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Educating Rita

Educating Rita. Good Morning S5!. In today’s lesson… Act 1 Scene 5 Characterisation – Rita and Frank Tragedy. Act 1 Scene 5. Summary Rita reveals that Denny has burned all her books. Frank gives Rita the opportunity to end the course.

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Educating Rita

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  1. Educating Rita

  2. Good Morning S5! • In today’s lesson… • Act 1 Scene 5 • Characterisation – Rita and Frank • Tragedy

  3. Act 1 Scene 5 Summary • Rita reveals that Denny has burned all her books. • Frank gives Rita the opportunity to end the course. • The audience is given a deeper insight into Frank’s drink problem and his inability to write poetry anymore.

  4. Act 1 Scene 5 • “Denny found out I was on the pill again; it was my fault, I left my prescription out. He burnt all me books.” • Read pages 51-53. • Why is Rita’s marriage beginning to break down? • Do you have any sympathy for Denny?

  5. Act 1 Scene 5 • Rita states that it is as if she is having an affair, when actually, all she is doing is “finding herself.” • She realises that this is the root of her marital problems – she has changed in her quest to find herself and Denny doesn’t recognise her. • “…he’s wondering where the girl he married has gone to…she’s gone an’ I’ve taken her place.”

  6. Act 1 Scene 5 • There is a turning point for Rita in this scene. • Frank offers her the chance to give up the course and she immediately responds, “No. No!” • Page 52/53 • Rather than talk about her marriage problems, Rita prefers to talk about Chekhov. • She claims that it is literature that is “providin’ me with life.”

  7. Act 1 Scene 5 Frank • Read pages 54-57 • Why do you think Frank drinks heavily? • How would you describe his relationship with Julia?

  8. Act 1 Scene 5 • Alcohol gives Frank confidence; • “The great thing about the booze is that it makes one believe that under all the talk, one is actually saying something.” • His poetry was so finely crafted and academic in its style that it was devoid of life – it was too dry and intellectual. • “Instead of creating poetry, I spent years trying to create literature.”

  9. Act 1 Scene 5 • There is a clear parallel between Frank’s criticism of his own poetry and the way he is educating Rita. • Just as his poetry is emotionally barren, so he is pushing Rita in the same direction. • The more educated she becomes, the less flamboyant her language and behaviour. • Instead of responding to texts naturally and with honesty, from the heart, she learns to use her mind to analyse in a cold and characterless fashion.

  10. Act 1 Scene 6 Summary • Rita talks excitedly about her visit to the theatre. • During the scene, Rita realises she has left a customer under the hairdryer. • Frank invites Rita to his home for a party.

  11. Act 1 Scene 6 • Read pages 59-63 • What is Rita’s reaction to Macbeth? • What is Frank’s definition of tragedy? • Can you find any more examples of Frank’s attraction to Rita?

  12. Act 1 Scene 6 • Rita is excited and enthusiastic about the play – she has rushed to Frank’s office in her dinner hour to tell him about it. • She still finds it difficult to express her ideas. • “Wasn’t his wife a cow, eh?” • The audience are reminded of her limitations – she lacks appropriate critical/academic vocabulary.

  13. Act 1 Scene 6 TRAGEDY • ‘A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavourable circumstances.’ • In what ways does Frank have tragic flaws?

  14. Act 1 Scene 7 Summary • Rita explains why she couldn’t bring herself to attend the dinner party. • She describes her Saturday evening in the pub with her family. • She is briefly tempted back to her old way of life.

  15. Act 1 Scene 7 • Read pages 65-68 • Why does Rita not go to the party? • Why does her mother cry in the pub? • Why does she ultimately decide to stick with the course?

  16. Act 1 Scene 7 • This is a pivotal scene in Rita’s development. • Russell undercuts the seriousness of the situation with humour; “It was Spanish.” • Rita wants to become a different person, but at this stage in the play she is trapped between two worlds; • “I can’t talk to the people I live with anymore. An’ I can’t talk to the likes of them on Saturday, or them out there, because I can’t learn the language. I’m a half-caste.”

  17. Act 1 Scene 7 • The invitation to dinner was a symbolic act. • To attend the party would mean that Rita would be accepted in Frank’s social circle. • However, Rita knows that she is not quite ready for this transition. • She knows in her heart that she doesn’t have the knowledge, language or style of the middle-class academics just yet.

  18. Act 1 Scene 7 • The night in the pub is a turning point for Rita. • When she notices her mother crying, Rita vows never to end up like her, who clearly feels unfulfilled in her life. • For Rita, education represents a route out of her working class background and away from a life of drudgery. • Just like her mother, Rita is searching for a new song to sing.

  19. Act 1 Scene 8 Summary • Rita leaves Denny • Despite her problems, she wants to carry on as normal. • Frank and Rita discuss her essay on Macbeth.

  20. Act 1 Scene 8 • Read pages 69-71 • How do we know Rita is determined to change? • Why is Frank unsure?

  21. Act 1 Scene 8 • Denny has issued an ultimatum – “stop comin’ here an’ come off the pill or get out altogether.” • Rita wants to discuss her Macbeth essay instead of home troubles. • Frank thinks her essay is “a totally honest, passionate account..” but in terms of passing exams, it is “worthless.” • Rita’s strength and determination are clear at the end where she rips up her essay and starts again.

  22. Act 1 Scene 8 Important points • The break up of Rita’s marriage is the last tie with her former life and she is now free to develop as she pleases. • Any sympathy we felt for Denny now disappears when we consider how he has restricted her intellectual growth. • Frank recognises that to change Rita may not be positive. • “I don’t know that I want to teach you. What you already have is valuable.”

  23. Act 1 Scene 8 • The destruction of her marriage is a direct result of her education. • It is clear to Frank that in training Rita to change her vibrant character, he is actually negating all the features that attracted him to her in the first place. • “I’m going to have to change you.” • A highly dramatic end to the first act.

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