Educating Rita by Willy Russell (questions)

Educating Rita by Willy Russell

1. What does Rita gain from her education and what does she loose?

Rita gains a whole “new” life with her education, new friends, a new place to live, a new job, a new language and a new way of thinking. Rita’s life is somehow speeded up by her education and she barley has time for her lessons with Frank, as she is more interested in her new friends, who are on a totally different level of education and mentality from what she was used to. This can be seen in the play when Rita explains to Frank why she is in a hurry; “Look, Frank, I’ve got to go. I’m meeting Trish at seven. We’re going to see a production of The Seagull”; “It’s just that – that there’s so many things happening now. It’s harder”. This indicates the new life she has entered which has been enabled by her education.

Although she is gaining all this through her education, it is never mentioned directly in the play that it is all for the better. It rather designates the contradictory effect of her education, that she has lost herself in this new life and that she has changed. At this point it can also be argued if the change is for the worse or the better, but in the play Frank shows a lot of regret concerning Rita’s inevitable change. A good example of this is when Frank has read one of Rita’s essays, and feels the great change Rita has gone through; “And your views are still of value. But, Rita, these aren’t your views”. In this way Frank is concerned that the girl he first met, the “old Rita”, is lost and that he has taught her how to forget her own views. This way she has lost the bit of herself that came from a lower class of society and she has lost the bit of herself that could come straight out and say whatever she actually thought about a novel, a text, or whichever work of art.

2. Compare and contrast the way Rita and Frank use language throughout Educating Rita.

At the first half of the play until act two, scene two, Rita and Frank have very different sociolects. Rita comes from a working class in society and her language is informal and very fast. This effect of her language being very fast and not so clear is given by the many contractions that she uses. In contrast to Frank’s language, Rita’s language is also very poor considering her vocabulary, which gives the reader or observer a feeling that Rita is not really considering what she is about to say before she blurts it out. While this is the case with Rita, Frank’s language is at the same time very educated, he has the sociolect of an author or of someone who reads a lot and has a literary education combined with experience. This effect is given by his varied vocabulary and the way he hardly uses any contradictions at all; “Oh. Well – there’s a Yeats poem, called ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’. In it he rhymes the word ‘swan’ with the word ‘stone’. There, you see, an example of assonance.” Now if we consider this in contrast to Rita’s language; “Y’ know, Rita Mae Brown who wrote Jubyfruit Jungle? Haven’t y’ read it? It’s a fantastic book. D’ y’ wanna lend it?”. There is clearly some great contrast between them considering the language at the beginning of the play, and this is given by, as I stated above, the contradictions and the choice of vocabulary used.

At the later part of the play, beginning act two, scene two, we can see come great change in Rita’s language. Through her education and the new lifestyle it has given she has been able to adjust her language accordingly by “speaking properly” as Rita herself puts it, “Nothing is wrong with it, Frank. I have merely decided to talk properly. As Trish says there is not a lot of point in discussing beautiful literature in an ugly voice”. In this sentence of the play we can see the great change in Rita’s language by the much more varied and formal vocabulary as well as the way Rita has stopped using contradictions in every sentence. Here Rita’s and Frank’s language become very much alike, although Frank still uses his language in a much more controlled way, speaking in shorter sentences and only commenting and interrupting Rita when necessary.

3. Rita describes herself as a ‘half-cast’ (Act 1, Scene 7), neither fitting comfortably into her own society or that of Frank. Find evidence for this. How appropriate would it be to describe Frank in the same way? Explain.

Later on in the same scene (scene 7), Rita explains how she is a ‘half-cast’, she cannot have dinner and spend time with Frank’s friends because she does not know how to behave; “I couldn’t (come in). I’d brought you the wrong sort of wine. When I was in the off licence I knew I was buyin’ the wrong stuff. But I didn’t know which was the right wine”, “I saw y’ all through the window, y’ sippin’ drinks an’ talkin’ an’ laughin’. An’ I coundn’t come in”. This is how Rita feels in Frank’s and his friends company; she does not know how to behave. And at the same time she feels she is being shut out of the society which she comes from herself, because she is getting an education and going through a great change she does not know where she belongs to anymore, “I went into the pub an’ they were singin’, all of them singin’ some song they’d learnt from the juke-box. An’ I stood up in that pub an’ thought , just what the frig am I trying to do? Why don’t I just pack it in an’ stay with them, an’ join in the singin’?” This explains how Rita does not know how to act or behave in the company of her family and friends either, and that she does not know what to choose between, family and friends or an education and the beginning of the new life she is searching? This is why Rita feels she is a ‘half-cast’ at this moment of the play, although she is just going through the middle-stage of her education and change that takes place in the play.

