War and Literary References Pages 23 - 27 of The History Boys by Nina

The Unkown Soldier

2015-10-07 11:51:46 UTC

"A symbolic tomb set up to honor soldiers whose bodies were not recovered during a war, often containing the remains of an unidentified soldier. The modern trend was started when a soldier of World War I was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1920. "

Links to Irwin's ideology on the truth, changing the truth, looking at it from a different angle. Irwin doesn't mind putting himself in a controversial position, and feels like the remembrance of the soldiers is out of place seeing as it is hiding the truth. " What has the truth got to do anything with our lives?" - cynical point of view. Questions the truth and it's relevance, finds that history (the truth) is but how you present and percieve it.

Kipling

2015-10-07 11:52:07 UTC

Rudyard Kipling is a British poet and author who was born Bombay, India. Also, he was an imperialist this meant that he felt white people had the right to take control of countries such as India.

Rembrandt

2015-10-07 11:52:34 UTC

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art and the most important in Dutch history. He is known as a grand master. In the play they are talking about certain moments in history and poems written during that era, when Irwin quotes a poem “if any question why we died, tell them because our
fathers lied” followed on with “in other words” as Timms interrupts him, he explains that you cannot say “in other words” about a poem because poetry is art and “if it is a work of art there are no other words” and Lockwood follows on from this stating “you can’t look at Rembrandt and say ‘in other words’ can you, sir” this linking to the famous Dutch artist Rembrandt, you cannot say “in other words” about art because art is truth as Scripps states "you can't explain away the poetry". Rembrandt’s art is marvelous and a success and this is what Lockwood and Timms are trying to say that poetry is art, its perfect just
like Rembrandt’s work. Rembrandt was a grand master and his later years were marked by personal tragedy, this links to Hector, Hector is seen an a ‘grand master’ he is the grand master of knowledge and the boys mainly refer back to Hector and his ways of teaching when being taught by Irwin.

"if any question why we died poem tell them because our fathers lied"

2015-10-07 11:52:59 UTC

Kipling

This quote was used in The History Boys because it relates to the war and history and is probably from a poem taught to them by Hector, they are showing off their knowledge.

General Haig

2015-10-07 11:53:12 UTC

Haig was a British commander on the Western Front for most of World War One. Haig studied at Oxbridge University which is relevant to the play 'The History Boys' as the boys are striving to get into Oxbridge.

Douglas Haig sent thousand of young boys, around 18 years old, the same age as the boys' into battle. The reference of the battle refers to the hard work that the boys will need to put in to their education to be able to get a chance to get into Oxbridge or Cambridge

Siegfried Sassoon

2015-10-07 11:53:26 UTC

Douglas Haig

2015-10-07 11:53:43 UTC

Philip larkin mcmxiv

2015-10-07 11:53:47 UTC

roman numerals for 1914 when world war 1 started. roman numerals are used as that is what is used on memorials instead of numbers (a literary war memorial). ''Those long uneven lines'' this could be a reference to the amount of people 'lining' up to get into oxbridge. The fact they are uneven suggests unpreparedness similiar to the boys at this point in the play Larkin went to a private school. The poem talks about the innocence being lost from the fatalities of WW1 He had a sexual relationship with one of his lecturers (parallels hector and the boys). he increased a library he worked at by 1200% because of him showing his love of literature (hector). Alan Bennett was filmed reading some of larking poems for TV as larkin was reluctant to be filmed.

http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/mcmxiv/

Last Post

2015-10-07 11:53:48 UTC

In military tradition, the LastPost is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day's activities. It is also sounded at military funerals to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

1st Earl Haig

2015-10-07 11:54:13 UTC

Douglas Haig was a British senior officer during the first world war. He demanded the end of the war to the British Expeditionary Force.

Ruhr and Rhineland

2015-10-07 11:54:15 UTC

Rhineland is historically controversial area of western Europe in western Germany. It lies east of Germany's border with France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ruhr is a medium-size river in Germany. It is East to the Rhine.

In world war one Ruhr and Rhineland were one of the most fought over territories between mostly Germany, France and England. Usually Germany owned Rhineland and Ruhr, but were often banned from entering it as it was occupied by the French.

In the History Boys, Ruhr and Rhineland is an example of the boys knowing their facts. The concrete noun reflects their of concrete facts and concrete way of thinking and knowledge like Mrs. Lintott has taught them- their creativity is limited and rigid.

Rembrandt

2015-10-07 11:54:51 UTC

Weimar Republic

2015-10-07 11:54:53 UTC

The Weimar Republic was the federal republic and semi-presidential representative democracy established in 1919 in Germany to replace the German Empire.

it gives us an insight that they are knowledgable and know their facts really well and can link the facts they know into the education that Irwin is trying to get out of them for their Oxbridge applications. This also shows that the boys have been taught well by Mrs Lintott and that the things that she teaches them stays in their mind after they have learned it. They can clearly understand what they have been taught and like to use it when discussing with eachother and Irwin and other teachers to show off the extent of their knowledge, but in the way they are listing these facts it seems like they don't necessarily know how to word or structure their facts into something that can help them.

