Willy Russell S Educating Rita example essay topic

Although Rita knows that intellectual enlightenment is important, to Rita, education provides much more to her in Willy Russell!'s Educating Rita. Rita!'s education is not restricted to scholastic learning alone, her transformation from the uneducated Rita to the educated Susan is all encompassing. Rita sees and understands the importance of being well educated, but for Rita, education helps her to overcome her background and break away from the traditional role expected of a woman in the 1970's. Rita has set herself on a course of self-discovery, she has a determination to control her own life and make her own choices. Rita believes it is education that will give her these choices. Rita knows that the value of education goes far beyond simple intellectual enlightenment.

Education entirely changes Rita which, though she is prepared for a change, effects her life enormously. Rita!'s background has held her back and put her at a disadvantage. There was a great deal of research done in the 1970's to show that middle class children were far more likely to do well at school and to go on to university than working-class children like Rita. Rita!'s schooling disadvantage is shown in her recollection of school life: ! ^0! -born! , ripped-up books, broken glass everywhere, knives an! fights. An! that was just in the staffroom.

Nah, they tried their best I suppose, always tellin! us we stood more of a chance if we studied. But study in! was just for the whips, wasn! t it? See, if I! d started takin! school seriously I would have had to become different from me mates, an! that!'s not allowed.! +/- (Act 1, Scene 2, p 17) Rita felt the need to conform to the way everyone around her lived their lives until she realised that there was a way out. The class antagonism that pressures Rita can be seen through language misunderstandings between Frank and Rita: Frank: You are? Rita: What am I?

Frank: Pardon? Rita: What? Frank: Now you are? Rita: I! m a what? (Act 1, Scene 2, pp 2-3) Education is the only way Rita can fulfil her desire to overcome the working class background she has been born into. Rita feels that through education she can break away from the traditional expectations placed on a working class woman in the 70's.

Pressures and influences on Rita are mostly from her family, in particular her husband.! ^0 I told him I! d only have a baby when I had choice. But he doesn! t understand.! +/- (Act 1, Scene 5, p 34) Another influence on Rita to become educated and resist conforming to the stereotypical working class woman is Rita!'s mother: ! ^0! -when I looked round me mother had stopped singin! , an! she was cryin!! -I said, !

(R) Why are y! cryin! , Mother?! She said, ! (R) Because- because we could sing better songs than those.!! -And that!'s why I came back. And that!'s why I! m staying.!

+/- (Act 1, Scene 7, p 46) Rita came to believe that she wasn! t just doing this for herself, she was doing it for all the women like her mother who never had the chance to make something of themselves, who were forced to fill the traditional! (R) house-wife role! Education is Rita!'s! (R) journey of self discovery! to fill the void in her life.

This path of self-discovery is central to the play, through education Rita searches for the answers to life: ! ^0 I! ve begun to find me-an! it!'s great y! know! -! +/- (Act 1, Scene 7, p 33) Rita has a strong determination to control her own life by making her own choices and this is what she believes education will provide her with.

Rita feels the need for confidence and the ability to gain independence to make her own choices. By the end of the play Rita knows that education has given her the freedom of choice: ! ^0! -I had a choice. I chose, me. Because of what you! d given me I had a choice.!

+/- (Act 2, Scene 7, p 72) The power of choice is very important to Rita, as it is the basis to all her motives for becoming educated. Rita feels that education is valuable as it extends her range of choices and would lead to her ability to make informed decisions. Rita sought to change herself entirely and she felt she could use education to do this: ! ^0! -these women, you see, they come to the hairdresser!'s cos they wanna be changed. But if you want to change y! have to do it from the inside, don! t y? Know like I! m doin!!

+/- (Act 1, Scene 1, p 11) Rita!'s transformation can be seen in the original story of Pygmalion. For example the statue in Pygmalion transforms from ivory to flesh and in a metaphorical sense Rita transforms from flesh to ivory.! (R) Flesh! referring to her uniqueness and down to earth nature and! (R) ivory! referring to her character being sculptured to society!'s mould. Although Rita feels that the change within herself brought about by education is for the best, Frank feels responsible for Rita!'s loss of individuality. Frank sees Rita!'s change as the creation of a monster: !

^0 You know, Rita, I think- I think that like you I shall change my name; from now on I shall insist upon being known as Mary, Mary Shelley- do you understand that allusion, Rita?! +/- (Act 2, Scene 5, pp 67-68) Through education Rita acquired an entire change. To Rita, education is more than intellectual enlightenment. Rita sought to change herself, to provide herself with options and she used education to do this. Rita felt that she understood the true value of a formal education and what it can gain for it!'s recipient. Though Frank was disappointed with the results, Rita obtained what she desired.