Frank can also be argued to be a half-cast, although the meaning of it differs somewhat when the word is applied to Frank in contrast to what it means when it is applied to Rita. Frank is a poet and an artist who has an alcoholic problem. He is divorced, and in the latter part of the play he is sent to Australia. I think this description can give us some sense of what I am getting at, Frank is an educated man with civilised manners, but at the same time he has a whole different side of himself which is revealed throughout the play.

4. Look closely at act 1, scene 6 and 7, and then explain why Frank invites Rita to dinner and, ultimately, why she fails to turn up.

I think Frank sees something in Rita which is missing in the company that Frank already has invited to the dinner. He does not come out and say straight out in the play why he enjoys her company so much, but I get a feeling that it is because Rita is just so good at being herself. Here are a few examples from the play which has brought me to this conclusion, when Frank repeatedly says that he really wants Rita to come to the dinner as herself; “Rita for Christ’s sake; I wanted you to come along. You weren’t expected to dress up or buy wine”, “I just – just wanted you to be yourself”, and finally “You were invited because I wished to have your company”.

At the dinner Rita fails to turn up because she does not know how she is to behave in the company of these educated higher class people. She does not know what wine to bring or what to wear and she cannot think of anything to talk to them about. Here Rita explains angrily why she felt that she could not come to the dinner: “But I don’t want to be myself. Me? What’s me? Some stupid woman who gives us all a laugh because she thinks she can learn, because she thinks one day she’ll be like the rest of them, talking seriously, confidently, with knowledge, livin’ a civilized life. Well, she can’t be like that really but bring her in because she’s good for a laugh!”

5. Explain William Russell’s use of humour in the play, you might begin by looking at the misunderstandings that arise between Frank and Rita at the beginning of the play, a consequence of their different social and cultural backgrounds.

Some examples of the humorous misunderstandings in the beginning of the play are: Firstly, when Rita arrives for the first time in act one, scene one, Frank asks “You are?” and Rita replies “What am I?”. This misunderstanding is repeated once more when Frank again asks “Now you are?” and Rita replies “I’m a what?”. Although Frank seems really lost at this moment of confusion, Rita is either playing dumb and confusing Frank on purpose, or she is really confused and nervous. To Frank it is obvious that Rita should come in and present herself as he must be used to, but Rita storms in talking all sorts of rubbish and does not pay attention to any formalities. This is also connected to their social background, Rita whom is much less educated than Frank concerning language and literature also lacks the apparent knowledge of manners and formalities when confronting her new tutor at the Open University. This is a result of her social and cultural background, so the things that might seem so obvious to either one of them is not to the other. This pattern is continuous throughout scene one, and examples of humorous misunderstandings can also be found in the ongoing part of the play. Another example of this that comes shortly after the first one is when Rita asks Frank, “can I smoke?” and Frank answers, “Tobacco?” Here it is inferred that Frank might think it is something else that Rita wants to smoke in his study and obviously Rita also catches this in the play and answers, “was that a joke?”

· The play is a comedy so it is full of humour, but also drama.

6. Although ed. Rita is a comedy, Willy Russell develops a number of serious (social) issues in the play. Select those issues which you feel are most important and examine his treatment of them in detail.
7. This is a play about ed. Rita. Compare Rita’s expectations at the beginning of the play with what she has learned at the play's close. What does frank learn about himself? What have you learned from the play?

· Contrast between social classes

· Positive and negative effects of different social classes, is one better than the other?

