Discuss in detail the first scene in Act Two of ‘The History Boys’ considering ways in which this extract contributes to Irwin’s characterisation of the play.
At the beginning of Act 2, Irwin is reintroduced mirroring Act 1. Bennett uses this scene to give the audience insight into Irwin’s future (foreshadowing events later on in the play) as well as how his character has evolved or arguable devolved later on in his life and during his career .
An initial way in which this extract in Act 2 contributes to Irwin’s characterisation is how it paints a clear picture of Irwin’s character, despite Bennett’s use of prolepsis, has not developed, and if anything, has regressed. Irwin, evident by his choice of career, subsequent of being a teacher,
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This proves false as Irwin's foil, in actuality, is, Hector, an obese older man and a romantic traditionalist and a somewhat less-closeted homosexual—in fact an unrepentant molester. He teaches the boys to revere "the truth" (never defined) and to respond to events of the past with hot-blooded feeling—something he accomplishes by making them memorise poetry and quoting them aphoristic snippets of Auden or Hardy. Irwin’s cold, bitter demeanour towards Dakin, going as far as telling him to ‘fuck off’, is explicit when he states ‘If that doesn’t seem unfriendly which it is’. The point of Bennett using these two vastly different but similar teachers is to express his own views on history, almost in a way to play the devil’s advocate. However whereas Posner propositions Hector In a way, Irwin and Posner parallel each other in their mutual interest in Dakin, Posner’s restlessness with what happened between Irwin and Dakin to the point where his counsellor ‘thought it would help’ shows his obsession with Dakin, and maybe his past in general, due to the fact that his future, Cambridge, ‘didn’t work
To an extent, the characters in the play represent aspects of the Australian identity and experience. However, Rayson's vivid grasp of speech patterns to evoke character, and her ability to manipulate the audience with humour and pathos move the text beyond mere polemic and stereotype. In an almost Brechtian way, she positions us to analyse as we are entertained and moved.
In this extract, Bennett reveals the fate of all the boys, the eulogies told by ‘’Hector’s boys’’ seem to stem the realisation the true extent of Hector’s importance to the boys and how his lessons – though understood late, has managed to shape the boys and contribute to who they are at the ending of the play. The extract reflects an elegy in which we see Hector though obscured by his paedophilia, is a tragic ‘hero’ as he saves the boys from being lost in the system of clichéd education in which there is no individualism.
Throughout the play Bennett reviles Doris’ character by showing her affection to the past, she talks to old photographs of her dead husband, Wilfred, and talks aloud to him. This indicates Doris’ apparent loneliness and how she feels “left behind” by the rest of her generation. When talking about the people she new in the past like Wilfred, she takes on there voice, this shows how she...
The audience will understand that Mrs Johnstone is more capable and has a better understanding of the fact that young boys are sexually curious, and she does not suppress them. As the play continues, we see Mrs Johnston as a more approachable mother, rather than viewing her cruel mother. We tend to sympathise with the difficulty. We see her handle her house full of children with continuous forbearance and with tolerance.
In “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, the narrator attempts to understand the relationship between humans and nature and finds herself concluding that they are intertwined due to humans’ underlying need to take away from nature, whether through the act of poetic imagination or through the exploitation and contamination of nature. Bishop’s view of nature changes from one where it is an unknown, mysterious, and fearful presence that is antagonistic, to one that characterizes nature as being resilient when faced against harm and often victimized by people. Mary Oliver’s poem also titled “The Fish” offers a response to Bishop’s idea that people are harming nature, by providing another reason as to why people are harming nature, which is due to how people are unable to view nature as something that exists and goes beyond the purpose of serving human needs and offers a different interpretation of the relationship between man and nature. Oliver believes that nature serves as subsidence for humans, both physically and spiritually. Unlike Bishop who finds peace through understanding her role in nature’s plight and acceptance at the merging between the natural and human worlds, Oliver finds that through the literal act of consuming nature can she obtain a form of empowerment that allows her to become one with nature.
