“We don’t know who we are, sir. Your class or Mr. Irwin’s.” 2
At Irwin’s lessons, the boys are more serious, as Irwin has a programme. At Hector’s lessons they are more thoughtful and they decide how to start the lessons. So when both teachers are teaching at the same time it gets a little difficult and they boys don’t really know how to behave.
Mrs. Lintott is not very surprised at the fact that Irwin is intelligent.
“The Catcher in the Rye is a by . Originally published for adults, the novel has become a common part of and curricula throughout the English-speaking world”7
It’s quite strange that the book was originally published for adults and now is used widely in schools and colleges.
“Let each child that’s in your care have as much neurosis as the child can bear.”8
This is a section from Auden’s poem Letter to Lord Byron. He could be meaning that it’s no harm if you bring up your children in a hard way as it will be good as long as it does not go too far. So really, the books that are not liked by the children and yet are forced upon them won’t harm them and it will be useful to them one day.
In the next section of the play, Irwin and the boys are talking about the Second World War and the reasons for why it really happened. Irwin starts off and lets the boys come to a conclusion.
“Which, sir, since Wilfred Owen says men were dying like cattle, is the appropriate word.”9
Hector finds it important that they know poems by heart as it will be understood by them one day, and that is what really happens here. They use their knowledge that’s given over by Hector not just in English but in their other lessons meaning that learning these poems by heart really is useful. The poem describes how so many men were dying during the war that they looked like masses of animal.
“First Class…I am asleep.”10
The fact that he is asleep is because he has read exactly the same story for 8 times and he had rather read something what would be outside people’s comfort zone. Especially when that essay can guarantee you a place in on of the top universities you need to think for yourself and try to stand out within the crowd, your competitors.
“What has that got to do with anything?”11
Writing an essay on history should not per se be about the truth. History is truth as far as the writers are concerned and is usually written by those that were victorious (in a war for example). History is history for those who want to believe it is history from the victorious perspectives. If you read it from the perspective of the conquered you will hear another story and the other would be blamed.
“We still don’t like to admit the war was even partly our fault because so many of our people died.12
According to Irwin, the Second world lead to many people dying which is why people are sensitive about it but what they do not know is that there were people that actually enjoyed the war. According to him, and he is referring the poets, “most of them seem to have enjoyed the war.”13 Because of the war the poets had something to write about, that’s where they got their inspiration from. If there was no war, they would not have been able to write such powerful poems without a lot of difficulty. When you have experienced something yourself it is much easier to write about it.
Poems are the words of the poet and you can interpret it in any way you like yet you cannot exactly know what the poet meant with his words.
“In other words...”14
Again, this is something they have learned in Hector’s lessons. Irwin thinks the lessons of Hector are more fun than educational but this clearly says that they do learn things in his lesson.
At schools teachers spoon-feed their students all the way through. When Rudge asks Irwin; “What do I write down?”15 Irwin responds with; “I must not write down every word that teacher says.”16 Irwin clearly wants them to think for themselves. He’s happy to help them along and tell them what direction they need to go to, but at the end of the day, it has to be them that think it through and they should come to an own conclusion on their own.
1 The History Boys, Hector, p.222 Hector p. 70
3 Mrs. Lintott, p.22
4 Mrs. Lintott 83
5 Mrs. Lintott, p. 85
6 Hector, p. 23
7
8 mrs.` Lintott, 23
9Dakin, p.24
10irwin, p.24
11 Irwin p. 25
12Irwin p. 25
13Lockwood p25
Word count; 933
