The History Boys- Posner

I think that Posner is the most interesting person in the play because although he is the bottom of the group and least popular in terms of hierarchy, he seems to be one of the most important people to the play. His character is introduced as him being smart but a bit of a know it all because he always reaches for his dictionary whenever he doesn't know what a word means but it quickly becomes apparent that he is important when we learn the specifics of his life just as we do the other important characters. He also makes himself stand out of the crowd when Hector is asking who wants to ride on his bike with him and every other character is clearly making up lies just so that they don't have to go, Posner actually volunteers himself and then is quite clearly rejected and this makes us feel sympathy for him because he isn't good enough for really any of the characters and this could be what leads him to his future.

It becomes obvious that he is homosexual through he body language towards Dakin and the way that he talks about it. He seems to be very open about his sexuality and it shows how comfortable he is to talk about it. It then becomes known knowledge when he talks to Irwin about it and then Irwin talks to Dakin about it and he seems to already know but finds it boring. This is when we start to feel real sympathy for his character because he seems to be jumping through hoops to get Irwin's attention and yet when it comes to Posner, he becomes bored as if it is cliché. This only shows more rejection of Posners character because in Dakins mind, he isn't even important enough to be thought about.

At the end of the play, we find out that Posner has had a nervous break-down and becomes a rather sad character because it is implied that he talks to younger people on the internet, pretending to be their age and gender. This haunts his character because this is how his character has developed and this is the lasting impression you have of him. It's unexpected because it seemed that he was the only one who really took on what Hector said and yet he is the only one who seems to have become this tragic and lonely character. The only glimpse that we have of this that it may occur is when he is the only one in the room with Hector and Hector puts his hand out as he is talking about when you think that an idea is individual to you and yet, you may come across it in a book and it's as if a hand is reaching out and as he reaches out his hand, Posner moves his hand slightly as if he is going to take it and then Hector takes his hand back and as a reader, you can feel the rejection wash over you. This gives an understanding why Posner became who he is.

The History Boys- Act 1

-In The History Boys, the comedy is created through the boys because they're all completely different characters but all have the common ground of being really good friends and being really clever. The play raises the question of what way should things be taught. Hector teaches the boys more life skills with things such as French and Literature whereas Irwin tries to teach them examination skills to get them all into Oxford. 

-The most interesting thing about the first act is Hector is first introduced to be slightly dodgy when he tries teaching them in a different way and they re-enact being in a brothel and Dakin takes off his trousers and this is seen to be inappropriate and a bit of a taboo. It also becomes clear that Dakin is also seeing the headmasters secretary, Fiona,  but in the play this isn't really a main storyline. This shows the stereotype of woman because Hector has been having sexual relations with the boys and yet because Fiona is a woman, it's seen to be less shocking even though it is still highly inappropriate and she is in a position of power. This in itself is shocking in the play because they are thought of to be completely different situations but in actual fact, they are both abusing their power.

-I think that although Hector has been labelled, he is still a better teacher than Irwin because he is actual teaching them life skills that they can go out and use and making them generally more educated people that Irwin who is teaching them something that after the exam, they are most likely to forget. It raises the question  of what teaching method is best and I think that learning for life is better than learning just to almost test your memory rather than your education.

-When Mrs Lintott comes out with language that is shocking, I can imagine that it would make the audience laugh and this is through sheer awkwardness because the audience might not know how to react to it. This is what most of the play does because even though it's a comedy it deals with some very hard topics that usually aren't spoken about so it tries to deal with in instead of seriously, they try not to make light of the subject but make it easier for people to talk about. This is very clever of Bennett.

How is the story told in 'O What Is That Sound'?

In 'O What Is That Sound', the story is told through the format of question and response. It creates almost a dance effect because where one voice is controlled almost like the teacher, the other is panicking as if the student and this creates the pace for the poem. Each stanza is written in a quatrain to reinforce the idea of question and answer. The use of gendered voice creates separate identities for each character and allows the poem to be turned in to a story. The repetition of the word 'dear' from the husband can be connotated in two different ways, he could either be saying this to try and sooth and reassure his wife or he could be saying it in an almost sarcastic way because he's bored of trying to explain everything to her. She shows her dependence on him through words such as 'why' and 'where' because she is always asking him the questions because she doubts herself to answer them. It sounds as if it could be his young daughter asking him these questions because of the innocence and naivety. 

