What has Rita learned by the end of the play? Explain how Willy Russell presents her development into the woman who 'had achoice' and 'did the exam' - Educating Rita

Authors Avatar

What has Rita learned by the end of the play? Explain how Willy Russell presents her development into the woman who 'had a choice' and 'did the exam'

        Educating Rita a modern issue about a woman who is on a quest for a more fulfilling life. She strives for an education and has a thirst for learning. She joins the Open University and is accompanied through her education by her tutor named Frank.

        At the beginning of the play Rita was a loudmouthed hairdresser who wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. Rita seems to be a very direct person; this is shown when she goes to her first meeting with Frank. Rita forces the jammed door open and hangs up her coat before introducing herself. 'Stupid bleedin' handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!' This shows Rita is quite outspoken. The stubborn door represents the struggle she is going through to gain knowledge and be fulfilled with her life as she thinks all educated people lead better ones than her.

        By the end of the play Rita has gained a lot of knowledge, she hasn't just met her educational needs but has learnt that personal fulfilment cannot be solely met by education. Once Rita ha acquired an education she dropped the pretentious world that she lived in, realizing that Frank, to whom she previously looked up to was an insatiable alcoholic. Rita realized that Frank and Trish's world wasn’t anything like she imagined. 'It's like Trish, I thought she was so cool an' together', ' she'd tried to top herself'. Willy Russell has shown her development by Rita changing her preconceived ideas about the educated.

Join now!

        In Rita's past she talked of how peer pressure forced her to be like everyone else and although she had the choice of fulfilling her education, she chose not to in case of not fitting in with the group. Rita confessed this to frank ' I would have had to become different from me mates, an' that's not allowed.' although Rita thought to herself that she was standing up and being different to the other women on her estate we see her conform unquestioningly to the behaviour of her chosen group. This is one way in which Willy Russell presents ...

This is a preview of the whole essay