Franks moment of relaxation is quickly shattered when Rita bursts through the door in a state of intense excitement, after visiting a profession theatre the night before for the first time. This shows Rita like a child because she is so excited about what she saw she cant contain her self and has to express her ideas and feelings. And because of her little education she finds it hard to say her ideas: “wasn’t his wife a cow, eh?” Frank is shocked at Rita’s dramatic entry because it doesn’t fit into his timetable like day. When Rita explains that she went to the theatre and then Frank sighs this shows he doesn’t think its anything big because he probably goes a lot of the time and also shows his greater experience of culture compared to Rita. Then he smiles and this is when he realises that this is a possible life changing experience for Rita and that it shows she is really trying hard to learn and improve. And shows she’s enjoying it as well: “it done me in”. When Rita says: “ I just had to tell someone who’d understand”. Tells us that she couldn’t tell or she was afraid to tell someone in her family or Denny about it because she thought they wouldn’t understand or if she told them about it they would start to think of her differently. Rita says: “if I don’t get a move on there’ll be another tragedy”. Using a new word she just learnt (tragedy) but using it wrongly and Frank takes that very seriously and corrects it straight away and explains to Rita the difference between tragic and tragedy.
When Frank throws Rita the apple from his desk which she catches shows the audience that Rita will accept anything Frank has to offer like education. And shows she is accepting his knowledge he’s giving. When Rita offers Frank a drink and frank takes it looks at the instructions then puts it down tells the audience that very cautious bout what he eats and reveals he’s a bit boring that he wont try anything new. And is a bit more educated on nutrition then Rita.
When Rita says: “ tragedy’s fun, isn’t it”. And then goes over to the window and she can see all the other students out there also indicates to the audience that there’s like a barrier between her and the rest of the students the barrier being education that she cant join them because she’ s not as well educated as them educated.
She leaves taking the apple showing to the audience she taking with her what Franks taught.
Once Frank invited Rita over to the dinner party she was very confused to why frank would want someone like Denny and her to go over to there house for a dinner party. As a consequence she lacks confidence and this is expressed by her final question: “what shall I wear”.
At the begging of scene seven Rita enters the room and goes straight to her desk, takes her pencils out and starts sharpening them this again informs the audience Rita’s nervous because she doesn’t want the confrontation about her not turning up at the dinner party but she’s acting child like then way she cant stop fidgeting about with her equipment. Due to Rita’s lack of confidence to attend the party and the fear of making a fool of her self, whether it to do with wearing the wrong clothes, saying the wrong things or even taking then wrong wine and just leaving a note scribbled on the back of an essay saying: “sorry couldn’t come”. And that she thought it was an acceptable way to apologize indicates to the audience that she still has a long way to go until she becomes a confident, more educated women is far from complete.
Frank couldn’t realise why she didn’t come or why she left a scribbled note under the door because he doesn’t care what people think about him and what the clothes he wears because to him that doesn’t matter it’s what your like to take to and how you are as a person he cares about.
When Rita calls herself a “half -cast” this is because she feels she cant fit in anywhere when she got to Franks house and looked in and saw all those people there see couldn’t do she was to nervous and scared like she wasn’t educated enough to be with them so she went back to the pub and looked around everyone signing and she felt alienated there like she didn’t belong there because they wont enjoy the things she enjoys like the theatre so she feels she doesn’t fit in anywhere at all.
Willy Russell is trying to explain to us that education is very important in life. If you want to live a certain way, Frank is well educated so has a good job and a good way of life. Rita is poorly educated works as a hairdresser and finds it hard in life to make friends and gets intimidated easily where as Frank is having a party. But Willy Russell is also saying your never to old to learn or change things in life like Rita’s mum said: “there has to be better songs than those”. And Rita is determined to find them.
By Sam Hemming
10c