Reading Journal - The History Boys, Act 1

Act 1 of The History Boys seems to me as a play of humor but with an underlying tone of sincerity and personal opinion. This is because of the extensive use of jokes, banter and teasing from the boys themselves but also their obvious respect for their English teacher, Hector, who has a dodgy taste for his students, (especially Dakin), and his view that effectively, exams are pointless and life has more meaning to it - 'I count examinations, even for Oxford and Cambridge, as the enemy of education.' This is rivaled by the new History teacher, Felix Irwin, who is only six or seven years older than the boys and takes the opposing view on exams and Oxbridge to Hector - 'I sympathise with your feelings about examinations, but they are a fact of life.'

Comedy 

Rivalry - Hector vs. Irwin - Hector and his views, Irwin and his views

Slapstick - Hector hitting the boys on the head with the book

Themes - molesting, Hector taking one of the boys out on his motorbike each day, elitism (the Headmaster, his only concern being league tables, Irwin and his primary concern being Oxbridge)

Metaphors - extensive use of metaphors, even euphemisms, from characters such as Dakin

Banter - Scripps teasing Posner, the lesson in French, Mrs Lintott and Hector, the boys teasing Irwin about his life 

Competition - the idea that the teachers are competing for the affection of the boys, nicknames: tot or totty for Mrs Lintott

It is confusing to me how Bennett has made Hector such a likeable character even though he is sexually abusing his students? Is it purely because of his eccentricity and is constructed through the use of jest, and would this be reacted to differently from an audience watching the play in the 80's to an audience watching the play now?