What impression of Rita does Willy Russell create in Act One, Scene One? How does this character develop through the play?
What impression of Rita does Willy Russell create in Act One, Scene One? How does this character develop through the play?
Plan
st part of question - what impression of Rita does Willy Russell create in Act One, Scene One?
From Rita's entrance:
* confident, brash, loud
* seems like a stereotypical Liverpudlian at first glance
* but not stupid - witty/insightful comments ('degrees for dishwashers')
* however we see she has had little formal education, doesn't know some basics
- but she still has pride, doesn't like being made fun of (tells Frank "Don't laugh at me")
* overconfidence compensating for nervousness (admits she 'always asks loads of questions when she's nervous')
* SD - reflects this
- barges through the door at first, complaining about the state of the doorhandle -overconfidence- (role-reversal)
- however pacing, examining things around the room (window, bookcase, picture) shows underlying nervousness - nervous actions - pacing, smoking, swearing, questioning Frank (inquisitive, nosy)
* we see relationship with Frank getting off to a flying start - R. and F. are chatty, and make jokes with each other
* but towards the end of scene, we see Frank's insecurities
- Rita very eager to learn (shows intelligence)
- Frank feels he can't provide her with teaching she needs/deserves
* So when he says that he can't teach her - she doesn't want another tutor because she likes Frank already - 'crazy mad piss artist'
* Perhaps initially we think of the stereotype of the working-class person - 'thick', undereducated, uninterested in further education due to upbringing/the need to go out to work/peer views; maybe see Rita out of place with her accent and clothes (judge her by them).
* SOCIAL-HISTORICAL CONTEXT - Play written late 1970s. Time of great social unrest, country in turmoil, economy crippled, unemployment rife (esp. working classes), class system still in evidence, working class life
- "It's terrible these days, the money...inflation" not many references in first scene, however later on talking about jobs + the dole, unions
- Class system - Rita has fixed views of the 'upper classes' (swearing, 'Flora and pebble-dashed bread', BBC, sees Frank as very clever and wants to be like him
- Working class life - clear that Rita thinks that it is shallow and meaningless all through the play and wants to escape from it (does in the end, but only after going through a 'half-caste' stage). "no meanin'" "they'll tell you they've got culture...sit there drinkin' keg beer out of plastic glasses" 'new dress' speech (A1 S2)
* We learn about Rita's education in A1 S2 - indeed learn more about her in general. We got the impression in S1 she had had little formal education - "What's assonance?" - but in S2 we learn why. Main reason - peer pressure, fitting in. "ripped-up books, broken glass...knives an' fights" "studyin' was just for the whimps" "become different from me mates...not allowed...by your mates, by your family, by everyone" "got to be into music an' clothes an' lookin' for a feller...qualities of life"
- why she started the course - "somethin'...tellin' me I might ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
* We learn about Rita's education in A1 S2 - indeed learn more about her in general. We got the impression in S1 she had had little formal education - "What's assonance?" - but in S2 we learn why. Main reason - peer pressure, fitting in. "ripped-up books, broken glass...knives an' fights" "studyin' was just for the whimps" "become different from me mates...not allowed...by your mates, by your family, by everyone" "got to be into music an' clothes an' lookin' for a feller...qualities of life"
- why she started the course - "somethin'...tellin' me I might have got it all wrong" "change of dress...change in yourself" important decision "big moment"
* How Rita's personality/work/'education' develop during the play
- clever but lacks tools to express her views in a conventional, exam-passing way
- first essays are very subjective, reference to non-'classical' authors and works (Rubyfruit Jungle, Harold Robbins) (A1)
- when Rita reads Howard's End, she dislikes it because she sees it from a sentimentalist, subjective (Marxist) viewpoint
- takes Frank's advice on essays very literally at first (reference to other authors)
- learning about selective reading
- "Do it on the radio" Peer Gynt essay, learns accepted essay style (but not quite - end of scene)
- goes to see her first play with Frank
- inspires her to go and see Macbeth (tragedy + tragic)
- invited to dinner by Frank but feels she would not fit into middle class; yet doesn't fit in at the pub with working class "half-caste". Maybe feels course will never get her anywhere, but mum crying gives her new determination.
- chooses her education over Denny (symbolism; personal fulfilment over fulfilling peer expectations)
- Macbeth essay "wonderful and worthless" - another decision. Changing herself to pass exams (Frank reluctant, but Rita wants to change, why she did course) "an' we start again" turning point
- marked by new act, Rita back from summer school, new clothes, living with Trish
- Frank surprised when tries to introduce Rita to Blake, + she's already done his work (first time, indication of how she is changing)
- Rita changes voice to imitate 'educated' people she knows - still thinks that it's all about outwardly recognisable signs, e.g., clothes, accent etc (how first impressions are formed, but not how people develop [link to title]) -Frank returns her to reality
- no longer nervous about students (regards herself as one of them, almost, now; not false confidence, real)
- writes an essay that is not out of place with the students'
- Frank says she starts to write essays with nothing of her in there - tells her to be 'careful' - first signs of argument "you're still treating me as though I'm hung up on Rubyfruit Jungle"
- Rita breezes into the next scene, talking about going to see The Seagull with Trish, Frank begins to feel that maybe Rita is wasting her time, + she is just coming due to sentimentality. He then gives her some of his poetry to write a criticism on; impression that this is a 'test' to see just how much she has changed.
