Educating Rita Comparison

Willy Russell makes Act1 Scene 1 of educating Rita exiting and dramatic in many different ways, such as dramatic devices. He uses them throughout the play sometimes to find out more about the character that is involved at that time, such as the telephone, and sometimes just to link one convocation to another.

Willy uses the phone to find out more about frank and his background and the phone also links him to the out-side world. In the telephone call frank is talking to his partner, we never actually here his partner speak this is because we have no need to hear her, we can tell from the things that frank says what is going on in the convocation while uncovering what frank is like “oh god, why did I take this on…… yes I suppose it was to pay for the drink” This suggests that frank drinks, it may even mean that frank is a alcoholic but it doesn’t actually say that he is, so it leaves space for the audiences minds to wonder and question themselves, ‘why does he drink?’, this quote also implies that frank does not like the job he is doing, ” I don’t need determination to get me into a pub” shows franks intellect and humour.

During the phone call frank refers to Rita as being a “silly woman who is attempting to get in the mind on Henry James” This shows that Frank has pre-conceived ideas about Rita and in all, the working class. We know that frank is a middle class man because of what and the way he says things and he is of course a teacher, a job usually portrayed as a “middle class” job. When the convosation is over and frank has replaced the receiver he adds “yes, that’s it, you just pop off and put your head in the oven” this again shows humour to keep the audience amused.

After the phone call Rita goes crashing through the door, and almost immediately you get a sense of who she is “i’m coming in aren’t I? It’s that bleeding handle you wanna get it fixed” This is a metaphorical barrier, the door being the wall stopping Rita from her education, education being the room that she will be being educated in. Eventually, determined Rita crashes her way in to the room, Rita believes that she is stuck in a whole (her culture) and the only way out is education so she is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. As the story progresses Willy Russell adds more humour to the equation by showing that they can not communicate with each other because of their social backgrounds and cultures:

Frank:”you are?”

Rita: “what am I?”

Frank: “pardon?”

Rita: “what?”

Frank:” now you are?”

Rita:” I am what?”

This is yet another barrier between not only frank and Rita, but also between Rita and her education. Once both of them have established some kind of communication Rita notices franks picture, the statements “its very erotic” and “look at those tits” shows that she can’t see past the nudity of the painting, this shows that her ability to analyze art it that of lower class.”

Do you get a lot like me?” This quote suggests that Rita doesn’t no if she is ‘university material’ she conciders educated and middle class people to be real students and since she is nither she belives that she is not a real student, “they wouldn’t have accepted me if this was a real university would they?” She is putting herself down thinking that she is not good enough because it is what she was used to being part of the lower class, not amounting to hardly anything and putting herself down so she does not get disappointed when and if she fails, which is again what she is used to being in the lower class.

Rita asks Frank if e took the job because e needed the money which is cheeky and slightly offensive, therefore not conforming to the typical student/teacher relationship Rita sees no social barriers and she is also using a lot of colloquial language.

The next dramatic device use is a cigarette; it is a link to death and leads on to literature. Literature for Rita is how she has seen it in ‘everyday life’. When Frank and Rita are talking about poems Frank immediately picks up on what he thinks Rita means “Aghhhh….Dylan Thomas?” This quote shows Franks knowledge of literature, Rita replies with “No Rodger McGough” this shows Rita’s lack to recognise literature, Rodger McGough was a populist writer and in no way what frank was thinking.

As the convosation moves on Frank offers Rita a drink of scotch and she agrees saying” it will probably have a job finding my brain anyway” again putting herself down (self depuration) because of what she is used to, you could say that her belief in failure was that of the lower class culture. Next the convocation shifts to talk about another book “Howard’s End”, Rita finds this amusing because it can be seen in two ways, obviously Rita sees it in the way of it being sexual, this is another way that willy Russell makes it interesting, it is a innuendo and Rita only picking up on the fact that it could be sexual instantly shows a bit of her background and again of course her culture. As we proceed even further into the play we get to one off the key scenes, it is when frank asks Rita about her education

Rita: Because I wanna know

Frank: Know what?

Rita: Everything

This shows that Rita doesn’t actually no what she wants so she chooses the option with he most possible range of opportunities….everything, this is also a philosophical point. Rita starts to ask questions of importance, of educational value ” wht does acconce mean” this is her first literary comment, when frank laughs at her she sees it as him belittling her and making her feel infrirour because she is uneducated. Rita thinks of her culture as being to proud because they don’t swear and consider it to be vulgar. “What’s it like to be free”

The lower class aren’t the best of people but they still fell that they have one bit of class left and that is not to swear. Rita knows that these are just words. This is a philosophical question and wants frank to no how she feels deep down,then she goes on to say ” I will have to do exams now wont I” this shows that she obviously doesn’t see the bigger picture.

Rita gazes out of the window and that’s when she realizes how much she wants to break free.

Rita: do you like it

Frank: What?

Rita: the window

This is yet again another technique used by Willy Russell, the window metaphorically means ‘freedom’ for Rita, she sees all the people on the grass outside, what she would call ‘real students’, it is not the same for frank though because he is there all the time and it is part of his life and culture.

Rita want frank to recognise how much Rita is willing to change for the better; she wants him to know that she will do anything to make something of her life. She wants him to know this so he can show her the way through education.

Frank is overwhelmed by Rita, he is fascinated by her. “I think you’re marvelous, do you know, I think you’re the first breath of air that’s been in this room for years” Frank refers to Rita as being a breath of fresh air meaning that she is like a blank piece of paper ready to be written on and she wants frank to do this, but frank feels that she is to good as she is to be tampered with, he doesn’t want to spoil her ‘nice, clean, white pages’.

Frank has never had someone with so much determination towards leaning that why she feels she deserves someone better than him, but Rita insists on him teaching her.