At the beginning of the poem it seems they are almost admiring the soldiers by explaining that their drumming thrills the ear and you only hear him first start to doubt himself and the situation when he says 'perhaps a warning' which raises questions for the reader because he doesn't explain what the warning might be for. The drumming could be the drum roll of him going to the noose or the beat of the poem. The drumming could also be imitating the ABAB quatrain rhyming pattern. The contrast from the beginning of the poem of the soldiers stepping lightly implies that they are far in the distance and the pace is slower because there isn't any imminent danger but by the end stanza, the soldiers boots are 'heavy on the floor' which implies that they are much closer and the danger is immediate which creates the tone to be panicky. 

In the fourth stanza, instead of replying with an answer, he replies with the question 'why are you kneeling?' which implies that he isn't concentrating on her when replying but that they are both concentrating on the soldiers. At first they are transfixed with curiosity of the soldiers but as the pace speeds up there is a sense of denial because they almost don't want to look away from the danger. It is confirmed that they are husband and wife when the husband tries to run from the soldiers and she says 'were the vows you swore deceiving, deceiving?' and this means that she's questioning his love for her. The poem is written in present tense all the way through until he replies saying 'No, I promised to love you, dear' which brings up the question of whether he still loves her or not. This leaves a tragic note to the poem.

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 9

Location

- Gatsby's house

- The West in Nick's memories

- New York

Themes

In this chapter there is themes of time and the idea of a superficial society.

         -Throughout the whole book, time is non-chronological which means that the reader is kept guessing because they don't know the full story til the end. The metaphor at the end is important to the whole book because it talks about the past which is a poignant reminder of what the book is about. The metaphor of the boat is basically saying that however much you try to move on into the future, the past will always be trailing slowly behind to drag you back. This sad conclusion means that the reader finally feels pity for Gatsby because he wasted his whole life looking for the ideal that would never happen.

         - Gatsby surrounded himself around people in hope that he would meet Daisy again but even when he was around lots of people, he always seemed to be alone. This is backed up when at Gatsby's funeral, there weren't many people there. This explains the superficial society because people loved him when he held them parties but as soon as he's finished his service, he serves no purpose and so they don't come to his funeral and this explains how in the end, he was still just as lonely.

Characters

- Daisy doesn't go to Gatsby's funeral and so it raises the question of if she ever really loved him. As a reader, I feel no sympathy for Daisy in the end because Gatsby gave her everything he had and she gave him nothing. Even after he gave up the ultimate sacrifice for her, his life, she didn't even send a card. This makes her come across and quite cold and calculating and we wonder even when she gave Gatsby hope, whether she really ever intended to leave Tom for Gatsby. I don't think that she ever did because she seemed upset and surprised when Gatsby told Tom because she thought that she could have the best of both worlds. She told Gatsby that she still loved him but instead of leaving Tom for him, she wanted a safe life rather than being involved with someone who got his money illegally. I think that this in the end was what stopped her from leaving Tom because Gatsby was a unstable character.

- Gatsby gained his wealth illegally and so this meant that he was never really apart of the upper class that he so wished to join and so therefore he was always an outsider just like Nick was. He's shown to never be good enough for anyone, least of all himself and this was his major downfall. He always thought that he was better than his poor roots and so left his family in the hope for a better life. When he finally thought that he was one of the upper class, he thought that he was fit for Daisy and yet, even when she knew how wealthy he was, he still wasn't good enough for her because he had got it through illegal means. It's shown again and again throughout the book that Daisy means more to him than he does to her and this is clarified when he literally gives his life for her. This leaves the reader feeling sympathy for his character because even through he was a gangster, he did it because he loved Daisy and this makes you feel sorry for him.

- Nick is shown to be the only character that has stood by Gatsby's side. Even when he knew everything about Gatsby, he still thought that he was of higher value than any of the other wealthy people that were supposedly meant to be better than him. After the incidence of Gatsby's murder, he hates Daisy and Tom and all the people like them more than ever and it links back to the beginning when he tells us his fathers advice about how to never to criticise anyone because they probably haven't had the same advantages as him and this sums up the whole book because I think that he almost looks up to Gatsby because even though he's earned everything illegally which was quite common in those days because it was in the prohibition, he earned it all himself and did it for a good cause. Even though stereotypically he's meant to be more like Tom and Daisy, he ends up being more like Gatsby.

