EDUCATION AS CONSOLATION

Quotes

Comment

“‘All knowledge is precious whether or not it serves the slightest human use’” – pg. 5 Hector

• Knowledge is meant to build you as a person – to develop and grow
• Not everything Hector teaches is useful – but they still must embed it in their “heart” – to prepare them for the future
• Hector’s teaching ideas suggest that knowledge DOES NOT serve any practical purpose outside of the educational system itself

“Art wins in the end” – pg. 27 Lockwood

• Boys reject Irwin’s thoughts about WW1 by quoting lines of poetry – literature is able to encapsulate emotions of the past – that are lost in Irwin’s shallower re-telling

“I never understand it [poetry]. But learn it now, know it now and you’ll understand it whenever” – pg. 30 Hector

• Hector says you don’t need to understand poetry – just learn it – understand later…
• Poetry is an “antidote” for future unhappiness and troubles
• literature as a buffer against the world (locked door)

“antidote…We’re making your deathbeds here, boys” – pg. 30 Hector

• Education is NOT about mastery, success or definable achievements – life will be full of difficulty and education gives the tools to deal with the suffering – NOT to try and avoid suffering altogether.
• Hector’s cynical view of life can be practical in its own way – BUT Irwin’s is more practical

“the pursuit of it [knowledge] for its own sake” – pg. 37 Timms

• Hector’s teaching has no “programme” to it – but Boys find value in his teaching just for the “sake” of learning

“Mr Hector’s stuff’s not meant for the exam, sir. It’s to make us more rounded human beings”

– pg. 38 Timms to Irwin on Hector’s teaching

“betrayal of trust” – pg. 38 Akthar

“off-limits so far as the exam is concerned” – pg. 48 Irwin

• Hector teaches for the sake of teaching; NOT for the exams – he believes that using esteemed education for the purpose of ‘passing an exam’ (the “enemy of education”) is disrespectful to previous traditions – antithesis of what Hector wants boys to learn
• Irwin gives the boys “polish” to pass their Oxbridge entrance exams
• Shows how much the Boys value Hector’s traditional approach on education – they admire his love of literature – still believe in his pact BUT Posner would be willing to break it as they care about success
• Feel the “sacred” aspect of Hector’s classes – naturally feel that Hector’s teachings are NOT meant to be deployed on an exam – using it would break their trust “pact”
• Whatever Hector teaches is “off-limits” for the exams – not meant to be used

“It’s not education. It’s culture” – pg. 39 Akthar

• Hector’s teachings are not “education” per se (by itself) BUT something deeper and richer – culture is your identity
• Hector’s teachings are for yourself – and not for the exam. Boys have internalised some of Hector’s teachings

“literature may say that [the phase of being homosexual may pass], but that literature doesn’t” – pg. 42 Irwin about Posner’s sexuality

• Irwin points out that Posner would do better to look to literature for solace – Hector’s theory
• ∴ Hector has been right to think that his teaching will make the boys happier than Irwin’s emphasis on exams will

“Mr. Hector would just have given me a quotation. Housman, sir probably

Literature is medicine, wisdom, Elastoplast.”

– pg. 44 Posner (to Irwin)

“[Hector thinks that literature is] Everything” – pg. 44 Posner

• Posner does not approach Hector with his problems – but instead Irwin – Posner confided in Irwin (effectively broken Hector’s trust “pact”)
• “Elastoplast” suggests consolation – a plaster to heal their emotional troubles
• Hector would have resorted to literary references – to give Posner contextual support.
• Posner is now at a stage in his life where he does not want to be offered only and continually the reflections of life presented by art
  • He really needs to engage with reality thus, he goes to Irwin

“the more you read, though, the more you see that literature is about losers…all literature is consolation…

it’s grief…Literature is lowering” – pg. 46 Dakin

• Dakin criticises Hector’s teachings – suffering is a failure to Dakin, not as a fact of life
• Literature is not for winners, but necessary for losers
• “lowering” means moving oneself in a downwards direction – showing how by studying literature, Dakin would be degrading himself

“codes, spells, runes – call them what you like, but do not call them gobbets” – pg. 48 Hector

• Irwin trivialises literature – so Hector and Boys disagree with him strongly – “gobbets” presents Hector’s vision of education as emotionally shallow
• “gobbets” means a mouthful of something – therefore, not meaningful
• “runes” are pre-alphabet shapes that defined our language system today – suggests that Hector’s teachings are the fundamentals of today’s society

“[literature and poetry are] components of the heart not to be defiled by being trotted out to order” – pg. 48 Hector

