How does Russell show the differences between Frank and Rita in Educating Rita?
Tuesday, July 01, 2003 How does Russell show the differences between Frank and Rita in Educating Rita? This essay is about how Willy Russell shows the differences between Frank and Rita in Educating Rita. I am going to talk about what they say, do and the stage directions. The main scenes I will be focusing on are Act 1 Scene 1, Act 1 Scene 7 and Act 2 Scene 7. Willy Russell's own school life is reflected in the play. He was a "D-stream piece of factory fodder" that managed to succeed as a writer. I think he may have modelled Rita on himself and used his writing to show the struggle he faced when growing up to be taken seriously. Going from one dead end job to another but finally defying the odds and making something of himself. The very first scene, Act 1 scene 1, sees Frank and Rita getting introduced to each other for the very first time. Before Rita arrives you see Frank speaking on the phone to what appears to be his other half. We learn that he has taken on an Open University student to pay for his trips to the pub. When Rita arrives, I think Frank is shocked by her behaviour but intrigued, as he may not have met a student like her before. They get on well, right from the word go, as Rita is very forward and determined to make the relationship work. Frank, on the other hand, is only in it for the money and is used to dealing with more courteous women who
Educating Rita - Select the three scenes you find the most powerful and poignant and explain why they are so powerful
Educating Rita Essay- Select the three scenes you find the most powerful and poignant and explain why they are so powerful Introduction 'Educating Rita' is a play that raises many moral and social questions. The two characters involved are both very different from the class they are from to the way they speak. However they have much to teach each other and how they would both like to improve their lives. In Rita, there is a character driven by incompleteness, who struggles for the education she wants to take her out of the social class into which she has been born. Frank though, is the opposite. He is certainly not positive as Rita is and is dissatisfied, fed up with his life who finds solace in alcohol. In my essay I will be judging the three most powerful scenes in the play and what they represent as Rita becomes more educated, but for what is she educated? Act 1 Scene 7 In this scene we are shown a part of Rita which is hindering her ability to complete the course and preventing her goal of becoming educated, her husband, Denny: 'What does the words 'sorry' mean if its not an apology? When I told Denny that I was going to yours he went mad. We had a big fight about it' But his determination to prevent her from learning and eventually leaving the social class she is in makes her even more determined to finish the course towards the end of the scene. Rita is not as
Students with Special Needs in the Language Classroom.
Students with Special Needs in the Language Classroom Students that show the need for special education are those who have more difficulties that the rest of the students in understanding curriculum that is at their age level. Reasons for the difficulties could be the result of a series of internal causes or the result of an inadequate educational approach. To overcome these deficiencies, the student needs a series of conditions that offer special adaptations to ordinary curriculum, such as including a list of specific resources that the students can use that differ than those which the school offers on a daily basis. The language teacher has to pay special attention to the use of written and oral language in the foreign language in the classroom. There are effective motivation devices that, with correct use, help the slower learners include themselves in the progress of the class, as well as ensure that the gifted students do not lose time or get bored. There are also useful devices for those studetns with special needs; in carefully selected materials they can find the help necessary to reach the objectives layed out for their situation. The teacher should pull the maximum benefit from the interaction among students through performing and acting out role-plays, readings, recordings or songs, description of illustrations, photographs, etc. Also the teacher could
How would you perform the role of Frank in part one of the play? And what audience response would you hope to achieve through your performance?
