Priestley explores responsibility in many different ways, one way is the responsibility of fatherhood, in this case the relationship between Eric and his father. Eric was always treated like a child. Due to this Eric becomes a very spoilt and immature character which seems to want to rebel yet doesn’t have it in him. He is a heavy drinker , yet in the company of his father, he asks “Could I have a drink first?” This is not a rhetorical question, as he is asking his father for permission, most likely as he fears his father, not enough to not steal from him.
The use of “first” once again suggests a perhaps an almost child like attitude, that being one of “me first”, something that children seem to obsess over. Yet, what he obsesses over is alcohol, something which is often associated with adulthood. Priestley creates Eric as a character that we strongly dislike but also pity as he is the product of irresponsible parenting.
Mr Birling is a key figure of social responsibility He runs a factory and has both political power. Mr Birling seems especially keen on his Knighthood You would surely expect such a man to have the most perfect set of morals, Yet he doesn’t. “Well I only did what any employer would have done”. Mr Birling thinks purely from an economic stand point. As someone who seems to obsess over this knighthood he seem to lack the morals that attend to it. The use of “any employer” demonstrates to us, that Mr Birling is not alone in this.
Priestley wishes to reveal to us that Mr Birling is not just one example of the factory owner oppressing his workers. He has “done” what any employer would have done. For Priestley the upper class is not the large helping hand that they are perceived to be. He wants people to be aware of what is truly happening. Mr Birling and those like him seem to have no concept of social responsibility.
