How Is Mrs Lintott Presented in the History Boys?

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How is Mrs. Lintott presented? Mrs Lintott is a caring senior history teacher; together with Irwin and Hector make sure that the boys will pass their exams. She singly gives them all of her attention to the boys and to their progress. She wants the boys to do well, but unlike the headmaster is not narrow-minded and just want s the boys to do well no matter which University they attend. However, she still debates with the headmaster about the boy’s well-being. She is very much loved by her students. Despite her loving nature towards the boys, Mrs. Lintott lets out very little about her personal life and keeps it completely separated from her career - maintaining her professional status. Interestingly, Mrs Lintott is presented as the only female influence in The History Boys and is presented by Bennett as yet another type of teacher which is constantly explored throughout the play. Bennett, throughout the play, presents Mrs Lintott – as the only female influence to boys – as a motherly figure who is always there to comfort or encourage the boys despite her own battle with the boys, Hector and Irwin on the importance of women and women’s influence on history. Mrs. Lintott brings the idea of feminism into the play and emphasizes her achievement as lasting as a female teacher among many male senior teachers. Mrs. Lintott is exasperated and tired of being yet another female having to put up male views and that she is – like women throughout history –there to only clean up their messes. Alan Bennett uses a variety of dramatic and linguistic techniques to present Mrs. Lintott in this way, including grammar and sentence structures, imagery and phonology. GRAMMAR AND SENTENCES The first time we see/hear from Mrs. Lintott is in episode 4 where she is in the staff room talking with the headmaster. Bennett uses interrogatives and declaratives to perceive Mrs. Lintott’s

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