How would you perform the role of Frank in part one of the play? And what audience response would you hope to achieve through your performance? If I were playing the role of Frank, in part one of the play, I would concentrate on gradually getting the audience to feel sympathy for Frank. When first introduced to Frank in scene one, he is with his owner Lord Are. To represent hierarchy and status of the classes I would sit upstage right whilst Are is standing downstage left. The language that Frank uses are less advanced as Are's so this shows the lack of understanding and innocence of Frank. The main performance skills that I am going to talk about are, Costume, Gestures, Levels, and Character relationship, Interaction with the set, facial expressions and Props. Scene One: > Costume: livery (slave's uniform). Navy trousers, with what was a white shirt but has discoloured to a dull, dingy colour to show his lack of clothing. Rolled up sleeves this can represent that he is working hard. Black shoes with a hole at the toe. His hair ruffled and uncombed. A black blazer, not smart, a few rip, just to make it look like he was trying to look like a non working class. > Gestures: When I first come on stage I would be walking with a broken posture. My back low but yet not to sloppy. In contrast to Are whose has an upright posture with a full frontal posture to the
Discuss the Themes of Social Class and Education in ¡®Educating Rita¡¯
Discuss the Themes of Social Class and Education in 'Educating Rita' Simon Hearne Willy Russell's play is about a 26 year old, lower-middle class woman, Rita, and her attempts to gain knowledge and a higher social class through education. It's a confused aspiration because she wants to discover herself and understand ballet and poetry, through a better education. These conflicts along with Frank's reluctance to change Rita add to the tension of the play. Russell was brought up in a working class family in Liverpool and had a troublesome education, through Rita, he tries to get across to the reader what it feels like to be working class with little or bad education. Russell portrays Rita as being trapped, with no choice for her future and a lack of vision, and she thinks becoming educated could solve all her problems. She tells Frank why she wants an education at the Open University in the first scene of the first act, page 12, 'I've been realizin' for ages that I was, y' know, slightly out of step...See, I wanna discover myself...I wanted a better way of livin' me life.' Her wanting to change is ironically similar to her current job, as a hairdresser, where her customers 'wanna walk out a different person.' Whereas Rita knows that 'if you want to change y' have to do it from the inside.' And she's trying to do just that through an education. Rita's mission to
Mr. Briggs from Willy Russell’s Our Day Out. Who’s teaching style do you think is bestFor the Progress Class?
Compare the characters of Mrs. Kay and Mr. Briggs from Willy Russell's Our Day Out. Who's teaching style do you think is best For the Progress Class? In this Essay, I am going to explain the teaching methods and styles of Mrs. Kay and Mr. Briggs. I will compare the characters and try to find out which teachers style of teaching is best for the progress class. The play, Our Day Out, by Willy Russell is set in Liverpool in the late nineteen seventies. It is about a group of progress class students who are going on a trip to Conway Castle in Wales. In the children's view, Mrs. Kay is loving, kind-hearted lady. She is a middle-aged woman, who cares deeply for children. Even the Headmaster's view is in favour of Mrs. Kay, "There's not many of her type y'know." Although the headmaster thinks Mrs. Kay is a good teacher, he doesn't approve of the way she conducts a school trip, "After the last trip of hers I said 'no more', absolutely no more." The only person who really doesn't like Mrs. Kay is Mr. Briggs. On the other hand, Mr. Briggs is looked upon as a mean, strict and unforgiving teacher. Although he does care for the children, he shies about showing it. At the beginning, when Mr. Briggs is going to accompany Mrs. Kay on the trip, the children's happiness is suddenly turned upside down into sadness because they think that they won't have any fun now. As soon as he enters
Who is to blame for the tragic deaths of the twins in Willy Russell's 'Blood Brothers'?
