection of capitalist ideals as
socialist ideas were becoming more prevalent.
In Act 3 - when he hears of Mrs Birling’s refusal to help Eva - Eric is described in the stage
directions as being “nearly at breaking point” as he turns on his mother, saying “you killer
her… yes you killed her… damn you damn you”. At this point his accusatory tone and
repetition of the pronoun “you” shows that he is keen to share the blame as he realises the
enormity of what they have done. Priestley’s use of dashes conveys that his speech has
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