What do you gather about Crocker-Harris from the play?

Highly disciplined and principled, Crocker-Harris was a teacher who would not compromise on the rules and regulations to suffice sentiments of students. Some may agree with his way of thinking, others may criticise him of being too fastidious. A teacher who was hard on students when it came to studies. He was not of those teachers who would crack romantic jokes in the class to make studies fun, rather his jokes were poor, according to his student, Taplow, as not a single student was able to comprehend them.

Other teachers like Frank envied him for the effect he had on the students that all seemed scared to death of him. And students were terrified of cutting on him. They could not dare to go against him. As to what Taplow tells Frank about him that he had no feelings at all. He was all shrivelled up inside like a nut and he seemed to hate people to like him. It is funny, no master likes being disliked. What may flabbergast the reader is the instance when Millie Crocker-Harris, wife of Crocker-Harris, suggests Taplow to go and not wait for her husband, as he was at the Bursar's. She also assured him that she would cover for him if her husband questioned about Taplow on returning. So, we can now confidently say that, yes, he was not a sadist, however, Crocker-Harris was not a man that was liked by either his colleagues or even his family members.

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