The History Boys Bennett’s setting is a northern grammar school and his focus is on the varied methods of training post A-level students for life. The headmaster‚ obsessed with league-tables and results‚ wants them all to be Oxbridge candidates. To this end‚ he engages a young historian‚ Irwin‚ who knows that the key to exam success lies in singularity and that "the wrong end of the stick is the right one". In the opposite camp is the gentle English master‚ Mr Hector‚ who argues that exams are
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relationships? The history Boys is a comedy play based on a group of intelligent and funny sixth-form boys in the 1980’s.The boys find themselves in different sitations‚whether it’s to do with love‚ heartbreak or heir further education and their future. These situations that they are faced with‚ contribute o he humur the play. In the beginning of the play‚we are introduced to one of he boys teachers‚Mr Hector.The relationship between Hector and the boys seems informal and sexual as he hits the boys and allows
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‘Women’s roles are often tokenistic in dramatic comedy’ discuss whether you believe this to be the case in relation to the play you are studying. Throughout the history boys‚ the male characters mainly take the more dominant role whereas the women are seen more as objects rather than women. Mrs Lintott is the only woman that is actually respected a tiny bit whereas Fiona the secretary is seen more as a typical slutty secretary. The role of Fiona really helps the statement in the question to be true
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Education – what is it for? In “The History Boys” two different approaches to education are presented. Irwin represents the functional approach‚ his teaching methods are traditional and structured‚ focused solely on passing the Oxbridge entrance examinations. Hector teaches the life enrichment approach in his General Studies class‚ his teaching methods are unconventional and spontaneous‚ Hector is not interested in exams and believes in learning for its own sake. Hector undermines the values of the educational
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What elements of Bennetts own educational experiences has he used in “the History Boys”? Bennett says that he was made fun of at school for coming to school in a suit on the day of his exams. He says he did this because he thought the exam was an occasion and he must rise to it. This show us how he felt towards his exams and probably shows how some of the boys in his book would have felt like when taking their exams. This shows how important he thinks exams are and this theme will probably reflect
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How does Bennet use dramatic comedy to offer criticism of contemporary attitudes to education in The History Boys? In this essay I am going to explain how Alan Bennet uses dramatic comedy to criticise the contemporary attitudes towards education in the History Boys. The contemporary attitudes that are criticised are Utilitarianism‚ Humanism and Pragmatism. He does this by using a range of satirical devices. Satire is the use of humour‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s
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The History Boys by Alan Bennett Notes on Key Themes Initiation Sexual charm is something that can be exploited as a declaration of power and dominance‚ and a way to build the sense of pride manipulate people. Dakin wants to make love with Fiona on the headmaster’s study floor and he believes that his performance in bed is better than the headmaster. This is a way to consolidate his masculinity and sense of superiority‚ as if he ‘wins’ the headmaster in a battle. Dakin’s metaphor comparing
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Question 1: Linear Acceleration Please remember to photocopy 4 pages onto one sheet by going A3→A4 and using back to back on the photocopier Page Introduction 2 Introductory questions taken from Physics Papers 3 Solutions to above 4 Ordinary Level Exam Questions – Worked Solutions 5 Ordinary Level Exam Questions 8 Answers to Ordinary Level Exam Questions 10 Higher Level Introduction to vertical motion 12 Introductory questions taken from Physics Papers
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4th October 2012 Hector or Achilles? Hector and Achilles are both great warriors and great people but they are different. They are considered to be heroes‚ but they fight for different reasons. Troy is filled with many great warriors‚ but the most honourable hero is prince Hector. He shows great qualities of the archetypal hero and the contemporary hero‚ fight for his land and his family honour. Even though he’s not the strongest‚ he just wanted peace‚ as an archetypal hero.
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The History Boys is a play by Alan Bennett that talks about 8 English boys in the 1980s‚ originally having their high school life happily but the situation changes when the new teacher Irwin arrived and broadened their horizons. They start to have struggles‚ confusion and realize the limitations put on them in the aspects of education‚ sexuality‚ morale and initiation during the time they are preparing for their A level exam. At last‚ most of them have a successful life under the elite education
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