Sympathy In Alan Bennett's 'History Boys'
What strategies does Alan Bennett use to create sympathy for the characters in the History Boys? To what extent is he successful?
Alan Bennett is a playwright acclaimed for his controversial plays such as “Beyond the Fringe” and “The Madness of George III”. The most famous of these is “The History Boys” winner of a Tony Award for Best Play in 2006. It is set in the 1980s in a traditional secondary school in working class Sheffield. Education, in this case A levels, is the overall focus of the play however as we look deeper in to the meanings of the play, we find a great deal of sympathy is evoked from all the characters involved.
With the character of Hector Alan Bennett manages to evoke a certain sense of sympathy and without it Hector …show more content…
Posner has to fight Irwin for Dakin as he sees Irwin looking at him a number of times during his lessons. Posner starts to suspect Irwin’s lust for Dakin but nevertheless the less he still attempts to win his heart.
We see that from the start of the book Alan Bennett uses a very important device to create sympathy for Irwin. This is the fact that we listen to Irwin introduce the story in a wheelchair. This makes the audience wonder what happened to him and it also induces the audience to think about the burden this will cause in later life for him. Irwin is also breaking that fourth wall between the actors and audience. By saying the words directly to the audience and seeing him directly in a wheelchair the audience are more taken in by him and they take what he says more personally.
Bennett also makes Irwin’s personality very different to what the teachers and pupils alike are used to. They are not accustomed to change and when this inexperienced young teacher starts they are reluctant to let him into their lives. Irwin even results to swearing to try and impress the kids and the audience is made to feel sorry that he is trying so hard. He has very different teaching styles to Hector the main one being teaching with open
Alan Bennett is a playwright acclaimed for his controversial plays such as “Beyond the Fringe” and “The Madness of George III”. The most famous of these is “The History Boys” winner of a Tony Award for Best Play in 2006. It is set in the 1980s in a traditional secondary school in working class Sheffield. Education, in this case A levels, is the overall focus of the play however as we look deeper in to the meanings of the play, we find a great deal of sympathy is evoked from all the characters involved.
With the character of Hector Alan Bennett manages to evoke a certain sense of sympathy and without it Hector …show more content…
Posner has to fight Irwin for Dakin as he sees Irwin looking at him a number of times during his lessons. Posner starts to suspect Irwin’s lust for Dakin but nevertheless the less he still attempts to win his heart.
We see that from the start of the book Alan Bennett uses a very important device to create sympathy for Irwin. This is the fact that we listen to Irwin introduce the story in a wheelchair. This makes the audience wonder what happened to him and it also induces the audience to think about the burden this will cause in later life for him. Irwin is also breaking that fourth wall between the actors and audience. By saying the words directly to the audience and seeing him directly in a wheelchair the audience are more taken in by him and they take what he says more personally.
Bennett also makes Irwin’s personality very different to what the teachers and pupils alike are used to. They are not accustomed to change and when this inexperienced young teacher starts they are reluctant to let him into their lives. Irwin even results to swearing to try and impress the kids and the audience is made to feel sorry that he is trying so hard. He has very different teaching styles to Hector the main one being teaching with open