• Poems and quotes belong in the realm of the heart – not to be polluted and contaminated by using it in examinations

“Mr. Hector has an old-fashioned faith in the redemptive power of words” – pg. 49 HM

• HM can’t see the point of knowing reams of poetry by heart
• Hector presents the “old guard” of the British educational system

“something up your sleeve” – pg. 50 Irwin

• Literature is there when you need it… you have made your “deathbed” to cope with life’s pressures and heartbreaks

“I would have thought it was just the time [for poetry]” – pg. 52 Hector

• Hector is in trouble with the HM and wants to use poetry is save himself from the suffering
• His inadequate response (with poetry) is NOT always suited for practical matters in life – vague response
• In his hour of need and suffering, he looks to literature BUT it fails him

“the best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you” – pg. 56 Hector

• Hector offers Posner some advice on how to deal with his homosexual desires: through reading
• There is much wisdom to be gained from literature
• Posner, a social outsider, finds comfort in books

“It isn’t that he doesn’t produce results. He does. But they are unpredictable and unquantifiable and in the current educational climate that is no use. He well may be doing his job but there is no method that I know of that enables me to assess the job that he is doing”

– pg. 67 HM (to Mrs. Lintott)

• Hector’s teachings does produce some results but NOT tangible; difficult to precisely determine what these results actually are.
• Result of Hector’s lessons is immeasurable and unquantifiable
• Thus, it is unsuitable for contemporary educational conditions which require measurable data – e.g. grades

“insurance against the boys’ ultimate failure” – pg. 69 Mrs. Lintott

• “insurance” suggests a life-long investment into their future – save them from emotional suffering and hardships that are inevitable

“Posner is not making a point. He is speaking from the heart.” – pg. 72

• Distinction between making a point and speaking from the heart tension between 2 philosophies
• Posner makes original and compelling “good point[s]” about the Holocaust, BECAUSE OF the emotional connection with the subject
• Dakin uses Irwin’s formulaic approach and comes up with an argument that EVEN Irwin finds distasteful; “inexpedient” (= unwise)

“art is different” – pg. 76 Irwin

• Irwin says that “our perspective changes on history as time goes on” BUT this is NOT applicable for art (or literature)
• EVEN Irwin believes that literature contains emotional truths that endure over time – can convey emotions through art and NOT always the factual truth of the events

“nice to be a bit more complicated…[than] outgoing. Straight” – pg. 88 Dakin

• Dakin suggests he has a better chance at happiness as he is straight BUT says he wishes his life had more pain in it – pain is the best education

Sing a verse of ‘Bye Bye, Blackbird’

• In the moment of suffering and safeness, Boys internalise Hector’s teachings about dealing with life’s difficulties through the power of art –
• Impossible to avoid suffering – so when death disrupts their lives, turn to Hector in help

“Love apart, it is the only education worth having” – pg. 109 Scripps

• Still respects Hector’s education at the end of the play

“Pass the parcel…Take it, feel it and pass it on.” – pg. 109 Hector

• Teaching was a way to get the Boys to savour and relish life when they are alive; everyone will die

POINT

EXPLANATION

Bennett also presents education as a consolation to life’s inevitable hardships as a “Cheat’s Visa” for these problems, by acquiring comfort and solace by memorising literature, poetry and knowledge.

• • Ultimately Hector’s philosophy which is meant to make you feel better when you are low and empower you
  • Some of the Boys adopt this attitude (Posner, very much!) and the outcome is not as expected
  • Limitations to this attitude could be explored – the failures of Hector’s professional and personal life, failure of Posner’s future life and the lack of acceptance from the HM and essentially, rest of contemporary society

Furthermore, Bennett presents educations as a way of inspiring wisdom and maturity in the students, in order for them to grow up so they can relish life’s joys to the fullest.

• • Makes your life richer through memorising quotations to heart “[component] of the heart” ~ Hector
  • Time for the “bits in between” which enrich your life – exams do not grow you as a person, but instead give you a superficial ‘mark’ of success
  • Example of this is how “well-rounded” Hector’s students are – due to them learning Hector’s “gobbets”, as Irwin puts it. Could be argued that this makes them better human beings, by gaining an identity and understanding of cultures around them.

Bennett presents education to be a performance where one must demonstrate their knowledge by securing top-grades and places at esteemed institutions, which would ultimately reflect their status in society.

• • The Boys’ attitudes towards getting into Oxbridge at all costs
  • HM’s results-driven attitude who is interested in making the school more competitive and more profitable by attracting potential students with impressive grades
  • Irwin & Dakin to a certain extent – perform what you have learnt – “Find a proposition, invert it, then look around for proofs.”