Narrative Elements

Imagery

- The imagery uses colours such as 'blue lawn' and 'green light' to not only describe the places but perhaps to describe the moods.

Narrative within a narrative

- Tom explains to Nick that he told Wilson that it was Gatsby driving which led to the death of Myrtle which finally leads to the death of Gatsby.

Fallacy

- The pathetic fallacy of rain is used at Gatsby's funeral to create the mood.

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 8

Location
-Gatsby’s house

-Places from Gatsby’s past- Daisy’s old house
-Wilson’s petrol station in Valley of Ashes

Themes

The themes in this chapter are love between Daisy and Gatsby, Daisy's wealth and Wilson's revenge on Gatsby.

         - Daisy and Gatsby's love is explained more than in most of the other chapters through Gatsby's recollection of when they both fell in love when they were younger. We finally understand what Gatsby wants back because he talks about going back in time with Nick and we know that this is impossible so Gatsby comes across as quite a tragic character. He has idealised this summer with Daisy and so nothing could ever live up to it again and this only brings him disappointment.  

         - Daisy is very wealthy from a young age and Nick describes her as having a 'superficial world' and this is what Gatsby falls in love with. He has grown up as quite poor and so to meet someone who is rich but also doesn't appreciate this because it is their normal makes him curious about her world. From this moment in his life, this is what his whole life was made about and yet even when he was rich, he was never really one of them and this is explained when Nick says 'They're a rotten crowd, you're worth the whole damn bunch put together.'

         - Wilson seeks revenge on Gatsby when he hears the rumour that Gatsby was the one driving the car that killed his wife, Myrtle. As the readers, we know that in actual fact it was Daisy driving the car and yet Gatsby's one last act was saving her and taking the blame for the killing. This brings a sadness for the tone because Daisy lets him do this and takes everything from him and she doesn't give him anything back, this can affect the readers mood into feeling angry at her.

Characters

-Daisy appears in Gatsby’s flashback when he remembers how it all started. She was very wealthy from a young age and this is what, it becomes clear, Gatsby fell in love with and was fascinated by. She seems to be very dependent on others because once Gatsby has gone back to war but through some confusion he was sent to Oxford and ‘there was a quality of nervous despair in Daisy’s letters.’ She was so used to getting what she wanted in her ‘artificial world’ that when Gatsby couldn't come home, she began to feel nervous. This is why she then turned to Tom Buchanan for a safe and practical life.

-Gatsby looks back to the perfect summer that he spent with Daisy and idealises this and has built his whole life around trying to get back to that perfect summer. He comes across as materialistic because he talks about Daisy’s wealth more than his love for Daisy and he seems to be quite transfixed with the wealthy lifestyle. He found her mysterious and this is what was appealing to him.

Narrative elements

Imagery

-Imagery is used to describe Daisy’s house ‘a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors, and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender’, this explains his fascination with the house.

Dramatic Irony

-Dramatic Irony is used when the reader knows that Nick ‘drew a small circle around the three-fifty train’ but Wilson was already in west-egg by half-past two  so we already know that he will be too late to save Gatsby from his death.

The brief mentioning of a important scene

Gatsby’s death is only mentioned in brief and is only obvious if you are reading the text really well. This could be because it upsets Nick to talk about it but this contrasts with Myrtle’s death which was described very vividly. 

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 7

Location
- It begins at Gatsby's house
- Tom and Jordan stop off at the petrol station in the 'Valley of ashes'
- New York at the Plaza hotel
- Drive past the petrol station on the way back
- Daisy and Tom's house

Themes
The themes in this chapter are  affairs from both Daisy and Tom with Gatsby and Myrtle and control from both Daisy and Tom.
         - Both Tom and Daisy have affairs in this book. Tom has the first affair with Myrtle and it seems to be a very public affair as everyone knows about it so we know that Daisy knows about it yet she doesn't really say anything to Tom about it and there is no divorce. This shows the lack of respect that Tom has for Daisy and maybe that he doesn't love her because he doesn't try to hide it from her. Daisy then goes on to have an affair with Gatsby, it's untold whether it's out of spite or if she actually loves Gatsby but it's evident that Gatsby loves her. She doesn't make this affair as public as Tom does and so he is unaware of the affair until Gatsby tells him because he thinks that Daisy will leave Tom for him. Throughout the chapter it becomes aware that Daisy never really intended on leaving Tom so when the situation that she has to choose is forced upon her, she doesn't know which way to go.
          - Again, both Daisy and Tom have control in this chapter. Even though the book is set in the 1920's when woman were more liberated, she doesn't seem to have much freedom as Tom seems to have control over her. On the other hand, Daisy has complete control over Gatsby because she is the only one that he wants and she knows that so she almost uses this to her advantage and she knows that he will do anything that she wants him to do.

