The History Boys : Act 1 – Irwin (pages 19-22) Alan Bennett

Pages Consider Irwin’s lesson. How does it compare to Hector’s in terms of: - His teaching style? - His relationship with the students? - His ideologies? AO1, AO3 AO1, AO3

‘If you want to know about Stalin, think of Henry VIII. If you want to know about Thatcher, think of Henry VIII.’ In pairs, research one of these historical figures. Use any prior knowledge you have and your iPads. What do you think they have in common? Why might Irwin suggest that the study of Henry VIII would help to inform the boys about Stalin and Thatcher? AO1, AO3 AO1, AO3

‘If you want to know about Stalin,’ Irwin tells his Oxbridge class, ‘think of Henry VIII. If you want to know about Thatcher, think of Henry VIII.’ Quite apart from subtly connecting Margaret Thatcher with Joseph Stalin — the play is set in the year of her post-Falklands election victory — the teacher’s line is one of very many in the play that implies that the Roberts- Ferguson figure consistently underrates the evil of 20th-century totalitarianism. By insisting that the Holocaust is seen in the context of other genocides, for example, Irwin lays himself open to criticism from the beloved teacher Hector and the Jewish pupil Posner that he is indifferent to the monstrous evil perpetrated by the dictators. ‘I was so nice about Hitler, a much-misunderstood man,’ says one of Irwin’s pupils as he leaves his Oxbridge exam.’ (Andrew Roberts) AO3, AO5 What do you think Bennett’s intention is by comparing Stalin and Thatcher to Henry VIII? What is he suggesting about: -history? -Irwin’s character? To what extent do you agree with Roberts’ assertions here?

Alan Bennett on Margaret Thatcher thatcher/ /Alan-Bennett-Lady-Thatcher-was-a-mirthless- bully.html Read this article from the Telegraph on Alan Bennett’s opinions of Margaret Thatcher (and Jeremy Hunt). How does this inform your interpretation of the play’s message? Think particularly about the opening scene. AO1, AO3, AO5 AO1, AO3, AO5

‘Hector and Irwin [are] the play’s protagonist and antagonist. The history boys are presented with a choice as to where to lay their allegiance: at the feet of Irwin’s modern brand of ‘dispassionate’ distance; or with Hector’s heart-felt ‘passion’. Hector suggests that objective analysis of recent historical tragedy demeans the suffering involved while Irwin instructs the boys to distance themselves as ‘there is no period so remote as the recent past’.’ Louisa Mellor AO5: Different interpretations What does this tell us about Mellor’s response to: a)Hector b)Irwin? To what extent do you agree?

“A supply teacher, Irwin, is recruited. An Oxford man, he has the bag of tricks that will get the boys through. Cynical tricks. But, what the hell, liberalism is yesterday's creed.” “Hector, the old idealist, and Irwin, the young pragmatist, represent opposite conceptions of what the study of history should be. Opposite, too, in other ways. They are also, it emerges, old and new-school homosexuals. Hector gropes genitals, Irwin wants relationships.” (John Sutherland, The Guardian) AO5: Different interpretations Hector vs Irwin To what extent does Sutherland agree or disagree with Mellor? Which do you find to be most valid?

AO5: Different interpretations Hector vs Irwin To what extent does Roberts agree or disagree with Mellor and Sutherland? Choose 1-2 sections of each critical quotation that you would want to use in an essay. ‘Hector’s idyllic, Platonic form of pure education is shattered by the arrival of Irwin, the temporary contract teacher, whom the homophobic, results-obsessed, snobbish headmaster Felix has drafted in to unnerve and subsequently displace Hector. For Irwin, a devotee of revisionist history, ‘Truth is no more at issue in an exam than thirst at a winetasting or fashion at a striptease.’ When Irwin criticises a boy’s essay for being dull, and is told that at least it was all true, he explodes, ‘What’s truth got to do with it? What’s truth got to do with anything?’ […] It is all done solely to shock, and to collect dividends. For him, an approach to history that ignores the left-liberal assumptions of so much post-war history teaching — especially at universities — simply has to be actuated by a desire to be perverse, since it cannot possibly have been arrived at objectively.’

Debate: Team 1: Irwin is irrefutably the villain of the play.. Team 2: Irwin is essentially a good guy. Prepare to speak (as a team) for no more than 5 minutes. In your response try to refer to: - Context - Other interpretations You should also make close, analytical references to the text.

Homework: Add to your notes about each of the boys. Focus specifically on Bennett’s portrayal of their sexuality. How does their language add to the depiction of their character? Be ready to discuss and analyse at least two quotations.