Who is to blame for the tragic deaths of the twins in Willy Russell's 'Blood Brothers'? Blood Brothers, a story of twins separated at birth, growing up in completely different environments, but with the same genetic composition, "never knowing that they shared one name, 'till the day they died, when a mother cried, my own dear sons lie slain", is a compelling story of which we will discuss in detail, of who is to blame for their tragic deaths. There are many character in 'Blood Brothers', which can be blamed for the tragic deaths; Mrs.Lyons, the rich, devious woman, Mrs.Johnstone, the under-privileged mother of eight, Sammy, Mickey's brother and his influence, and even superstition and fate. First of all, we will discuss the case of Mrs.Lyons, a vindictive, manipulative woman who has a caring side to her, for the desperation of the love for a child. Indeed she did start all of this deception, by offering to take one of Mrs. Johnstone's baby's and lying to Mrs.Johnstone that she could see her child everyday. She also lied to her husband that the child was theirs and not an adopted baby (as Mr.Lyons hated the fact of adopting children). Mrs.Lyons decided to take it upon herself to have the child as her own, "He need never guess" was her response to Mrs.Johnstone, about the deceit...could this be the story of the twins' deaths; being cruelly separated at birth by Mrs.Lyons, not
The Function of the Narrator in Blood Brothers
The Function of the Narrator in Blood Brothers The narrator's role in 'Blood Brothers' is quite unusual. The convention of the narrator in most plays is such that they are usually brought on to introduce the next part of the play and then move offstage and the play continues. However, in Blood Brothers the narrator is a physical character and is on stage all of the time. At the beginning of the play the narrator says, "So did y' hear the story of the Johnstone twins?" This indicates that he is the storyteller. His presence at every scene thereafter shows that he is telling us about that part of the story. The narrator is on stage all the time, watching the characters and often lurking in the background, and this makes him seem a sinister and threatening character, which contrasts with other plays where the narrator is usually neutral. Also, as the narrator already knows the end of the story and is telling it back to the audience he can also suggest what is going to happen in the future which has a disquieting effect. Although the narrator knows what is eventually going to happen he doesn't try and prevent it in any way and even seems to be pushing the characters into performing their actions. The narrator speaks in rhyming couplets, which is akin to the supernatural characters used by Shakespeare; this would link with his prophetic knowledge and his cold presence around
In what ways does Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay represent different attitudes and philosophies towards teaching and the children on the trip? Where do your sympathies lie and why?
Robert Chamberlain In what ways does Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay represent different attitudes and philosophies towards teaching and the children on the trip? Where do your sympathies lie and why? The play "Our Day Out" was wrote for a television audience. We can tell this because of the quick scene changes, short scenes and the in-depth stage directions, which would make it extremely hard to act out on a theatre stage. "Our Day Out" was written by Willy Russell to highlight some of the problems facing real children in the 1970's. The play tells us about the poverty and unemployment of Liverpool at the time and some of the social conditions and deprived backgrounds of children and their families. Also it indicates that some of the children's parents were prostitutes so that the family had some money to spend and that some of the children had only one parent living with them at home. To illustrate these points he uses a progress class from an inner-city school, on a visit to Conway Castle assisted by the two main stereotype characters, Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay. Mrs Kay is portrayed as a kind hearted caring schoolmistress and Mr Briggs represents the strict, militant and disciplined figure. Mrs Kay has organised a trip to Conway Castle in Wales for the progress class she takes. Mr Briggs is sent on it by the headmaster "to keep things in order" as he sees Mrs Kay's method of
Blood Brothers - The Narrator
To what extent do you think the Narrator is presented as a moral guardian or a figure of doom in the play? Give reasons for your opinions. Throughout the play of Blood Brothers I think that the Narrator is presented as a moral guardian. It could be argued that he is a figure of doom because of his actions, but I disagree with this statement because I see him in a different light and I feel that Willy Russell wants his audience to look beyond his actions and see the positive reasons why he delivers bad news. I believe that the Narrator makes his actions obvious and that Willy Russell has made sure that his audience see him as evil straight away because of he says and does. But I think that Willy Russell is hoping that his audience look deeper and don't judge him based on his outward thoughts and sayings. I feel that there is something hidden underneath all the bad forebodings which he gives. There is something else to him and I think this is why I can see him as a moral guardian. From the opening of Act one he sets the scene. 'He steps forward and starts to recite the prologue to his audience. In this soliloquy he tells 'the story of the Johnstone twins...how one was kept and one was given away...never knowing that they shared one name, till the day they died.' This soliloquy is very effective in the fact that it allows the Narrator to prepare the audience for the