What impression of Rita does Willy Russell create in Act One, Scene One?
How does this character develop throughout the play?
The first scene in Educating Rita is, arguably, the most essential to the play. It is the scene that has to captivate the audience's attention, so that they want to see what will happen in later scenes. It is also (perhaps most importantly) the one that gives us our first insights on the main - indeed the only - characters we see; that is, Rita and Frank, and shapes our perceptions of them throughout the rest of the story. These characters must seem believable and also attention-grabbing - so that we want to see what will happen to them later on. Therefore, it is in this scene our first impressions of Rita, the title character, are created; and then in later scenes, we see how she develops as a person.
'I'm comin' in, aren't I? It's that stupid bleedin' handle on the door. You wanna get it fixed!"
These are the first words we hear Rita say as she makes her entrance into Frank's study. An image of her is immediately created, both from her words and from her accent, clothes, and general appearance. She looks and sounds like a 'stereotypical' Liverpudlian - brash, confident, loud - the only thing missing from the stereotype is whether she is 'thick' or not. We are perhaps a little shocked by her entrance as we are made to wait for it (so suspense is built up) - and the fact that she comes in complaining loudly about the state of Frank's doorhandle, despite the fact that she is the student and Frank the teacher. This unexpected authority reversal is opposite to our notions of teacher-pupil respect and this helps her entry create a lasting impression. It is obvious this is also unexpected to Frank as he is left staring at Rita, slightly confused, for a moment until he regains his composure and mumbles an answer. Rita then reprimands him for not acting on his intentions to get the handle fixed, retaining the air of role-reversal.
However, this image of the brash, bold, overconfident Liverpudlian (as we learn later) is just compensating for Rita's nervousness and anxiety over starting the OU course in the first place.
The exchange that follows shows how their backgrounds frequently lead Frank and Rita to confuse each other, which is one of the main sources of comedy in the play. An expression such as "And you are?" is one not usually used in 'working class' situations - so Rita mistakes it's meaning, and answers "I'm a what?". Frank then finds the form with Rita's name on it, and we then discover that 'Rita' is a pseudonym. The reason for this could be Susan's desire to make a fresh start, and therefore choosing a new name to do it under. This resolution is somewhat marred by the source of the name she adopts - imitating Rita Mae Brown, the author of a 'fantastic' yet undeniably trashy novel. This illustrates Rita's initial inability to differentiate between books and literature, a skill which she learns later on. However, most of the play deals with (not so surprisingly) educating 'Rita'; that is, the person Susan White decided to become and indeed developed into - so for the purposes of this essay she will remain Rita.
Our idea of the stereotype is quickly unravelled as Rita begins to comment on different issues. She makes witty observations such as "degrees for dishwashers" - commenting on the fact that the Open University will take anyone on for a course - which, along with her inquisitive questions and obvious desire to learn, lead us to realise that she is an intelligent (albeit poorly educated) woman. More about this education is learned in Act 1 Scene 2, where Rita describes her schooling as "ripped up books, broken glass everywhere, knives an' fights" and explains how peer pressure and what was expected of her by her family led her to fall into the view that "studyin' was just for the whimps" and that she couldn't be different from her friends. Rita then describes what she was expected to be 'into' - that is, music, clothes, and "lookin' for a feller...the real qualities of life", and when she realised that she could be living a more (intellectually as well as personally) fulfilling life; "y' have to decide...a change of dress or a change in yourself". This is one of the turning points in the play - perhaps the main one, as the others are stages in Rita's education, where she attains the next level of understanding in her search to find 'herself'. We get the impression that Rita, although opinionated and clever, lacks the tools and skills with which to express herself in a conventional way.
The main purpose of the first scene is to introduce the audience to the two main characters, and to show how their relationship begins - in fact gets off to a flying start. Rita and Frank, despite their class difference, are comfortable with each other almost immediately. This gives us an insight into how their friendship is based on mutual understanding that goes beyond education and backgrounds, and means that they are still friends at the end of the play. Frank is struck by Rita's enthusiastic, honest attitude, and describes her as "the first breath of fresh air in this room for years". Despite this understanding, Frank still treats Rita with perhaps less respect than she deserves. He learns to appreciate her more later on - but in the earlier scenes is still amazed by her lack of knowledge. He perhaps does not realise this - and his slightly patronising attitude may be due to a subconscious knowledge of the class divide between them. When Rita asks, quite suddenly, what assonance is (a basic technique), Frank laughs, perhaps before he has thought about it. We see that Rita, although aware of her deficiency in factual knowledge, is still proud - "Don't laugh at me". The difference in class - although not providing much of a barrier for Rita and Frank in most cases - is nevertheless evident as they talk about different issues. There are more of those misunderstandings that Russell uses to create comedy in the situation -
"you're a Flora man"
etc etc
