Discuss the portrayal of metamorphicic in Educating Rita. Which character changes teh most?

DISCUSS THE PORTRAYAL OF METAMORPHOSIS IN WILLY RUSSELL'S EDUCATING RITA. WHICH CHARACTER CHANGES THE MOST? Educating Rita was a play written by Willy Russell in 1980. Willy Russell was born in Whiston near Liverpool and left school at 15. He then decided to take 'O' and 'A' levels and became a teacher. However, once he saw John McGrath's play 'Unruly Elements' he wanted to become a playwright. He has written plays and musicals like Stags and Hens, Blood Brothers and Educating Rita. Russell's mother then suggested that he should become a ladies hairdresser. This makes him use his experiences of hairdressing and teaching in the play. Educating Rita is a play about a 26 year old working class woman (Rita) wanting to be educated literature as she enjoys reading. Her teacher (Frank) is an alcoholic smoker and has lost the love of teaching until Rita tries to change him. The working class in the 1970's expected people to leave school at fifteen and become a lower class occupation like hairdressing or building. Women were expected to have a baby as soon as possible and were expected to stay at home and look after the family while the man worked. Rita broke away from the restrictions and expectations of her husband by doing the Open University course. Rita also tried to change this by using contraception when she was meant to be having a baby. The upper class were expected to do

  • Word count: 1897
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Educating Rita - Which character in the play changes the most?

G.C.S.E TWENTIETH CENTURY DRAMA COURSWORK: EDUCATING RITA Which character in the play changes the most? Explain: ~ How the character changes; ~ The character's role in the play; ~ How the playwright uses dramatic devices; ~ How the use of language shows these changes; ~ How these changes reflect the social, historical, and cultural background. Rita is one of the two main characters in Willy Russell's Educating Rita. Rita's character changes in all aspects of her life: from her attitude to her work and her personal life to her appearance and knowledge- this is how: Rita enters the play at first as a common, working class hairdresser. You can gather all of this straight away, from the fact that in her first sentence she addresses to Frank contains the word 'bleedin''. In these opening moments of the play she does not seem to be able to control her speech and tends to babble on about irrelevant issues - such as Frank's 'pornographic' picture on his wall. She admits to her 'problem' and says 'I talk to much don't I?' She later explains that she only talks to this excess and irrelevance when she feels uncomfortable-so she is nervous around Frank. In the first two scenes you can see that Rita is from a typical, working class, Liverpudlian family as I have already said. Another way in which you can spot this is from the vast amount of letters missing from her

  • Word count: 1740
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How do stage directions and dialogue in 'Billy Liar' help to illustrate the characters of Barbara, Rita and Liz

How do stage directions and dialogue in 'Billy Liar' help to illustrate the characters of Barbara, Rita and Liz? In the play ' Billy Liar' the central character, Billy, has three different girlfriends. Each girl has a dramatically different personality, and the stage directions give a clear indication as to the nature of these differences. The dialogue also gives a clear sense of character, with each girl speaking and interacting in a distinct way. Firstly the character of Barbara is quite peculiar, the narrator had described her as being a nineteen year old girl, who is large and well built, dressed in a tweed suit with flat-heeled shoes, she is also carrying a large handbag. From this description we are given, the reader would have presumably had an image of an unattractive girl, also with the types of clothes she wears, there is no evidence that she is in to fashion. From the way Billy approaches Barbara, her body language seems to be quite stiff and well reserved, this is shown in the following lines in Act 1 (p.23): Billy- (moving to kiss her) Barbara- (moving away) stage directions This is an example of a dramatic action within the play because the character is making insignificant body movements, to stay away from Billy. Billy reaction to Barbara's attitude is very slick, in order to make Barbara a bit livelier, he is giving her passion pills. This

  • Word count: 1459
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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relationship between frank and rita in educating rita

