The History Boys: Act 1 Scene 1

In the first scene of Act 1, Irwin is in a wheelchair addressing numerous members of parliament about  passing a bill that will abolish trial by jury. If the bill does get passed, this will eradicate the presumption of innocence of the person convicted. Within the scene Irwin appears very passionate and informed about his case, however it does not appear he putting forward this bill to allow people to 'walk the streets unmolested' as he says. After Irwin states that the real liberty of the proposed bill is to allow people to 'walk the streets unmolested' he follows with 'etc..etc'. The use of the 'etc's' sound impersonal and almost robotic-protecting citizens isn't why Irwin is proposing this bill. Therefore the way he uses his words juxtapose each other, making the reason behind the proposition appear untrue and makes his character seem slimy. Irwin also appears untruthful when he uses the metaphor saying paradox works well and "mists up the windows". The use of the metaphor suggests the bill conceals the truth and therefore making the trial for the person prosecuted unfair. However, the metaphor also suggests he is aware that the bill is unethical, yet feels he should still propose it.

At the end of Irwin's monologue he finishes with the line "School. Thats all it is. In my case anyway. Back to school" as well has this line being making a good transition to the next scene, it also suggests that school is a huge aspect of his life and that is where he learnt his strong opinions and how to prepare a good speech. Irwin appears to have strong thoughts of school, because in this scene he talks very passionately about the bill and then about school-making the two thoughts comparable. On the other hand it could suggest that he feels that school structure  is mimicking the political system where people "mist up the windows".

My original perception of Irwin was that he was an intelligent young man who was enthusiastic about teaching and learning. However after reading the first scene, my opinion on Irwin has dramatically changed. I now perceive Irwin has self-centred, not very sympathetic, very cynical and comparable to a villain like character . Furthermore I believe Irwin is very manipulative, as he takes advantage of his respected position to bombard people (in this case the MP's) which his own very strong opinions which so far don't seem very immoral.