Education filled a void in Rita!'s life, which set her on her way to discover herself. Rita seemed to improve herself from the working class, and the question we are asked at the end of the play is both whether Rita succeeded, and whether it is even possible". In his play Willy Russell describes the story of a 26-year-old woman who wants to have a better education. In the previous Scene Rita took her exams. She comes to thank Frank for helping her so much and helping her gain an education.

Frank has to go to Australia, because he taught while he was drunk. Rita has changed a lot from the beginning of the story as at first she didn't seem to be very well educated at all. Later on she became a little arrogant and was very dependent on society and her "educated friends."I wanted it all so much that I didn't want it to be questioned (p. 76, l. 30 f)". Now, she understands that she has a choice. She can have an opinion of her own.

Rita learned that education isn't as important as she once thought. She isn't dependent on the opinions of others; she is an individual. After all, she repeats, she has learned lots from Frank including how to question things. Frank wants her to come with him to Australia, but she wants to live a life of her own. Frank gives her a present. It is a dress; he originally bought it for an educated woman, showing that he thinks of her as being educated now.

Rita wants to give him something too, because she feels like she has never given him anything. So he cuts his hair "to take ten years off" (p. 78, l. 15) him. In my opinion, the ending is very well written. Frank has overcome his mid life-crisis and Rita has become more independent and educated.

She understands what education means and she has found a balance between the "old Rita" and the "new one". Russell describes very capably that education in it's contemporary form does not full-fill everything you need in your life. The end shows that the "two worlds ("working class" and "high society") could possibly merge with each other. They could help each other, because there are positive and negative aspects in both of them. In this essay I will comment on how Russell comments on modern society in his play Educating Rita. William Russell was born in Whist on, just outside Liverpool, in 1947.

At primary school he enjoyed reading, football and gardening, these were the only subjects he liked, but at his secondary school he was consigned to the factory fodder D stream. It was in this surprising environment that he conceived the idea of being a writer. His only experience of factory work caused him to fail to obtain a printing apprenticeship, so his mother suggested he trained to be a women's hairdresser, he worked as a woman's hairdresser for five years eventually running his own salon. After this he was seeking a career that would give him a greater opportunity to write, he decided to become a student, having now passed O Level English at night class. No Local Education Authority would give him a bursary, so he spent some time girder cleaning at Fords in order to fund his college O and A level studies. In 1970 he trained as a teacher.

You can see in the play that Russell is commenting on society as Russell is almost like Rita, she lives near Liverpool with little education and works in a hairdressers and tries to get the opportunity to have choice by getting an education. During the play Russell shows that the class system is apart of modern society and Rita kind of wants to change classes, from working to middle, she doesn't know how to chose and has little education. Equal opportunities in the way that women are expected to have babies and stay at home all day but in his play Rita breaks away from every one else and gets an education and he shows how hard it is to get an education. In the play Russell tells you about two people, these are the main characters Frank and Rita. Rita is a working class person who is trapped in life and wants choice, she has little education and a poor job as a hairdresser and during the play she tries to break free from her social class, she thinks she should have had a baby by her age, she wants to discover herself first but no one understands so she thinks she is different, in the play she says "I should have had a baby by know every one expects it".

Rita wants to be more like Frank, educated, middle class, has choice. But Frank is also bored and trapped, he goes to the pub a lot to cover up for his unhappiness, Rita also wants to change some of Frank. Russell is trying to point out that Rita is trapped in her social class, she wanted to succeed in school and be happy but her friends and family say that school isn't cool and so she doesn't learn, this happens all the way through her life until know when she decides to break a way from her social class, in the play she says this as "you " ve got to be into music, clothe an fellers! -" she also talks about quick fixes, if you do something wrong you can just get a new one, "if you get it wrong you just play a different song or get a new dress an stop worrying". Rita also believes that there is something wrong with society, everyone is sad but seems to cover up for it by getting more money as unions, TV and the papers tell you to, "there's like a disease but no one mentions it, they behave as though its normal! -". .

Frank is also trapped and unhappy as this is shown by Frank always drinking or going to the pub, on a phone call Frank makes up excuses to go to the pub, he say "I shall need to wash away the memory of some silly woman's attempts to get into the mind of Henry James! - Why did I take this on?" All Frank is doing is covering up for his unhappy life, he only works to pay for his drinks and he also drinks on the job. Rita's main reason for trying for an education is so she can have choice, she tells Frank that everyone thinks they have choice but they all think choice is deciding what drink to have or what to wear, Rita also thought this at the very beginning of the play, now Rita knows this is not choice, choice is something that will change her life. Rita is feed up of other people making her choices for her like Denny wanting her to have a baby, "He thinks we have choice already, choice between Everton an Liverpool, choosing which washing powder!