Siegfried Sassoon

2015-10-07 11:55:00 UTC

Siegfried was a soldier

Donkeys :)

LottieHarkins — 2015-10-07 11:55:47 UTC

Lions led by donkeys" is a phrase popularly used to describe the British infantry of World War I and to blame the generals who led them. The contention is that the brave soldiers (lions) were sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent leaders (donkeys)

The stereotype is that the ordinary soldiers were lions led by donkeys – the donkeys being incompetent, uncaring generals, responsible for thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Illustrates the boys knowledge and the idea that we want to remember our soldiers as brave men fighting for our country, not me who were led to their deaths by our generals. This also reiterates the idea that Irwin likes to turn things on their head

Cenotaph Cenotaph

2015-10-07 11:56:03 UTC

A Cenotaph is a public monument (special statue or building) built in memory of particular people who died in war, often with their names written on it “That's why. The dead. The body count. We don't like to admit the war was even partly our fault cos so many of our people died. And all the mourning's veiled the truth. It's not "lest we forget", it's "lest we remember". That's what all this is about -the memorials, the Cenotaph, the two minutes' silence because there is no better way of forgetting something than by commemorating it.”

it is a memorial that helps us remember (or forget) the people who died in the war and their reasons for fighting for our country.

"if any question why we died poem tell them because our fathers lied"

2015-10-07 12:49:58 UTC

Kipling

This quote was used in The History Boys because it relates to the war and history and was taught to them by Irwin, they are showing off their knowledge of history to try and impress Irwin.

After his son's death, Kipling wrote,

"If any question why we died Tell them, because our fathers lied.

It is speculated that these words may reveal his feelings of guilt at his role in getting John a commission in the Irish Guards.

This links to The History Boys because it ties in with the themes of truth and the importance of art and history seen through different perspectives in their exams

Douglas Haig

2015-10-07 12:51:02 UTC

He was born in 1861. Between 1899 and 1902, Haig served in the boer war with distinction and was then took on and promoted in the War Office.

Siegfried Sassoon

2015-10-07 12:51:16 UTC

Siegfried was a Soldier that served in the first world war. Irwin uses Siegfried to show the boys that they can "add flavour" to their answers. This is suggested to the boys as Siegfried Sassoon was a poet, linking him to the work that they do with Hector. However, When Irwin says that "poetry is good up to a point," we see a contrast in teaching styles between Hector and Irwin, as Hector teaches poetry being the answer to nearly everything, whereas Irwin shows the boys that you can manipulate the truth and provide different and outstanding answers. Also, Sassoon was very young when serving in the army, linking to youth of the boys, showing that they could be unprepared like young soldiers were.

Hitler

2015-10-07 12:52:32 UTC

Hitler moved to Munich, Germany in May 1913. He did so to avoid arrest for evasion of his military service obligation to Hapsburg, Austria and financed by the last installment of his inheritance from his father. In Munich, he continued to drift, supporting himself on his watercolors and sketches until world war one gave his life direction and a cause to which he could commit himself totally. according to accounts, Hitler was a brave soldier: he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, was wounded twice (in 1916 and 1918) and was awarded several medals.

Hitler was partially blinded by a mustard gas attack in Belgium and whilst he was recovering he was told of the armistice which tore him from the only community he felt apart of, and returning to civilian life has taken away his purpose and living aimlessly.

Douglas Haig

2015-10-07 12:53:55 UTC

He served all the way up until the end of the war. In 1919 he was created an earl for his great leadership. He died in 1928 but spent the last few years of his life working for ex-servicemen though primarily, those who had been disabled in the war.

Douglas Haig

2015-10-07 12:57:11 UTC

In 1914 which is when the war started, Haig was the general commanding the First Army Corps. In December 1915, Haig succeeded Sir John French as commander-in-chief in the British Army in the Western Front.

Haig

2015-10-07 13:05:06 UTC

He studied first at Brasenose College, Oxford, and then in 1884 at the Royal Military Academy (Sandhurst). He passed out of Sandhurst in under a year, joining the 7th (Queens Own) Hussars. He served there as a cavalry officer for the following nine years, in India. In 1909 Haig was made Chief of Staff of the Indian army.

The word cattle is used to refer people who are in private education saying that they are part of a cattle and the educational system is wiping out the boys. Page 26- Irwin couldn’t wait to get back to his company' which could relate the boys as part of a company together and that they need to start thinking like individuals. Page 27 Irwin ignores them because they are going of task trying to refocus their minds. Making them think seriously to reconsider their minds, disciplining them like the war this is relating the educational system to a war, teaching them to be Britain and not Germany. Slaughtering like animals They are getting thumbs down' this gets public sacrifice relating them to working hard to get into Oxbridge.

2015-10-07 13:11:28 UTC

There are also a lot of parallels to relate the boys to the boys in the poem

Irwin is a history teacher and he’s referring to the cattle as the boys due to them being in private education. Relating the educational system to war. Irwin’s teaching them to support Britain as people were slaughtered like animals Irwin ignoring the boys because there going of the topic of conversation and is trying to refocus the boys on the topic that is actually to be discussed. Hes trying to take authority which relates to sergeants at war. Page 26-couldn’t wait to get back to his own company can relate to the fact that the boys need to become individual instead of working as a team. Great public sacrifice of many victims-relates to the victims of the war

2015-10-07 13:11:53 UTC

Wilfred Owen

2015-10-07 13:12:24 UTC

Irwin is a history teacher and he’s referring to the cattle
as the boys due to them being in private education. Relating the educational
system to war.

Irwin’s teaching them to support Britain as people were
slaughtered like animals

Irwin ignoring the boys because there going of the topic of
conversation and is trying to refocus the boys on the topic that is actually to
be discussed. Hes trying to take authority which relates to sergeants at war.

Page 26-couldn’t wait to get back to his own company can
relate to the fact that the boys need to become individual instead of working
as a team.

Great public sacrifice of many victims-relates to the
victims of the war

The "History (Boys) is just one thing after another"

2015-10-07 13:12:48 UTC