Trace the development of Rita’s character up to the end

Rita has taken the crucial decision of enrolling on a literature course, even though this causes her to break away from the restrictions of her husband and the society. This decision makes her more educated and culturally aware. She gradually becomes more absorb in Literature and by the end of Act 2 scene 1 noticeable develops in terms of Literature and manners from the beginning of her tutorials.

She discovers her own meaning of life through the cultured, middle-class living and builds up her confidence. From the beginning of the play Rita enters Frank's room in an unexpected and startling manner, usually by bursting into the room.In this way she radiates with energy and vitality and this also highlights her eagerness and enthusiasm to learn. At the beginning of the play, she enters by oiling the door, "I was just oilin' it for y'," surprising both Frank and the audience. After she returns from the summer school, he still enters in an unexpected way, by bursting, but her behaviour is more refined and her manners more gentle.

She suppresses her character, and acts more like a middle-class lady should. She even takes off her shawl and gives it to Frank who hangs it on a hook, and does not dump her bag.Furthermore Rita used to admire Frank's room, which symbolizes her desire to belong to the educated middle-class. After the summer school however, she becomes "educated", belongs to the middle-class and therefore acting differently and more sophisticated. She finds the room restricting and suffocating and wants to open a window to air it. Also, after the summer school she believes she is educated since she is dressed in new second-hand clothes, because earlier she says to Frank that she will buy one when she is educated, "An' I'm not gonna get one either, not till-till I pass me first exam.

Then I'll get the proper dress, the sort of dress you'd only see on an educated woman, on the sort of woman who knows the difference between Jane Austen an' Tracy Austin. " Rita previously used to smoke. At the beginning of the play she even offers Frank a cigarette and calls the non-smokers "cowards", "everyone seems to have packed up these days. They're all afraid of getting' cancer. " This illustrates her ignorance towards the consequences of smoking. However when she returns from the summer school and Frank offers her a cigarette she refuses.

This shows to the audience how her manners changed to suit more to an educated woman. Rita's language is colourful and humorous as it reflects on her personality. It additionally shows perception and intelligence, "You mean, it's all right to go out an' have a bit of slap an' tickle with the lads as long as you don't go home an tell your mum? " This suggests that she understands what Frank is explaining to her, and expresses it in a clever way. At the beginning of the play up she talks colloquially, "y' know," and has a Liverpudlian accent too, "ta. Moreover she talks with an incorrect grammar, "burnt all me books," and swears a lot "fuckin' rubbish. "As time passes though, she becomes more aware of her behaviour and her language improves even though it is still colloquial.

She swears less and less and eventually stops. Also she can repress her personality and can control her humour, "It was right on the tip of me tongue to say, 'Only when it's served with Parmesan cheese', but, Frank I didn't. " She talks in a more sophisticated manner and uses analogies, "A room is like a plant.This illustrates the effect education has on her, which is causing her to language to evolve, and to become one of an educated woman's'. The fact that her essay, together with all the Chekhov books Frank lent her, were burnt by Denny when he realized that Rita was on the pill helps the audience to realize that Denny did not approve of her education so he resulted in that desperate action. We can also see that there is lack of trust and sincerity between them because Rita is secretly on the pill, and Denny is jealous and thinks she is having an affair, "I wouldn't put it past you to shack up with a foreigner.

This demonstrates Denny's ignorance about literature and the gap of education between him and Rita since he implies that Rita is having an affair with Anton Chekhov.Accordingly it illustrates the later division between the couple. Furthermore, we learn that Denny brings her presents sometimes. This highlights his desperation, since he results in this action by hoping that the old Rita, the "girl he married" will "come back" but we know that Rita's change is irreversible, "But she cant, because she's gone, an' I've taken her place.

This shows to the audience how education can change someone, who is determined to learn, as it has change Rita. Moreover we can witness the lack of understanding between them. Rita feels that literature is "providin' [her] with life itself," and feels that Denny is depriving her of life. Also Rita wants to have a "choice" before she has a baby, which will affect her spiritual being.