- I told him id only have a baby when I have choice". Through this Frank is showing that we are trapped without choice, with no choice we can go nowhere, or at least not where we want to, he is showing that we have to make are own choices. As Rita is changing she rows with Denny and breaks up with him, Russell does this to show that Rita is changing, in the play Denny burns Rita's books, he does this because he wants to control he, he wants to get Rita back because he feels she is slipping away and he wants her back, in a way he is jealous that's why he burns her books, "I see him looking at me sometimes and I know what he's thinking, he's wondering where the girl he married has gone to". At this point Rita considers herself to be a half cast because she is the only one who wants an education and the only one who wants to be able to have choice. When Rita gets back from summer school she has changed, she is more confident and she thinks she is educated. When Rita was at summer school she decided to take things more seriously so instead of telling a joke when the teacher asked a question she replied sensibly "Are you found of Ferlinghetti?

It was right on the tip of my tongue to say only when served with Parmesan cheese but Frank I didn't" and in a lecture Rita decided to start asking questions "After he'd finished he asked if any one had any questions, an I stood up". From this Rita thinks that she is educated, Frank also knows Rita is starting to become more educated and is kind of getting jealous, he tells Rita this by giving her one of his pieces of poetry. When Rita comes back she tells Frank that his poetry is great "this is brilliant, witty, profound! -" but franks responds to this by saying that she has finished learning know but he is being sarcastic and he says that she has only started singing a different song not a new one "found a new song to sing have you, no you " ve found a different song to sing" So Rita has an argument with him and says "you can't bear that I'm educated now. Don't you like that the little girl has grown up". Russell is trying to show that Rita is becoming more educated and she thinks she has become educated but she is just starting to understand everything that she has been taught, Rita also wants to be more like Frank and she thinks her new friend is the female version of Frank, Rita also thinks that she is educated because she is just like Trish (the female version of Frank), she even starts to talk and act like Trish "What's wrong with your voice? Nothing I'm just talking properly!

- Trish says that no matter how difficult I may find it I must preserve" Because of this Rita thinks that she is singing a new song. When Trish tries to commit suicide Rita realises that she is not educated, this is because Rita thought that Trish had everything but Trish knew she didn't, Rita also realises this now. I think that Russell wrote this play because he had a hard time and he wanted to tell people that you need to have choice or you will become trapped. I think that Frank used humour in his play because it would make people understand it more and enjoy it; the play goes better as a comedy rather than a drama, people would also understand it more as a comedy and take t in better. I enjoyed the play; I thought that it is better shown on TV than in a book. Russell did get his points across and I think that the concerns of this play have slightly changed because there is still a class system but it is not as strong and as unfair as when he wrote his play.

Frank is conventionally 'educated' - a professor - but what he has is lots of 'knowledge' which is academic - out of books - not really practical knowledge for living - everything is second hand. He teaches what he knows to others. Did he ever thirst for education? What was he like before the play? Why do you think he has become a disillusioned, tired alcoholic now?

He seems to be cut off from 'real' life, unlike Rita, who is a very practical woman. You need to ask yourself whose life is 'real'. Rita's or FRank's? And what, in fact IS a 'real' life? How do you think each character would answer that question - what is a 'real' life? Frank has stopped 'looking' at things. (the picture) and Rita is looking at things for the first time -she 'sees' differently because she wants to learn about 'everything'.

Right at start its obvious that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Why? Rita is very literal - takes things at face value, but has lots of 'native wit' - she knows more about real life than Frank does. Knows how people work, especially her own type of people. What is Rita's 'type'? How would Frank perceive that?

How would Rita perceive Frank's 'type'? Rita wants to be educated because she says 'I wanna know'. She knows she isn't 'educated' yet and dimly realises what 'education' is, but her perceptions are stereotypical (see p 182 where we see her idea about public school) although her knowledge of uneducated people is very sharp. (see p. 173 and 174, also p 177) What Rita wants is to be OUT of her social class. For her, education is a means of achieving this and she's probably right. She instinctively knows she lacks something and thinks a university degree will fill the gaps in her life.

She cannot articulate like Frank, but her freshness is 'like a breath of fresh air' to him. Why do you think this would be so? Look at her speech on p 183 about how 'you " ve got to be' and when she decides on 'a change in yourself' This is really sharp insight - an 'educated' person would say this, maybe using different language -so she IS 'educated', just not formally yet - that's an important point to make. Her language is crude and 'uneducated' but what she says is exceptionally intelligent. Frank wants her to 'discipline' her mind, but what he means is find a less subjective (personal) way to look at literature. The irony is that this will make Rita less spontaneous and it might stifle her obvious passion for the truth and for life.

He knows this, but has to insist on the 'rules'. Literature essays have to be written to a sort of formula. 'There is a way of answering examination questions that is expected, it's a game, with rules. And you must observe the rules. ' (p 193) Important point. Franks 'game' of university education is just that - a game.

