How does Alan Bennett express conflicting views about...

How does Alan Bennett express conflicting views about...

How does Alan Bennett express conflicting views about education through his portrayal of the four teachers in « The History Boys »?



In this play, the author Alan Bennett wants to convince the audience that education can be approached in many different ways. In fact, through the characters of Hector, Irwin, Dorothy Lintott and the headmaster, he shows us that there is no "right" or "wrong" way of teaching.



The first educator properly introduced to the audience is Hector, a rather unusual teacher. The first scene starts in French, which is quite unexpected since Hector is a literature teacher. In this scene, we also understand Hector's opinion about renowned universities: for him, going to Oxford or Cambridge is the same as going to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...What is history? History is women following behind... with a bucket." Her way of teaching is traditional, and she is a realistic woman.

Finally, Irwin is, from my point of view, the main and the most important character of this play, since he is the "narrator" of this story. He has a completely different view of education than Hector, we could almost say they are opposite. One of the first thing we learn about him is that he studied in Oxford, which is probably one of the reasons why the headmaster hired him as the new history teacher for the boys. He seems very intelligent and cultivated despite his very young age since when being introduced to the students during their French improvisation, he uses a French word that even Hector doesn't know: "Il est commotionné, peut–être?". Unlike Hector, he really prepares his pupils for their exam, and teaches the boys to approach history in a way which can be seen as a game – taking an original approach by simply arguing the opposite to what the normal belief is. They take it as a game, seeing an opportunity to show off the facts which Mrs Lintott has taught them. But Irwin believes it can lead to greater truth, in that it forces them to think more deeply. During the lesson he shares with Hector, we really see the contrast between the two characters. For Hector, the Holocaust is a subject that cannot be argued, but Irwin sees there an opportunity to, once more, see history from a

... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...