In the opening scene, what are your initial impressions of Frank and Rita? In Educating Rita

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David Seckington U5M

In the opening scene, what are your initial impressions of Frank and Rita?

In the opening scene of Educating Rita, both Frank and Rita show many different characteristics to their personalities. In some respects, they are quite similar, and in other respects, they are completely the opposite of each other.

As the play begins, Frank is looking through his bookshelf. At first, it seems as though he is looking for a book, but it emerges that in fact he is trying to find a bottle of scotch, which he has hidden. From this, it is very clear that Frank may have a drink problem, and also that he is trying to hide it aswell. He goes on to pour the scotch into a coffee mug, as though he doesn’t want anyone to notice.

After this, his telephone rings, and Frank talks to his girlfriend. This conversation indicates firstly that he is in no rush to get home, for he says that he will stop off at the pub, which is a further indication of his drink problem. At times, he is also quite quick to snap at his girlfriend. For example, as soon as he answers the phone, he answers it saying. “Yes?…..Of course I’m still here….” Which indicates that he is slightly irritated, which may suggest that life at home with his girlfriend is not the happiest place.

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Perhaps more importantly though, it seems that Frank is very bored with his job. This may be the reason why Frank is an alcoholic, and why his life at home may be slightly difficult. One reason I think this is because at times he makes quite flippant remarks, for example, at one stage he suggests that he would like to throw his students out of the window. He seems bored of his lifestyle, and with his daily routine. As well as this though, his world seems to revolve around education, and literature. He seems slightly ignorant of the world ...

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