Characters
- In the beginning, Daisy seems to come across as quite a strong character who is liberated and free. It seems as if she can do what she wants as she was very popular in San Francisco and it looks as if she had a life before Tom. It's repeatedly shown throughout the book though that this is not the case because when it comes to leaving Tom for Gatsby, she can't really seem to do it because she never really expected that Gatsby would actually ask her to do that and she would ever have to make that decision. Nick says 'Her eyes fell on Jordan and me with a sort of appeal, as though she realised at last what she was doing- and as though she had never, all along, intended doing anything at all.' It is found out at the end of the chapter that in fact, she was the one driving the car and had killed Myrtle instead of being, who we thought it was, Gatsby. If Tom knew this, then he would have thought that there had been an agenda and it was done on purpose because Daisy had found out about the affair which isn't actually true.
-Nick, who is the narrator, observes this scene without giving too much judgement on it. He seems to be more of a bystander. In fact, he seems to be so wrapped up in other people's lives that he forgets that it's his birthday until after Daisy and Gatsby have left. It's like it suddenly comes to him and he remembers that he is thirty. This seems to be a bit of a milestone because on the same day that Nick turns thirty and is moving on in his life, is the same day that Gatsby is trying to relive the past, almost gets it and then loses everything. More than most chapters, Nick seems to be a listener and observer and doesn't really have any input. 
- Gatsby's true colours really come out in this chapter as being quite weak. Throughout the novel he surrounds himself with people, the big parties and his amount of friends but it always seems that he's lonely and watching in on the parties that he throws. He seems to be quite a lonely character. It's ironic because he buys an ostentatious car to draw Daisy's attention when in actual fact, it's the attention that the car draws that causes Daisy and Gatsby to be unable to be together. He first comes across quite strong because he stands up to Tom but he still hides behind the motif of 'old sport' which Tom picks up on and asks about to almost downgrade him. He thinks that he's basically whisking Daisy off her feat and helping her by getting her out of a loveless marriage when in actual fact, he's asked her to choose which is a harder decision than he anticipated. He takes the blame of killing Myrtle to save Daisy because if anyone found out who it was that killed her, he would take the blame for her. Later on, Nick finds him hiding outside Daisy's house, watching her to see if she is okay, even after Tom is back to look after it. It seems pretty apparent that Daisy has chosen Tom as 'there was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture.' It seems as if once again, he is on the outside looking in and 'watching over nothing.'
- Tom already knows that Daisy knows Gatsby and he feels slightly threatened. It comes to light after Gatsby tells him that Daisy is leaving him that he has been looking in to how Gatsby actually made all of his money and tells everyone that it's done through illegal means. It explains how he's actually really selfish because he allowed someone to go to prison and didn't really seem to mind. It shows that he has different morals compared to Gatsby even though it seems that he has double standards when it comes to affairs. He doesn't really see a problem with it if he's the one that is cheating and in fact, he doesn't even really seem to hide it but when it's Daisy cheating, he's allowed to get angry and controlling. This could be a reflection of the time and how woman have less freedom than men. This is the first time that we see Tom actually showing any emotions and he seems quite vulnerable when Nick says 'there was a husky tenderness in his tone...'Daisy?'' This is the first time that we can connect with Tom's character and actually feel sorry for him. When he comes across dead Myrtle, this is the second time that the reader can truly connect with his character. Instead of acting macho, we see his emotional side. Nick describes that when they see Myrtle, he 'heard a low husky sob, and saw that the tears were overflowing down his face.' This leads us to believe that he actually cared about Myrtle and shows his vulnerability. 
- Jordan who because Nick puts his trust in her, we do too. She seems to be the most down to earth person out of them until Nick says 'Jordan's fingers, powdered white over their tan..' explains that she's also trying to create the façade that she is pure and good which earlier on in the book, know not to be true because there was a scandal that she had cheated in a golf tournament.  
- Myrtle has been locked up in the house by her husband and Tom comes by in Gatsby's car with Jordan Baker who she takes to be Tom's wife and becomes very jealous. She notices the colour of the  car which later leads to her death. When Gatsby takes his own car back with Daisy driving, Myrtle runs out in front of it thinking that it is Tom and Daisy doesn't have much time to react and ends up hitting Myrtle and killing her. Myrtle obviously ran out because she wanted help to get away from her husband who wanted to take her away.

