Eric's and Mrs.Birlings relationship in An Inspector Calls.

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Yr 10 Essay on An Inspector Calls

In the play Eric has a lot to confess, so his confession is very tensing for both the audience and the actors on screen. Eric is known as the chief culprit in the play because he played the part of making The Girl pregnant.

At the end of Act 2 Mrs.Birling is questioned by the Inspector and we learn that 'A young lad' made The Girl pregnant and that when she went for help from the committee she was turned down by them because she said her name was Mrs.Birling:

'First, she called herself Mrs.Birling'

From this we learn that Eric could be the father, and that is why she used that name. This has caused suspense both on and off stage, because now the audience would be wondering why she used that name and if she heard it from somewhere or if Eric is the father but Mrs.Birling hasn't figured that out yet.

Also we learn of Eric's heavy drinking this is told to us by his sister Sheila and her fiancé Gerald Croft:

'He has been steadily drinking too much for the past 2 years.'

With this line we learn that all this time Eric has been heavily drinking and has not been able to control himself with his drinking. Tension mounts when Mrs.Birling doesn't believe them:

'It isn't true.'

This is showing us that Mrs.Birling thinks a lot of her son and thinks he cannot do anything wrong: but she is proved wrong by Gerald:

I'm afraid it is y'know'

This now suggests Eric's character a bit more fully to the audience because we can tell he is probably lonely or insecure within himself so he needs the drink to comfort him: also Mrs.Birling has now learnt something new about her son and she is now incredibly shocked.

In this act we also learn that The Girl was offered money by the man that got her pregnant and that the money was stolen. This is tension for the actors on stage because they wouldn't think that Eric was capable of doing this sort of thing we learn this later in the play when Mr.Birling is full of shock.
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If at this moment the audience have figured out the father is Eric then they are probably wandering where he got the money and how he got it the audience too could be very shocked by learning this, because Mr and Mrs Birling gives the audience the expression that the have bought their kids up in a very strict environment.

Nearer to the end of Act 2 there is more tension for the audience because now they are probably guessing that Eric is the father. They are thinking this because Mrs Birling is blaming the whole thing ...

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