A choice that will allow her to have a quality and cultural life. But Denny misinterprets that, and thinks that they do have a choice- a materialistic choice, "He thinks we've got choice because we can go into a pub that sells eight different kinds of lager.This emphasizes the different levels of their views of life, due the difference in their education, and the higher position of Rita, who is mentally above her husband and her community. Moreover Rita prefers education to her husband. We can see that when he gave her an ultimatum, of either stop going to her lessons or leaving from the house, which she leaves, and that is the cause for their final break-up. This emphasizes her courage, of whci the resource she found in the course she has been following.

That gives her strength, she is more defiant, and so she is sure of what she wants, and determined to get it, whereas before, she was about to abandon the course and pretend she is content with her life. Frank, her tutor is initially shocked and surprised by Rita's behaviour and especially language, which is rather crude and straightforward At their first even tutorial, Rita uses the word "tits" to refer to a picture. Frank is made to feel uncomfortable and shocked and coughs. Moreover we can witness the cultural gap between them.Rita is not familiar with authors of Literature, like E. M.

Forster and even states his name wrong. Instead she reads pulp fiction, like Rita Mae Brown-'Rubyfruit Jungle' but Frank is not familiar with that author. This also highlights the different level of quality of their lives. Rita's seems to be poorer then Frank's superficially.

Also Rita does not understand Frank's language. When he asks her "You are? " she responds, "What am I? " which also illustrates the gap of education and culture between them since Rita speaks colloquially and Frank more sophisticated. They are slowly warming up to each other and Frank is fond of her, and even attracted to her.The first indication of Frank's fondness of her is when he first meets her he finds her amazing, "I think you are marvellous.

" What is more he even anticipates for her coming and "glances at his watch" constantly. This too underlines the fact that he likes her and enjoys her company while he is teaching her. Rita also likes Frank and is amused by him, just as he is by her. When Frank tells her that he "sometimes gets an urge to throw [a student] through [the window]," she smiles and calls him "bleedin' mad.

" This demonstrates her fondness towards Frakn.As time passes though, the fondness develops to a friendship. They talk about their personal lives to each other and share secrets. Frank expresses his true feelings about Julia to Rita, "She's very caring, very tolerant, admires me enormously and spends a great deal of time putting her head in the oven," and Rita tells Frank about her life, her relationship with her husband, "Denny found out I was on the pill again; it was my fault, I left me prescription out. He burnt all me books.

" Frank is concerned about Rita's problem and tries to help her in case of need.He is trying to find the root of the problem between her and Denny by forcing her to analyze their relationship and asking her is she loves him. This illustrates his concern about Rita and also his attraction towards her, which is growing, since he secretly wishes he were the root of their marital problem. But after Rita's summer school, we can sense the growing distant between them. They are not nearly as close as they used to be.

Frank does not know about Rita's flatmate, Trish, and Rita doe not know about Julia and Frank's fight about eggs.Additionally, Rita does not wait for Frank to introduce a book, but she had gone ahead and read Blake in summer school. This helps the audience to understand that Rita is now more independent and depends more on her self and less on Frank, whereas before she depended more on him to learn. This emphasizes her enthusiasm about literature since she reads ahead and also that she is now more educated and can comprehend a book without Frank' s help. It also builds on her confidence, as she is more self-regulating.But on the othe hand, now that Rita is more independent she will not depend on Frank in learning and in other personal areas as she used to, and Frank who needs her will not have her even as a friend now.

Rita who now found a new circle of friends, seems to ignore Frank. Rita at the outset she only reads pulp fiction, Harold Robins and loves it so much, she even changed her name to Rita after her favourite pulp fiction author. Even though she is very eager to learn, she is not very keen to study, instead she avoids having lessons.She does not want to study Forster and Frank becomes impatient "Then go back to what you do like and stop wasting my time. " She also fails to understand Forster, gets the name wrong and calls the book "crap. " Her essays are short and subjective, " Do it on the radio.

