To Sir with Love

To Sir, with Love is a work of fiction based on the life of the author, E.R. Braithwaite, who went to teach in the notoriously rough East End of London after World War II. The main character, Ricardo Braithwaite, works as an engineer in an Aruban oil refinery beforeimmigrating to England shortly before World War II. During the war, Braithwaite serves as a member of the Royal Air Force (RAF) but then is unable to find employment after the war ends because he is black. As a last resort, a stranger convinces Braithwaite to apply to become a teacher, and he is accepted at the Greenslade School in London’s East End, set to teach the senior class.

The time period in which the story takes place is important. The book is set after World War II, during which black people fought and died, alongside their white compatriots, only to come back home—whether to Britain or the United States—and find that racism was still very much present. Braithwaite finds that even though he considers himself British and has served in the Royal Air Force (RAF), the English do not consider him to be one of them. This leads Braithwaite to resent the English and colonialism, as well as what he seems to think is the relative ease that his white students have had in their lives.

Braithwaite’s teaching position starts out roughly: he considers his students disrespectful, and his students consider him to be an arrogant outsider, unfamiliar with the social environment in which they have grown up. The students harass Braithwaite, slamming their desks while he is lecturing, using foul language, and ultimately burning a sanitary napkin in the classroom. This is the last straw for Braithwaite, who verbally berates the girls for acting in an unladylike manner.

Realizing that his outburst has not gained him any respect, Braithwaite changes tactics, deciding to interact with them as though they are adults with agency. He requires every girl be referred to as Miss and that his students call him Sir. At first, the students find this level of deference ridiculous; however, they come around after only a few weeks, completely changing both their hygiene and their attitudes towards one another.

To increase the class’s cultural exposure, Braithwaite takes them on field trips to museums and theatres, to which many of the students have never been. A white female teacher, Gillian Blanchard, accompanies the class on these excursions, the beginning of a friendship which blossoms into romance between Blanchard and Braithwaite. The romance faces multiple tests, primarily concerning societal prejudice against mixed race couples during this era in Britain. Similarly, Braithwaite’s relationship with his students is tested many times. Braithwaite must learn to navigate between the social norms, including prejudice, of the outside world and the relatively safe community he has built with his students.

The novel centers around Braithwaite’s growth as a character, from a selfish individual who merely seeks employment and lacks empathy to a loving surrogate father for his students. Although his students frequently disappoint him, Braithwaite learns to forgive them, and they in turn constantly surprise him with their maturity, empathy, and knowledge.

The novel is written in the past tense, as Braithwaite looks back on the events of his first year of teaching. However, the chronological perspective is never made explicit, so the audience does not know the age of the narrator while he tells the story. Due to this approach, the narrator knows things that the audience does not understand. He gains a kind of omnipotence, leading to a healthy amount of foreshadowing. Consequently, this also leads the audience to place a levelof trust in the narrator that is uncommon for first-person narratives.

Another facet of the story which greatly affects its narrative lies in the heavy history of colonialism involved in Braithwaite’s experiences. Braithwaite is originally from British Guiana (now Guyana), a British colony adjacent to Brazil. Although geographically located in South America, British Guiana was considered part of the British West Indies and is culturally similar to the Caribbean, as its indigenous population are part of the Taino people. Braithwaite constantly feels the prejudicial effects of colonialism while living in England after World War II, and these negative experiences frequently shape his thoughts and actions. In 1967, Hollywood turned his novel into a film by the same name, resetting the story in 1960s America. This action led the film to lose the novel’s heavy colonial emphasis, among other differences.

Also historically relevant to the novel is the infamous East End itself. Although it was the site of music halls and theatres, its residents were and are frequently considered criminals, as the area’s impoverished nature leads to high levels of crime. It is also the killing ground of Jack the Ripper, and is contemporarily associated with high levels of gang activity. Throughout the East End’s history, it has always been poor and overcrowded, leaving diseases and building collapses to claim many lives. It is the source of the Cockney identity, which has Jewish, Romani, and other immigrant influences. It was heavily bombed during both World War I and World War II, leaving many areas condemned, and the damage remainedfor decades. Braithwaite is routinely shocked by the conditions in which these students live, and the physical trauma of the war can be seen throughout his teaching environment.