· Frank is jealous of Rita’s social background and wants to preserve it, while Rita longs to be accepted into the social society of Frank

· Development of Rita, she wants to sing a better song and the development of Frank, he becomes aware of how Rita is changing and suffers from it. (connection)

The contrast between the social classes can be seen most clearly in the beginning of Educating Rita. Rita comes from a working class family and her language, dialect and what she says reflects this background, “I was dead surprised when they took me. I don’t suppose they would have done it if it’d been a proper university. The Open University’s different though, isn’t it?” Later on in the play we also get to take part in Rita’s social background as she talks about her extremely working class husband and her family and friends.
At the beginning of the play we can compare Rita’s language and ways with Frank’s. We don’t get much of an insight into Frank’s background, except that he used to have a wife which left him because of poetry according to him. He is well-educated in literature and also used to call himself a poet, although he has stopped writing poetry. He is a teacher and in contrast to Rita he seems very sophisticated and educated at first. As he puts it to Rita when discussing a painting in his office, “But the term ‘beautiful’ covers the many feeling I have about the picture, including the feeling that, yes, it is erotic.”
Willy Russell compares the social classes throughout the play and in doing so you start to see some reflection on what the better is or the more comfortable class to belong to. To Rita, the goal is ultimately to be accepted into a different social class by educating herself. While this is what she strives for, Frank feels a strong regret. When Rita first arrives Frank finds her funny and “marvellous”, he likes her way of being extremely straightforward about saying what she actually thinks about different works of literature for what it is to her. When Rita begins to go through a change, Frank starts to regret her change and tries to tell her he misses her real self and her views. So the social issue that Willy Russell has started to reflect on a bit here is whether the “higher”, educated class is really so much better, if it really is the ultimate goal? This is concluded to a certain extent at the end of the play when Rita thanks Frank for giving her the choice and the consciousness of what she might lose by taking this big step into a new social society.
One of the most important things in the play is of course the development of Rita and Frank. I have talked about Rita’s development earlier in my answers but not Frank. Frank get’s an insight into the class society of Rita of which I suspect he has never had before as it changes him. The insight makes him troubled and makes him feel a great regret for Rita’s change. This can be seen by the arguments he has with Rita in Act two and also by his increasing habit of getting drunk at work. The insight he gets into Rita’s life makes him feel bad because he thinks she is changing for the worse. Even though she is gaining an education she is losing herself and her own views and idea’s. This is more easily explained by what Rita’s mother calls “singing a better song”. In the end when Rita and Frank are having an argument Frank asks Rita, “found a better song to sing, have you Rita?” in sarcasm. He means that Rita has not found a better song, but only a different one. This is also pointed out in a way by Willy Russell in the play as Frank is a sophisticated and educated figure, but still he drinks, smokes and is rather depressed through a large part of the play. He is described by himself as a sad figure who actually knows nothing at all. So I guess we can say that Frank’s ideology concerning class difference and so on changes, and that his insight into Rita’s society makes him reflect on what is actually the better way of life.
From this play I have learnt to look at education in a different perspective, not only looking at the positive aspects, but also the negative. Education I very often only mentioned as something very positive no doubts about it, and I think this play is very fascinating as it displays an alternative to consider. I choose the word consider also because the play doesn’t just bring up negative effects of an education, but also how important it is that when being educated, you are aware of the change you can go through as a person and that it is not the only way. We have a choice and that is the very most important message of the play which is given in the “conclusion” in the end.

8. Ed. Rita was written in 1979. Back then, all the world was in black and white, people didn't have 24/7 internet access (many more examples). Twenty eight years after the publication of the play text, is it still relevant?

As the play is all about education, which is a really relevant topic today, I think that this text can be argued to be extremely relevant, if not even more than 28 years ago. At least then there was another possibility, while now, at least in Sweden, an education is not only necessary but also required by law until the age of 15. Education is always praised but never neglected (except by lazy people). This is why I consider this play extremely relevant still at this time, the social issues still exist, the issue of an all-good education which is hardly never criticized and of course the discussion between different classes of society also still exist and so the play is fully up to date still today. According to me it might have been written only two years ago, and I would not have been able to recognize this from the either the theme nor the motives and ideas displayed in the play.

9. Select three scenes which you find most dramatic and explain why they are so powerful.

· Act one, Scene one

· Act two, Scene two

· Act two, Scene seven

Act one, scene one, I have chosen because of the great contrast between Rita and Frank displayed here. Also, it is the beginning, which makes this scene very interesting as you are pulled into the story very dramatically and at the same time you are introduced to the main theme and many of the ideas that Willy Russell wants to display.
In act two, scene two, Rita’s great change is at a crucial stage

10. as the director of the play, what ideas would you want to put across to the audience an how would you ensure that you were seccesful?