" After some time though she starts reading real literature and she enjoys it. But it is when Denny burns her books, that she reveals her love and passion for literature, "but if you touch my Peer Gynt I'll kill y'. " She devotes herself to literature and feels that "it's providin' [her] with life itself. She starts discovering herself through literature and she fells excited and "alive".This suggests to the audience that before she felt entrap but now with the help of literature she feels free. She even goes to a theatre, "Macbeth.

" Rita herself becomes more resolute than even to learn, " But you've just gorra keep tellin' me en' then I'll start to take it in; y' see, with me you've got to be dead firm. " This illustrates her desire to be educated. At the end, she actually takes masochistic pleasure in hard work at summer school and appears very eager towards literature, "I was askin' questions all week, y' couldn't keep me down.I think that first question was about Chekhov; cos y' know I'm dead familiar with Chekhov now. " This shows her love for literature and proves to the audience how much her knowledge and attitude towards literature changed. Rita has matured in the self-esteem as well.

At the beginning she feels inferior to the other students of the university, and looks up to them. She does not want to sit to the lawn with them, and wants to write essays like them, the "proper students. " This proves to the audience that she does feel confident enough, because she does not consider herself as educated as the other students are.It is implied that she is not a "proper" one, and wants to be like one of them. She wants education to feel "free" and "confident.

" She believes that education will affect her spiritual being, and will give her a choice of living a cultural life, but her husband, and more generally her class does not understand what spiritual choice is, but only know materialistic. That shows to us how her visions vary from her class. It confirms her wanting to become more secure of herself through that choice.Moreover, she feels she is a "halfcaste" and a "freak" that she does not belong anywhere.

She cannot communicate with her own class, and yet does not feel confident to join the middle class, "I can't talk to the people I live with any more. An' I can't talk to the [middle-class people either. ]" What is more when Frank invites her to the dinner party she does make an appearance because she was feeling uncomfortable to, "Then I walked up your drive, an' I saw y' all through the window, y' were sippin' drinks an' talkin' and laughin'.An' I couldn't come in. " She did not want to be the "court-jester" and she calls herself "stupid. " This shows that she does she believes she does not has the ability to have an intellectual conversation with the middle class people.

This highlights her low sense of worth and confidence, since she reaches to the point of becoming paranoid with the thought of making an excellent impression to the middle class people, that in the end, she becomes so anxious that does not think clearly.Her mother is crying because she does not feel pleased with her life and that makes her more determined to learn, and has an uplifting effect on her confidence, since she resolutely decides to have an education, and puts her mind more into becoming educated. Following the summer school, we can see a new and fresh Rita. Her self-respect and self-dependence boost, and the transitions are positive. She even stands up in big hall where they were having a lecture, and she asked a question in front of two thousand people "I was gonna sit down again, but two thousand people had seen me stand up, so I did it, I asked him the question.

.This illustrates the faith and belief she now has in herself since she was so confident and bold to ask the question. Rita has a new "classy" flatmate, Trish, and new circle friends, all from the middle class. She has fun with them, "dead late every night, we stayed up talkin', we went all round London, got drunk, went to the theatres, bought all sorts of second-hand gear in the markets...

" This shows that she is now socializing more with the middle calls, and lets go of her insecurities.It also shows that she is more independent now, more than she use to, since she has a flat, a flatmate, which shows that she organized her life again by herself. Furthermore she wants to sit on the lawn with he other students, because she "feels young" like them. It is implied that she feels like a "proper" student now, as before she did not feel like one, and thus did not feel comfortable around them. This demonstrates her confidence and self-assurance since she feels confident enough to be around them.

That was the impact of education.Rita has changed throughout the course of literature she is following. She becomes more aware of her behaviour and environment. Her confidence experiences an uplifting force too. But her manners are not really reflecting on her character, which she suppresses, and it appears to the audience that she is being pretentious. That is due to the fact that she has not been truly educated enough for her behaviour to change as much as it did, and for to be acting the way she does subconsciously and unintentionally.

Rita abused knowledge and becomes ostentatious.