Act One, Scenes Six and Seven in Educating Rita :: Educating Rita Plays Willy Russell Essays

Act One, Scenes Six and Seven in Educating Rita Re-read Act 1 scenes 6 and 7 of Educating Rita. How does Willy Russell suggest that these scenes are important stages in Rita's development? When we speak of the way that Rita is educated we speak of two different types of education. Frank is Rita's teacher for both these types of education as he is a person who Rita looks up to and 'idolises' to an extent. Not only is she educated in English Literature to gain a qualification, but also she is also educated to make the transition from the lower social class towards the middle one. Rita also sees Frank as someone to look up to, as he is where she wants to be in life. Scenes six and seven come roughly half way through the play. This is significant because we are looking at Rita halfway through her challenge of gaining an Open University degree and her challenge of becoming the person she truly wants to be. The play is centred on two main characters, Frank, a middle class, alcoholic University tutor and Rita, a working class, scouse hairdresser, who are very different. Rita decides to enrol on an Open University English Literature course in order to try to create a better life for herself. Her tutor for this course is Frank. However at first Frank tells Rita to find a new tutor, but Rita refuses and they continue to work together. Frank's fondness for Rita continues to grow over time and he warms to her and her witty, individualistic nature. However Rita's quest to further her knowledge is troubled by her husband Denny's disagreement with what she is doing. Yet this simply fuels Rita's ambition more and leaves her hungry for success. Rita is more passionate about gaining the qualification than ever when she goes to see a production of 'Macbeth,' so much so, in fact, that she even buys the book. Rita shows how much her relationship with Frank means to her when she goes to tell him first thing the next day: ' But listen, it wasn't borin' it was bleedin' great honest, ogh, it done me in.' Having watched the professional production, Rita displays excitement and enthusiasm and has an eagerness for more. Rita's attitude changes from her expectations of a boring play to sheer astonishment that she enjoys it so much. Rita watches with an open mind and she herself is surprised that she enjoyed the play and the general atmosphere so much. She expresses this to Frank by informing him that at one point she wanted to stand up and shout: 'I was on the edge of me seat at