comparative essay of Hector and Irwin

Alan Bennett creates the characters Hector and Irwin, to have two teachers with completely different opposing teaching styles. They both believe that they know what is best for the boys and the others teaching style will not help the boys get into Oxford. The first time we hear about Hector's lessons we hear that they are not structured "Not curriculum directed at all", this shows that Hector is well known and recognised for his unplanned lessons even by the headmaster who is strict on results. Straight away Bennett highlights the fact Irwin is the opposite to this in the stage directions "distributing exercise books", this shows his complete different teaching style because in Hector's lessons the boys have never even wrote a word, and Hector is meant to be a big English teacher.

Bennett always shows in Hector's lessons the boys being praised even when they are wrong he will just correct them, but he still seems happy for their effort "conditional or the subjunctive", this could link to Hector being lazy and not really trying with the boys because deep down he doesn't think they will get into Oxford "forget Oxford and Cambridge". This is the opposite to Irwin "Dull. Dull. Abysmally dull", Irwin sort of restores order in his first lesson with the boys by bringing them back down to earth and telling them that although their work is right, there is around a thousand others applying with the exact same answers; so he is trying to tell them to be unique and force the examiner to remember you personally. 

In some ways you can see similarities between Hector and Irwin, for example Irwin writes his name like it would say "I ruin", this links with Hector because during the play Hector ruins his own career and ends ups in a bad way. Bennett presents Hector as a character who is always hiding his true self, he does this by speaking French in his lessons "un chat un chat", this is a huge part of Hector's character because he is hiding is problems which he has involving the boys, and these problems are unacceptable in any type of society or setting. Irwin was a former student at "Oxford" this once again opposes Bennett's character Hector because he went to "Sheffield". The fact Hector isn't a former Oxford or Cambridge student could make him jealous of the boys "nobody mentions Oxford".