Narrative Elements
Foreshadowing
- Just before Tom and Nick see what has happened to Myrtle, Nick says 'So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight foreshadowing the death of Myrtle.
Length
- The length of the chapter is the main chapter and holds all the key points. If you read the chapter alone, you would understand the whole story. The length of the chapter can also be symbolic to how long it took Gatsby to get to that moment where he nearly had Daisy.
Repetition
- The idea that Gatsby has killed someone is repeated when Nick says 'He looked...as if he had 'killed a man.'' This makes us almost scared of Gatsby's character.
Perspective
- For a brief period, when Myrtle is seen to be dead from Tom, the perspective changes from Nick to someone called Michaelis. It's almost as if he has read what the man said and it relaying it to the reader.
Imagery
- The imagery of Myrtle's death is used to shock the reader. The way that it doesn't just say that she was killed but that 'her left breast was swinging loose like a flap.. The mouth was wide open and ripped a little at the corners.' It describes her being ripped open when the car hit her. It described in such a detailed way so that the reader can see it.

The Great Gatsby- Chapter 6

Location
- Nick mentions that he hasn't seen Gatsby in a while because he's been to New York a lot for his work
- The whole chapter is set in Gatsby's house

Themes
- There are themes of wealth, rumours and affairs.
        -We learn how Gatsby actually made all of his money and wealth through Nick. Nick mentions that it isn't until 'very much later' that he actually found out Gatsby's true past, rather than the made up ones of Gatsby's character. 
        -Nick makes a point of clearing up any misunderstandings of the rumours about Gatsby. He tells it very matter of factly, as if he wants to get the facts right so that no one is left confused. 
        - The affair between Gatsby and Daisy is unknown by Tom when Gatsby and Tom actually meet for the first time. Gatsby knows that this is Daisy's husband and i think he quite enjoys knowing that he knows something that Tom doesn't as he wishes for him to stay.

Characters
-  The first ten paragraphs in the chapter give us the first true insight into the real Gatsby that we've been suspecting to be there but never had it confirmed as it's always been covered up by the façade of 'Jay Gatsby.' This part of the chapter allows you to connect with the character because not many people actually knew what his life really was and so, as a reader, you feel like you've been let in on the secret that he never really wanted anyone to know. You finally feel connected to his character knowing his past rather than him being mysterious. When Daisy and Tom come to the party, he's paranoid for Daisy to have a good time. He knows that she isn't and that they aren't connecting like they used to, so he pretends to himself that he can repeat the past. He also say's 'she'll see' rather than 'you'll see', as if he needs to prove to her that they can be together. This part of the chapter almost sets up what is going to happen just after it, from the tone that Nick gives it in, you know that something is going to go wrong.
- Tom meets Gatsby, unaware that his wife even knows him, let alone having an affair with him. It comes to light when Gatsby say's 'I know your wife' which is the first time that Tom actually shows an interest in Gatsby, this shows his loyal but almost controlling side, as if she shouldn't know him.
- Daisy seems to be impressed by the amount of celebrities that Gatsby has at his parties but unless she is with Gatsby at the party, she isn't having a very good time, even though she's telling him that she is and he knows that she's lying.  
- You're reminded that Nick is the narrator of the story in the beginning of the chapter, before he was always just an observer of what was going on but this is the first time it really comes across that he's telling the story.

Narrative Elements
Chronological Order
- Nick starts this chapter with a story that is told by Gatsby a long time from when this actual chapter was set. I think that he places Gatsby's true identity in this particular place because this is the point where it's all about to go wrong and i think it has significance because it shows how unfortunate his life actually was and who he really is before everything that he has worked towards gets taken away from him.