How Does Willy Russell Present the Development of Frank and of Rita in 'Educating Rita'? Educating Rita, written by Willy Russell is a witty, humorous play with only two characters, Frank and Rita. Rita is twenty-six years old and a hairdresser from Liverpool. She longs to break away from her daily routine and not follow the mould of a lower class Liverpudlian woman. She does this by taking a degree in English Literature from the Open University (O.U.). Rita teaches her tutor, Frank, more about life than she learns from him, about books. The development of Frank and Rita's characters is a central part to why the play works and is so successful, in the theatre and on the 'big screen'. On the one hand Frank starts out very much as a long-suffering cynic, who turns to alcohol for comfort. However by the end of the play Frank has a new perception on life and the lower class. He also acquires a greater respect for his pupils and for literature in general. Rita is very much unlike Frank she is very abrupt and energetic, but still very friendly. She has a very positive attitude towards the course and wanting to learn, however she lacks much confidence in her own abilities and intellect. However by the end of the play she is almost the opposite she is far more laid back and confident. She is far less abrupt, but still with a thirst for knowledge. At the very beginning of

  • Word count: 5569
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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the language and the style of the author Frank McCourt within his two memoirs "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis".

The stages in Frank McCourt's life have been reflected in different styles within the two memoirs "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis" in parallel with his aging. Extended Essay presented in English A2 by Serra ERÇIL Candidate number: 000755020 In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA from The Koç School, Istanbul, Turkey (0755) May 2006 Table Of Contents Abstract....................................................................................................3 Angela's Ashes - 'Tis (Extended Essay).................................................4 Bibliography and References..................................................................13 Abstract This essay mainly focuses on the language and the style of the author Frank McCourt within his two memoirs "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis". It covers mainly the differences and the similarities within McCourt's writing style in both of the books. The memoirs have interested me because it is a human compulsion to record the past, to preserve what's changing and to celebrate accomplishment and since I've studied Angela's Ashes in my english class and now, I'm able to reflect what I've learned in this essay. To write this essay, I had to read the second memoir, "'Tis" and then scan the first memoir "Angela's Ashes" to find relevant passages and styles. The most difficult part was

  • Word count: 3703
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What does Rita want from her education? What does she gain and lose from it? In what sense is Frank educated?

What does Rita want from her education? What does she gain and lose from it? In what sense is Frank educated? At the very beginning of the story, the two main characters of the play, Frank and Rita, are certainly not kindred spirits. Frank is a Literature tutor who seems to be totally bored with his job. He is also an alcoholic and has lost all enthusiasm for his life. This is very unlike Rita, a hairdresser who is rejuvenated by the challenge of gaining an education and knowing 'everything'. There is also a contrast in the way Frank and Rita perceive each other. Rita sees Frank's knowledge as her big chance to discover herself as a person and to upgrade from her working class status. Frank, on the contrary, lacks confidence in himself and what he does for a living, and sees Rita as just another keen student who is coming to the wrong tutor for help. Rita does have a lot to gain by broadening her education. Just like for everyone, education is a chance of learning more about the world, getting a sufficient job, living an enjoyable life, and discovering yourself as a person. In fact, what gets to Rita is her lack of 'choice' in life, which she explains on page 53 of the book. She describes the way in which her current husband, Denny, thinks working class people have choice because they can "go into a pub that sells eight different kinds of lager", and "choice

  • Word count: 809
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Examine the portrayal of Hopelessness and Isolation in 'The Wasp Factory' and 'Saved'.

