The History Boys Movie Essay
Innocence:
THE HISTORY BOYS deals quite heavily with the issue of growing up. Not only does the future of the boys hang in the balance with the entrance exams, but the school’s reputation lies squarely upon their shoulders. As Hector and Irwin battle over educational ideologies, the boys become aware of how the world works, no longer simply clinging to route memorization of facts and quotes. They are forced to step outside of their childlike innocence and stake claim to a more critical and cynical assessment of their surroundings. The play also takes on the issue of sexual identity, as the boys deal simultaneously with Hector’s sexual abuse and the confusion of trying to find their own identities.
They admire and appreciate him so much that they absolutely ignore, and give no importance at all to, his sexual harassment, which is quite "a new" attitude.
As to the students, Posner (Samuel Barnett) is the most impressed by, and certainly the closest to, Hector. He is the perfect student for him. He loves poetry, learning, and teaching--he will actually become a teacher himself. He loves Hector's way of teaching, his love for performances and staging what they call "film endings". He is the only really concerned student when Hector has an …show more content…
Everything is dramatic: growing up, getting through the end of adolescence and starting to grow up in a hostile environment like Oxford and Cambridge. But anyhow, the dramatic view is so ironic and the ironic view is so dramatic that they seem to mix. Daikin's (Dominic Cooper) commentary at Hector's funeral, "Still at least I asked him", referring to his sexual proposal to his other teacher, Irwin, before the accident, is so coarse, while other students are preparing to sing "Bye, bye, Blackbird", that it is just a fantastic laugh even at such an uncomfortable moment. Sad, but true. Infinitely dramatic. Infinitely
THE HISTORY BOYS deals quite heavily with the issue of growing up. Not only does the future of the boys hang in the balance with the entrance exams, but the school’s reputation lies squarely upon their shoulders. As Hector and Irwin battle over educational ideologies, the boys become aware of how the world works, no longer simply clinging to route memorization of facts and quotes. They are forced to step outside of their childlike innocence and stake claim to a more critical and cynical assessment of their surroundings. The play also takes on the issue of sexual identity, as the boys deal simultaneously with Hector’s sexual abuse and the confusion of trying to find their own identities.
They admire and appreciate him so much that they absolutely ignore, and give no importance at all to, his sexual harassment, which is quite "a new" attitude.
As to the students, Posner (Samuel Barnett) is the most impressed by, and certainly the closest to, Hector. He is the perfect student for him. He loves poetry, learning, and teaching--he will actually become a teacher himself. He loves Hector's way of teaching, his love for performances and staging what they call "film endings". He is the only really concerned student when Hector has an …show more content…
Everything is dramatic: growing up, getting through the end of adolescence and starting to grow up in a hostile environment like Oxford and Cambridge. But anyhow, the dramatic view is so ironic and the ironic view is so dramatic that they seem to mix. Daikin's (Dominic Cooper) commentary at Hector's funeral, "Still at least I asked him", referring to his sexual proposal to his other teacher, Irwin, before the accident, is so coarse, while other students are preparing to sing "Bye, bye, Blackbird", that it is just a fantastic laugh even at such an uncomfortable moment. Sad, but true. Infinitely dramatic. Infinitely