Unlike Rita, Frank has had lots of experience in education as he has had the full education, the higher class job, better pay and higher standard of living. All of these things are what Rita wants.
We see in the play that Frank has a great standard of living with being rich but we see Frank as being alone. This could result in him being unhappy. The only person Frank has to openly talk to apart from Rita is Julie. However he doesn’t use the opportunity to talk to or care for Julie so she becomes less interested in him and more interested in another one of Franks colleagues. Frank feels alone as he is very different the other people inn his class. Frank is in conflict with the accepted ‘rules’ of the behaviour in his middle class world. For example, this is outlined perfectly when we see the symbolisation at the start of the book (and film) when Frank seems to be looking for a book but is actually looking for a bottle which is hidden behind the books. This could be his hidden (working class) personality. Rita feels the same as she has a reasonable standard of living but isn’t happy with her life. In finding the happiness that she wants she meets Frank. This is the point where we can see the two cultures and classes clashing.
Russell shows symbolism quite a lot; he uses it to show the differences in class and culture between Frank and Rita’s worlds. For example Rita’s entry into Frank's office (and life) was packed with energy and motion. It initially started when Rita arrived at his door but couldn’t open the door as the handle was jammed. The metaphorical meaning of this is that Rita cannot get into or join the middle class. After struggling for a while she finally enters the room. Rita bursts into the room with an energy and freshness about her. It’s as if she’s bursting into his life. She’s brightened up his life like rays of sunshine into his dark gloomy office.
Frank is quite surprised at the commotion she’s bringing in.
Russell deliberately makes the distinction between their class and culture more noticeable by the way they speak. For example when Rita comes in she says: “I’m comin’ in aren’t I?! It’s the stupid bleedin’ handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!” She’s not treating him with respect. In her working class world there is no hierarchy and everybody is treated equally. Frank is quite surprised by her honesty and strangeness. Another example of their difference in language is where Frank says:
“and you are?”
“what am I?”
“pardon?”
“What?”
It shows you the well mannered Frank and the common Rita.
Later on in the play we see that the same situation happening to Rita as she tries to open the door handle. However, she brings with her an oil can and starts to oil the handle of the door as to make entering easier. Metaphorically we see that the meaning of the oil can is that she’s letting herself into the class. Without being welcomed.
As Frank is looking for Rita’s admission papers, Rita notices a painting hanging on the wall. The picture is of a nude religious scene. Rita comments on the sexuality of the scene, and how she thinks that it’s portrayed as erotic.
“Look at those tits” she states. Rita only sees the obvious, the things that stand out the most. Frank cannot see these things. Frank, through his own education and job is trained to see between the lines. To see hidden meanings. Rita cannot see these things yet, but by the end of her course she will be able to.
After a while, Rita and Frank are discussing poems about fighting death.
“You’ve got to challenge death an’ disease. I read this poem about fightin’ death…” Rita says.
Frank replies: “ah, Dylan Thomas…”
“No. Roger Mcgough…”
The sort of audience reaction that Russell intends to generate towards Rita is that Rita and Frank have similar thoughts and read similar books so they know similar things. So even though they are of a different culture and class they are quite alike in their thoughts. It also tells us that Rita’s culture and background read things which are easy to understand. They think that if you can’t understand it then it must be high literature. For example Rita says: “It’s the sort of stuff you can understand”
Later on in the play Frank asks Rita what she wants to know. Rita replies and says: “everything”
At the beginning of the course Rita knew most of what she did at the end. The only difference is that at the end of her course Rita knew how to word her essays and work in an intellectual and academic way. In terms of knowledge, the amount that she has actually gained is a small amount. The most important thing that she has learnt is how to make wise and informed choices about the direction her life will take, and what new opportunities are available for her.
Rita’s perception of how the upper class swears is that they swear freely, and it won’t cause any fuss because it’s just words.
She says: “It doesn’t cause any sort of fuss with the educated people does it? ‘cos they know that it’s only words and they don’t worry...”
A fascinating question that Rita asks is: “God, what's it like to be free” Rita makes out Frank's lifestyle as being terrific. Technically to the working class a middle class lifestyle is great. Frank's response to her question is: “ah, now there’s a question…” Frank's answer is quite vague. He doesn’t perceive his lifestyle as being free. He takes his standard of living for granted.
Frank sees that to him being free means drinking alcohol. Something which he does a lot. Throughout the play Frank is going down on the scale of class by acting more and more like the working class, and by acting more and more irresponsibly. Rita, on the other hand, is going up on this scale, and she’s acting more and more like the middle class. Eventually by the end of the play she’ll overtake Frank on this scale.
Rita extensively addresses one of the most fundamental issues of the play. The clash of class and culture. Rita’s culture of the hardworking, cheery, gossipy people who work long hours for little pay is clashing with Frank's class of educated, highbrow people working average hours for good pay. Throughout the play we can see the clash in what they wear, how they talk, what they eat, what kind of things they read, what they work as and so much more.
When Frank mentions “Yeats”, Rita assumes that he means “Yates” the wine lodge. This tells us that Rita’s level of acquaintance with literature is quite poor to start with as when he mentions literature she thinks of social reasons. When Frank ells Rita about how Yeats” rhymed the word swan with stone she tells him it doesn’t rhyme. This is called assonance. Rita rationalises assonance as “gettin’ the rhyme wrong”. This is a perfect example of her freshness of thought that entrances Frank so much.
