Educating Rita - A Close Analysis of Act 1, Scenes 7 and 8

Educating Rita – A Close Analysis of Act 1, Scenes 7 and 8

Scenes 7 and 8 are the two last scenes in Act1. Seeing as it is only a two act play, this is a good point to reflect on how Rita and Frank’s relationship has changed and developed since the beginning, both as teacher and student and on a more personal level. In scene 7 Rita and Frank talk about why Rita did not show up for Frank’s dinner party and Rita explains how she was seriously thinking of going back to her old way of life. In Scene 8 we find that Rita has chosen her new life over Denny and has packed her bags and left him. Rita is now more desperate than ever to learn and change herself but Frank is not sure he wants to teach her because he likes her the way she is.

At the start of scene 7 Rita walks into the office, sits straight down and gets out her pencil case. We can tell there is a tense atmosphere because neither of them greet each other. There is tension because Rita failed to turn up to the dinner party which Frank invited her to. Before even saying ‘hi’ Frank starts to talk about it. “Now I don’t mind; two empty seats at the dinner table means more of the vino for me. But Julia – Julia is the stage manager type. If we’re having eight people to dinner she expects to see eight. She likes order.” This passage says a lot about the way Frank is feeling. He is obviously very upset which explains why he didn’t even say hello before starting to talk. But I don’t think he wants Rita to think he cares, I think this because he acts like he is angry for Julia rather than himself. He thinks it was rude of her to not fully explain why she didn’t come. When Rita explains that she and Denny had a big fight over it he is misled into thinking that is the reason she didn’t come. However that was not the reason why she failed to turn up, although Frank would have been a lot more forgiving if it was. The real reason she didn’t go is because she didn’t feel she would fit in with everyone else and she thought everyone would laugh at her. “Me? What’s me? Some stupid woman who gives us all a laugh because she thinks she can learn, because she thinks that one day she’ll be like the rest of them, talking seriously, confidently with knowledge, livin’ a civilised life.” This passage shows just how low her self esteem is, she is still not very confident. She thought she wouldn’t know how to act, what to say, what to wear and what to bring. Frank said that he wanted her to come and be herself saying they would have thought she was funny, delightful and charming, and when Rita suggests that Frank only invited her so they could all have a laugh Frank got very offended. “If you believe that that is why you were invited, to be laughed at, than you can get out, now.” Frank reacts like this because he is hurt that she would even think in that way, he truly did invite her just to have the pleasure of her company and the fact that she can’t see that annoys him. Frank likes Rita the way she is and wouldn’t have wanted her to act in a superficial way. However Rita is desperate to change herself, the same part which Frank likes so much. This shows the start of the breaking point in their relationship. Frank likes Rita because she is something different, but the part of Rita which he thinks is unique is the part of Rita that Rita herself wants to change. This shows that their relationship can only go downhill from this point. We also find in this scene that Rita had nearly decided to go back to her old way of life. After leaving a note saying she couldn’t make it at Frank’s house she joined her old friends and family at the pub, they sing a few songs and have a few drinks, but Rita doesn’t feel like she belongs there anymore. Rita then decides that she can lead a better life than that and decides to continue going to the university and is even more determined to change.

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At the start of scene 8 we find Frank occupied with Rita’s Macbeth essay she enters the office and is about to start talking about the essay but then spots her suitcase. Rita then explains that she has been kicked out by Denny after being given an ultimatum; she was to choose between her new life and him. She chose her new life which shows just how much she really wanted to change. She was obviously upset but rather than wanting to discuss her problem she wanted to know more about her Macbeth essay. I think she was trying to cover up how she was really feeling and get her mind off her problems. “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t; in the circumstances I need to go on, to talk about it an’ do it. What was it like?” this passage shows that nothing will stop Rita from getting her education. This is how desperate she is to change her life. She is so desperate that she chooses the university over her husband, and she doesn’t even let it affect her work. Doing the course at university helps her think about something else other than her problems with life. When they do start to discuss her essay, Franks ends up telling her it was good in its own terms but in the terms of passing an exam it was useless. Frank tells her in order to write things worthy of passing exams she will have to change herself. Rita doesn’t mind and asks immediately how to do it, but Frank is hesitant to tell her. Frank likes Rita the way she is and thinks that in telling her how to pass an exam she will lose the uniqueness that he likes so much about her and turn into one of the same old boring students that he is used to teaching. Rita not understanding what he is trying to say assumes that he thinks she is not good enough. Frank knows she is good enough but knows that in teaching her she will inevitably lose the part of her that he likes so much. He is therefore reluctant to teach her.

Scenes 7 and 8 are important scenes because they form an effective climax to the first act. At the end of the first act we can see obvious changes in both Rita and Frank since the beginning of the act. We can also see the development in their relationship. At the beginning of the act Rita knew nothing about literature and was very nervous about learning. At the end of the act she is still not that well read but is very determined to learn more and is desperate to change her lifestyle. However she is stuck in the middle of her old self and the person she wants to be. She doesn’t feel she can talk to her old family and friends as she doesn’t feel she can relate to them, but she is not yet ready to face people such as franks wife and friends. “I’m a freak. I can’t talk to the people I live with any more. An’ I can’t talk to the likes of them on Saturday, or them out there, because I can’t learn the language. I’m a half-caste.” Frank is still pretty much the same cynical person as before but is rather disappointed because having finally found something new in his life he is going to have to lose it.

Their relationship has also taken a drastic change at the start of the play they instantly clicked and got on well. They were very flirty with each other and asked loads of questions. After a few scenes the relationship had developed into a more friendly one, there was still flirting but they were mainly friends. They became very good friends and Rita tells Frank a lot about her life and she runs to him to discuss everything. Now towards the end of the first act Frank has realised that as much as he likes Rita, it is inevitable that she is going to change. He is obviously disappointed and tries to make Rita see that education isn’t everything. Rita however is very determined to change her whole life; she makes many sacrifices to do so. Due to the change Rita is trying to make, she and Frank come into many different conflicts. Scenes 7 and 8 show us that Rita and Frank’s relationship can only deteriorate from this point because the more determined Rita is to change the more bitter Frank will become.

Lorraine Phillips 10H.1 (1494 words)