It has little to do with 'real' life, but ironically it is the way many people qualify for a place in life. You might like to explore the idea of whether or not University qualifies anyone for anything in the 'real' world? Frank is 'successful' but unhappy. Rita wants to be 'successful' because she thinks she is unhappy where she IS. What will happen is that she will CHANGE as a result into someone different and that will affect the way she is as a person. Frank starts to fall in love with her because she is so different - he is like Professor Higgins - he makes a duchess out of a flower girl, but changes the girl beyond recognition in the process.

(If you have time, read Shaw's 'Pygmalion' and see what happens to Eliza Doolittle when she comes under the influence of Professor Higgins) When Rita says culture is a 'way of living', she latches on to a really important fact about how people live. (look at page 194/5) That's what 'education' is really about - finding things out and having 'meaning' in your life as a result. Note the irony - Rita wants 'meaning' and has no 'learning' yet - Frank has loads of 'learning' and has little 'meaning' in his life. As Rita progresses she changes - note how Denny reacts and how she says of herself 'she's gone (her former self) and I've taken her place'. As she says the course is 'providing her with life', but ironically it is also taking her old life away from her. Who suffers as a result of this? When she doesn't turn up for the party at Franks we can see how she is beginning to reject her former self -she doesn't want to be a 'court jester', or 'good for a laugh'.

She thinks she is a 'freak' because she isn't one of 'them'. She calls herself a 'half-caste' then tells him about her mother crying in the pub because 'we could sing better songs than these'. The change is now inevitable when she decides 'that's why I'm staying' As she moves on - becoming determined to 'write essays like those on there' Frank wants to stop her from changing, but she is determined. He knows she will not be the same but she is adamant. By the end of the first act we see that Rita has burned her boats - she will give up everything that Frank finds so refreshing about her - her spontaneity and her enthusiasm - and become an academic scholar - just like him.

Act Two Rita's change - her increased confidence and ability to 'perform' at summer school is evident. Frank knows that soon she will 'walk away and disappear'. He says to her 'You " ve got to' because he knows that she will not need him. As she shows when she tells him about having 'already done' Blake's poetry' - she is moving on, leaving him behind. The next scene - her new voice - her discussion with the students and her invitation to go off with them to the south of France reinforces the gap between her and Frank. As Frank deteriorates - drinking more and falling over in the lecture - Rita becomes more remote.

Frank knows that there is 'nothing of you' in the essay she does on Blake, but ironically it will get a'good mark' in the exam. She is now a 'real's tude nt, but not, in Frank's eyes, the 'real' woman she was. Rita asks him to 'leave her alone' a bit because she doesn't need him to 'hold her hand as much'. As she becomes more confident and 'educated's he is slowly but surely moving away from him. Frank knows that she has lost sight of the 'things that matter' - her knowledge of people and 'real' life - but Rita doesn't know that. Her 'education' has begun to turn her into a snob and she has turned away from her roots to such an extent that she is now like a stranger.

Frank says he has 'done a fine job on you' when Rita writes the criticism of his poetry. He thinks it is a 'heap of shit' because it is stylised and not true to 'real' life - an exercise in literature, only. Now he cannot bear Rita and sees her as pretentious. All she has found is a 'different song' to sing.

The final scene is a kind of reconciliation, but the outcome is left unresolved. Rita is now her own woman - Frank is off to Australia. She can now make her own decisions and will do so. Her education is complete in that sense. Frank, too has learned something and has been given the chance for a new start, but it is not made clear what will happen to either of them Some conclusions: The play is about education in many forms. Frank has education, Rita wants it.

His education has made him a sad and bitter man. Rita's education turns her into a different person, but is she better, or worse as a result? Rita's education changes her into a different woman - stronger, more resilient but also moves her out of her class into a world which is much more challenging but probably not so honest as the one she leaves. She does pay a price, but the question you might like to consider is whether the price is worth the sacrifices she makes along the way. Education is shown as a kind of game as far as university is concerned - not so much learning for love of learning as getting the credentials for a lifestyle.

Frank is disillusioned with the education game - Rita isn't, at first, but probably realises what it has done to her at the end. It is a conscious choice for her, though and she is determined to have her place in the world she has chosen. At the beginning of the play she is literally 'uneducated' - unschooled - knows little about academic things but LOTS about life. Ironically she doesn't realise how valuable this knowledge is. She casts off her old life willingly and what she gets in exchange is - as far as Frank is concerned - much less valuable. You should explore this idea of values.

To Rita, though, education is a passport out of mediocrity into a superior lifestyle. The tragedy is that she pays for it by becoming a shallow and pretentious person - exactly the kind of person Frank despises. The good thing is that there is probably still enough of the 'old' Rita left to ensure that she will not change too much. As she cuts Frank's hair at the end of the play, we can hope that there is a future for both of them that will give them happiness and contentment, even if they are no longer to get.