Educating Rita is a Willy Russell play, about a young woman named Rita, wanting to be educated and a middle class alcoholic man called Frank who educates her. The play is mainly based on those two characters and how they change throughout their lives whilst studying literature.The introduction to the play is all about Russell and his experiences. He explains his childhood in 6 pages, and tells us of how he came from many different carrier moves to become a writer.
He explains how he came from Huyton where the manners were not so good and "everyone else talked funny to them" to Rainford "where even the thugs observed some sort of manners" and "compared to Huyton it was paradise", and where he got properly educated. The play is mirrored on his life up to the point when he becomes educated.At the beginning of the play Rita is very dialect and upfront, she doesn't give Frank room to talk, and her language isn't what you would expect from a student talking to an educated man, as she says things like "look at those t*ts". Rita doesn't really have the right attitude to be educated, and she sounds as if she's not willing to learn, as when she's asked to sit down she says "no" then changes the subject to smoking which doesn't create a very studious atmosphere.Frank holds back abit at the beginning of the play, he seems shocked to how upfront and forward Rita is and he just lets her take the lead most of the first session. Frank just sits back and answers questions thrown at him by Rita.
He doesn't really want to do the Open University thing but Rita really wants to change herself and her lifestyle, but at the same time she doesn't want to do any hard work for it.Rita is very undisciplined, her manners are terrible at times, and she's not ashamed at all to swear, even when it will create the first impressions on her, like when the minuet she meets frank she says "That stupid bleedin' handle on the door", and doesn't apologise once for using inappropriate language. She wants to learn and that's all she talks about and how it will change her but she never ever creates the right attitude to learn and she's never serious enough to study anything.Rita wants to be educated because she doesn't like the person that she is, and she wants to change it by being educated. She doesn't like the fact that she is working class and it shows on her.
She doesn't think her culture has any meaning because shebe stereotyped as a working class person she wants to better herself so people don't immediately stereotype her.When frank introduces Howard's End to Rita, her first reaction isn't very ethical, she finds the name funny and she says it sounds abit rude, which shows her way of thinking. Rita keeps going off the subject of Howard's End, and it seems that she would rather talk about anything but literature.When Rita writes her first essay she doesn't seem to understand the meaning of essay, she doesn't seem to be bothered that she hasn't done hardly any work at all as all she says in her defence is "that's all I could do in the time".
Rita's marriage is on the rocks, as you can tell, when frank ass her why not do her essay at home rather than at work, and she replies "Denny gets dead narked when I work at home", "he doesn't like me doing this, and I cant be bothered arguing with him", which gives the impression that she's not too bothered about her marriage, she just wants to be educated so she can change herselfDenny burns her books and this symbolises the end of the marriage, Rita seems to only be worried about her books and not her marriage, she has chose being educated and bettering her self over her husband and having a baby. Financially Rita cant have a baby and be educated, but Rita doesn't want a baby anyway, she likes to choose the way her life turns out, and not be forced to do the typical working class thing, like not to get educated, have baby and a family and sit in the pub all night singing meaningless songs. Whilst earning a living from a dead end job and that's exactly how she sees her culture.Here is where we start to see a change in Rita, she starts to come to the Open University with the right frame of mind to work and she is serious about studying. Whereas frank would rather talk about her marriage, he keeps going onto the subject of her marriage and asking her questions, Rita keeps answering the questions in the form of chekhov but Frank keeps referring back to her marriage. Frank says; "what are you going to do", then Rita says; "ill order some new copies and do the essay again", but frank refers back to her marriage by saying; "I meant about your husband".
Its almost as if they have switched minds, Rita has changed Frank in a way, just by being herself.When Rita goes to see Macbeth it signifies the first step to Rita's bettering herself and living like the other half lives, or in Rita's words educated posh people. Rita is excited by the fact that she actually enjoyed Macbeth when she thought it would be "dead borin". Rita shows real enthusiasm towards Macbeth and she even says she's going to write an essay on it, which implies that she actually that she actually wants to learn for the sake of learning something rather than getting educated just to change or better herself.Rita doesn't go to Frank's dinner party because she doesn't think she will fit in with frank's intellectual friends, and her husband Denny put her down, so she thought she wouldn't have anything to talk about or wear and she couldn't go through with it, she's just not confident enough with herself yet. Rita says that she is "half-caste" because she sees herself in the middle; she's not educated enough to be a middle class person, but she doesn't like to see herself as a typical working class person, she is stuck somewhere in the middle and she is trying to find herself, so until she finds herself she is "half-casts".
She talks about her family as if they are all acting happy, and hiding behind the way they act, the songs they sing, and the way of living, in the pub all the time, but really they want more in their life, more meaning to their culture and she gives the impression that, that's why she is trying to change and become an intellectual, for her family and their culture.Frank likes Rita and he doesn't want her to change, he wants her to be herself but he doesn't want her to stop needing him, this shows slight unhappiness for frank, he wants to be needed by Rita, even though Rita is not as educated as him, and what he doesn't realise is that he really needs Rita, so he can feel needed and wanted, even just to feel slightly important to someone's life.Rita has become very serious about changing herself, know all she wants to do in lessons is learn and work, no Smalltalk or chatting, whereas Frank tries to lead her off working and into Smalltalk and chit chat. This is where Rita's metamorphosis really begins. Rita goes to a summer school to extend her knowledge.When Rita returns after summer school her confidence has grown, she seems to know allot more and she is fitting in with real intellectual students.
Frank is all little set back by Rita's confidence, he seems to be loosing her, she doesn't need him know, she knows everything he is asking and talking about, but he doesn't want to believe that, he is in denial, he still wants her to need him, especially know Julia has left him. He seems frightened that she wont need him anymore, and he starts to drink again, Frank is reported about his drinking and Rita has left Denny and got a flat with an intellectual flat mate, she is also writing good quality essays now.Rita is discussing poems with frank and she is on his level, she has started missing lessons but she is still up to his standards, and she has the same level of understanding of literature as him, this shows that she no longer needs frank, as she is now educated. Frank still wants her to need him at this point, because even when Rita is too late to do the lesson he tells her to stay, he says "when you was so late I phoned the shop", "you didn't tell me you don't work there no more", and Rita replies, "didn't I, I thought I did, I was telling someone", "oh sorry, well I work at a bistro now", Frank is disturbed by the fact that Rita doesn't tell him everything no more, but Rita cant see that frank is disturbed and upset by this, she simply doesn't need him no more.They argue at the end but its nothing serious, frank is going to Australia know, Rita is educated and she can go somewhere in her life know, the last time they meet Rita wants to give something back to frank for educating her, so she tells him she is going to take ten years off him and cuts his hair, this is what Rita is giving frank in return for his help and understanding.
In conclusion Rita finally reached her goal but to get there she lost some pretty important things such as her husband and the chance to have a family. She has came from a funny and what appears to be a happy person to a serious educated person, but she also turned her back on her culture in order to become educated which she didn't need to do, so Rita has lost allot more than she has gained in the long run.
