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.