Since To Sir with Love is a recounting of E.R. Braithwaite's experiences as a teacher in London's East End with students who are tough and non-compliant, there any number of incidents of high emotion and intensity.
Because this autobiography does not read as a novel, it also does not follow the normal plot outline with just one climax. Nevertheless, a particular climax that underscores the major theme of overcoming racial prejudices is found in Chapter...
Since To Sir with Love is a recounting of E.R. Braithwaite's experiences as a teacher in London's East End with students who are tough and non-compliant, there any number of incidents of high emotion and intensity.
Because this autobiography does not read as a novel, it also does not follow the normal plot outline with just one climax. Nevertheless, a particular climax that underscores the major theme of overcoming racial prejudices is found in Chapter Twenty. After the death of the mother of one of Braithwaite's students, Braithwaite orders a wreath to be sent to the family. However, because the student, Lawrence Seales, is "obviously of mixed parentage," none of the students will deliver it as they do not want to be seen going to "a coloured person's home."
One of the female students tries to explain to Mr. Braithwaite that if the girls were seen going to Seale's home, they would be "accused of all sorts of things." In bold response to her remarks, Pamela Dare volunteers to take the wreath, saying she is not afraid of gossip. Mr. Braithwaite thanks her and says he will take the bus and try to be there for the funeral.
The next day as he rides the bus, Braithwaite sits away from everyone, harboring old resentments of things said to him and about his race. After he steps off the bus, he heads towards the street on which Seale lives.
And then I stopped, feeling suddenly washed clean, whole and alive again. Tears were in my eyes, unashamedly, for there standing in a close, separate group...was my class...in their best clothes. O God, forgive me for the hateful thoughts, because I love them, these brutal disarming bastards, I love them....
Thus, Braithwaite's bitter disappointment in his students is overcome, and he realizes that he has not wasted his time with his painstaking efforts to teach them tolerance and goodwill toward others. Certainly, this is a climactic moment of high emotion and triumph for "Sir."
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