Irwin and Posner Extract PEE Structure

I am analysing the extract from pages 60 to 63 where Irwin is talking to Posner in the future at his workplace. Irwin is in a wheelchair and is working on a BBC 2 documentary whereas Posner is trying to trick Irwin into revealing personal details so that he can sell him out.

In the beginning of the conversation, Irwin uses asyndetic listing, 'eye-catching, showy; false', in order to explain to Posner what the meaning of meretricious. It suggests that the teacher-student dynamic has not changed despite years passing between the two meeting and them being in a grown up situation. It shows that Irwin still has power over Posner, especially since Posner helps to create this asymmetrical power dynamic by beginning the conversation with a compliment, 'you were a good teacher', which is a way of 'sweetening' Irwin up to get what he wants. As Irwin an unconventional teaching style, he taught him to be 'meretricious' and it is evident that Irwin's influence as a teacher has heavily impacted Posner because he is being 'false' in this extract.
At the same time, Irwin breaks away from the asymmetrical power dynamic by using taboo lexis, 'fuck off', when trying to steer away from the tense conversation with Posner. He later returns to this dynamic by using snide language but the change in behaviour shows that even though Posner first addresses him as his teacher, which has the connotations of respect, Irwin no longer has to constrain himself and Posner no longer has to show him any respect as they are in the 'real world' now. The fantasy is disrupted.

During the unofficial interview, Posner asks Irwin about his relationship with Dakin. Bennett uses a  declarative to state that 'nothing happened between me and Dakin'. He repeats this phrase for emphasis, inferring that it this is a 'touchy' subject for Irwin. The subtext of this conversation suggests that there was something inappropriate between the two characters since they had a teacher-student relationship. This would cause shock amongst amongst a modern day audience who would feel like this is a taboo topic. The use of the past tense verb 'happened' references something that occurred in the past, which often has the connotations of negative events, that the audience don't know about. This creates tension and foreshadows the event to come, also hinting that Irwin has an attraction to Dakin which is not yet obvious, which again is not appropriate for their relationship dynamic.
It is first mentioned that Irwin is in a wheelchair, the wheelchair helps, of course', in this extract and it is unclear why to the audience as it is a flash forward sequence. This creates mystery and suspense as the audience may feel like they need to find out how these events have transgressed. This simple sentence has an underlying subtext as it suggests that a wheelchair enables an audience to feel sympathetic for Irwin, which is typical of Irwin's manipulative personality, and the fact that he admits this to Posner gives the sense that Posner is 'in on the secret'. The subtext is that the only way to be successful in life is to be manipulative. Ironically, Irwin has affected Posner's chances in life by teaching him this but Posner is not happy or successful.

Bennett also uses elevated lexis in Irwin's speech, 'monasticism', which portrays him as an intelligent and respectable person. It can said that some of this is true as Irwin is smart enough to be a teacher and is also smart enough to be able to manipulate situations, regularly demonstrating this by pushing the boys to work harder, but this creates a sense of irony as he cannot be considered respectable as he is morally ambiguous throughout the play. Especially in his relationships with the students and what he teaches in specific. The abstract noun 'monasticism' also gives off the sense that he is pretentious and is hiding behind 'long words', which Irwin seems to both relish in the beginning of the play and almost resent in this particular extract. It also suggests that he is hiding behind a façade, which creates a sense of intrigue.