One of the big issues in the book is Rita’s culture. Rita is part of the ‘Working Class’ So she goes to the Pub regularly, watches TV etc. ‘ I just see everyone pissed or on the valium tryin’ to get from 1 day to the next.’ But Frank is part of the ‘Educated Class’ and Frank sometimes doesn’t see the social divide. When he invites Rita to his house. ‘ I wanted you to come along.’ Rita replies ‘ I didn’t want to come to your house to play the court jester.’
Rita starts to enjoy the learning and goes to see Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. She enjoys the play and tells Frank all about it when she gets back. ‘ It wasn’t borin’ it was bleedin’ great, ogh, it was fantastic.’ This leads her on to going to see more plays and she becomes more involved.
Frank likes Rita’s essays and work but says they are not good for exams. ‘Is this your way of tellin’ me I can’t do it?’ Says Rita ‘ Rita I don’t know what I want to teach you, what you already have is valuable.’ Frank begins to fear that he will damage the irrepressible spirits, the passionate directions of Rita which so inspires him and lifts him out of poor teaching that he has fallen into.
When Rita returns from Summer School she has widened her knowledge, she is also a lot more confident in herself. ‘ I forget now, cos after that I was askin’ questions all week, y’ couldn’t keep me down.’ Rita now has her own opinions and Frank doesn’t like it. Rita wants to sit outside like all the other students but Frank dislikes being outside. Rita wants to open a window ‘ It wont budge.’ Frank replies ‘I’m not surprised it hasn’t been opened for generations.’ Frank is caught in his academic trap of dusty learning which has killed his inspiration.
‘ A room is like a plant.’ Frank and Rita argue about an Analogy, it shows that Rita has been changing her style of conversation at Summer School. Frank replies in a sarcastic manner ‘ Bring in the two tons of soil and a bag of fertilizer.’ Frank realises that the airless room has destroyed his enthusiasm and his creativity for life, therefore realises that Rita must leave him.
Frank decides to teach Rita some of William Blake’s work but Rita has already learned this and starts to show off when she starts quoting from the poem. ‘ O rose, thou art sick!…….And his dark secret love does thy life destroy.’ Frank is surprised that Rita knows it. ‘ You covered all the songs of innocence and experience?’ Says Frank ‘ Of course; you don’t do Blake without doing innocence and experience, do y’?’ Rita now thinks she is an expert.
Rita tries to change her image, this is mostly due to her flatmate called Trish. Trish is a very upper class lady and dresses fashionable and is highly educated. Rita begins to try talking very posh ‘ I’m not giving a tutorial to a Dalek.’
An issue shown pretty much throughout the book is Franks jealousy. Rita says how she has been down on the grass with a student named Tiger and how him and his friends had invited her to come to France with them. ‘You cant go… errr you’ve got your exams.’ Even though Rita’s exams are before the holiday. He later says ‘All right, but please stop burbling on about Mr. Tyson (Tiger).’ But Rita has hardly said anything about him.
The last issue is Frank realising he hasn’t managed to get Rita to turn out how he wanted her to be. He says ‘ You write good essays but they have nothing of you in it.’ Frank is disappointed in what he has created.