Alan Bennett presents his characters in Talking Heads by writing the plays in the form of monologue. By employing this technique he has managed to create a rich and detailed World in which his stories unfold but, he only allows us to see it through the eyes of a single narrator. When reading a play that is presented in this manner it is possible to lose sight of the fact that you are only getting one person’s version of events and you may start to believe that you are having conversations reported to you verbatim. This is a clever mechanism because the narrators can often be unreliable and lead the reader to form opinions and draw conclusions that quite often turn out to be unfounded and false. The term “Talking heads is a synonym in television for boredom” (Bennett, 2007, p, 10) yet, these talking heads are certainly not boring, the settings may be drab and ordinary, the characters are not exciting or inspiring yet, the gossipy way in which the stories are told hooks the reader in. Fitting neatly into the genre of tragicomedy it is perhaps fitting that the ‘tragic’ comes before the ‘comedy’, certainly the dramatist infuses the plays with a rich dose of humour but the melancholy subject matter and the often quite sad and lonely characters always counter balances the laughs with a tinge of sadness.
Part of the genius of this piece is that it is like an onion, with many layers, and can be interpreted on many different levels. At first, I despised the character of Troy Maxson. I could not feel sympathy for a man who had achieved a certain level of satisfaction and stability in a life of struggle, and then threw it all away.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The characters of White Australian descent tend to speak with pompous language, disguising their evil deeds behind kind phrases. The most obvious example of this is the character Mr. Neville. He states, with refined language, in (Act One Scene Two), that: …"if you provide the native the basic accoutrements of civilization, you’re halfway to civilizing him." This reveals a belief that Whites are unquestionably superior and that any previous Aboriginal civilization was irrelevant. The pompous statement of the Whites are juxta-posed against the more crude and blunt comments of Aboriginal characters .to show the audience the belief that whites are superior.103
In his theatrical work J.B., Archibald MacLeish hints to the postwar era of World War II through explicit and implicit references. J.B. is relevant to society and reflects the events that took place in the 1950s. For that reason, the play purposefully and effectively demonstrates that, despite the bitterness and calamities of the forties and fifties, people should remain optimistic and should have faith that there will be hope, instead of dwelling on the injustice in the world.
Every father shows the love for his son in a different way. in this scene, we the father shows us the different way. However, a father gets angry about his son. The son asked a simple question but the meaning on that question was big. The question was "How come you ain't never liked me?". The Fences play by August Wilson, this play they did it more than once on some different times, places, actors, etc. However, in this paper you are going to find comparison between two scenes the first was on 1987 and the actor was James Earl Jones, The second scene by Denzel Washington on 2010. Now you will find the actor’s approach, approaching the idea from the text, and the effective and the ineffective of the scenes.
stories holds a large impact on how they later develop as individuals. While Baldwin’s piece demonstrates the ignorance from society which is projected onto him from Swiss villagers, it shares both similarities and differences to the attitudes demonstrated in Hurston’s piece influenced by her surroundings. Being that it is difficult to escape the past and the events that have brought strength through triumph, it is important to focus one’s attention on the present and into the future. Although the past determines who an individual is, the future determines who an individual will become.
The play “Fences”, written by August Wilson, shows a detailed interpretation about the life of a typical African-American family living in the twentieth century. Troy Maxson, the main character and the man of the house, a strict man with the family, hardworking, and at the same time a pleasure seeker. Jim Bono is Troy’s best friend from thirty odd years, a very friendly fellow who works with Troy and is really close to him. They both enjoy the company of each other every Friday on a bottle of an alcoholic beverage. Both characters are characterized based on being typical African American men living in the twentieth century. Even though Troy and Bono are very close friends, their actions and personalities sometimes conflict each other; this essay will focus on similarities and differences between the two characters to prove that even though they are close friends and acquire similarities, they still have different believes and behaviors.
Gainor, J. Ellen., Stanton B. Garner, and Martin Puchner. The Norton Anthology of Drama, Shorter Edition. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
All of the characters in Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer are important, but minor individuals like George should not be overlooked. By studying the evolution of George’s character, more significance can be gleaned from the climax of the play, making it that much more important to the audience and
In conclusion, the microcosm of society represented through the setting of education does allow for farcical moments in the play. Bennett challenges issues such as paedophilia which a modern day audience would see as morally wrong. Bennett uses the character of Hector as the conductor of the plays comedic effect and at the core of the farcical moments through interactions with the characters.