Examine the portrayal of Hopelessness and Isolation in 'The Wasp Factory' and 'Saved'. 'Saved' was written by Edward Bond in the late 1960's. 'The Wasp Factory' was written by Iain Banks in 1984. Although the two texts were written over twenty years apart, isolation is still an integral part of both texts. Through phonetic representation we can see that 'Saved' is set in South London, and 'The Wasp Factory' is set in a remote part of Scotland; the two are culturally polar through location. Although the two texts have their differences, all of the main characters are isolated from society and its normalities. This isolation has a profound effect on the characters. It can be seen that in both 'Saved' and 'The Wasp Factory' that the protagonists do not exist in society's eyes. In 'The Wasp Factory' Frank, the main character, hides from Diggs, who is the representation of society in the book, "... in case of Diggs did any asking around and discovered I didn't exist officially." (page 72) Frank's non-existance makes his life hopeless, because he can never have aspirations outside of the island. In 'Saved', all of the characters are non-existant in society's eyes; they are isolated by society. Society only associates with the characters when crimes are committed, as seen in both texts, and then we see societal punishment. "That inspector wants you." (page 75) In both

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Educating Rita - Explore how the director develops the complexities in these characters and their relationships with each other.

Educating Rita - English Essay The film is concerned with two problem-ridden characters. Explore how the director develops the complexities in these characters and their relationships with each other. You should refer to: * Four separate episodes * Characterisation * Language * Directors techniques There are two main characters in the film educating Rita. These are both problem ridden and have many faults within themselves that can only be solved by each others love, affection and comfort towards one another. The director develops complexities in these characters and he uses various techniques to develop there relationship which will be explained during this essay. The two characters I am referring to are Rita played by Julie Walters and Frank played by Michael Caine. In the film they are both very different people. Rita is a hair dresser from a working class background and Frank is a University lecturer from a middle or class background that tutors Open University pupils for extra money. In my opinion the contrast of the two characters brings them closer together. During this essay I plan to introduce each character then go through each bullet point thoroughly including four separate episodes, how Frank and Rita behave and react around one another concerning characterisation, the difference in language used in the two characters and also the directors techniques

  • Word count: 3634
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does the environment effect education in the educating Rita?

How does the environment effect education in the educating Rita? Introduction to the play The play "educating Rita" was written by Willy Russell. In the play Willy Russell shows how the relationship between two people (frank and Rita) both of different classes Frank of the upper class and Rita of the lower class and how they form a relationship. This relationship changes during the play and I will be analysing how the relationship does change I will also see how the way in which they live effects their education. The play is set in Liverpool in the area around a university. The main themes of the play are education, culture and class in general. Willy Russell wrote the play as a comedy but by doing this he also covered many life issues. Introduction to Rita Rita is 26 years old and works in a hairdressers she represents the lower uneducated class in the play. Rita turns to education she believes that it is very important and she wants to be educated more than anything. She says she wants to talk about "the things that matter" because she feels that her life is currently going nowhere. Rita's husband Denny doesn't like the idea of Rita being educated and he thinks by the age of 26 Rita should be pregnant or already have a baby. She say that "she has to discover herself" before she has a baby but Denny does not understand why. Introduction to Frank Frank works in a

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Russell use the opening scene to prepare the audience for the rest of the play?

Alexandra Kennedy. 10E. July 10th 2002 How does Russell use the opening scene to prepare the audience for the rest of the play? Willy Russell's 'Educating Rita' sees the first scene introduce many ideas which run throughout the play. The inventive use of such a large opening scene permits Russell to cover many issues and aspects within both character and theme which are extended and covered with more depth later in the play. Key points are introduced right from the beginning which interests the audience and allows them to empathise and relate to the characters quickly, urging them to anticipate the rest of the play. Russell allows us to make conceptions and conclusions about the two characters, something which is covered during the play; A theme which shows that first impressions are often untrustworthy and stereotypical which again makes us empathise with the characters more. These among other themes are opened during the first scene, to start the tremendous change which takes place during the course of the play. Themes of the play discussed later are evident throughout and are opened in the first scene. The whole play is set inside Frank's office. The Victorian University set in 1980's Northern England is briefly described. Within the stage directions we can see Frank's office, "The walls are lined with books" but we know nothing of the exterior. The directions are clear;

  • Word count: 4782
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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