Willy Russell Wrote Educating Rita

Throughout the play Wily Russell successfully conveys the message that education is more than just passing exams. He does this by characterization, language, form and structure, society and history, all of which I will be covering in this essay. Wily Russell characterization of Frank and Rata allows the audience to be aware of each of their needs and exaggerates their changes by the end of the play. They act as needy educators, progressing, learning and teaching one another.Frank Is Rite's English professor, he Is drunken, delusional and generally, worn down by his circumstances such as his failed marriage and his Inability to continue writing his poetry, but he Is educated. Frank Is unhappy In life, we can see this as he has an excessive need to drink alcohol. In order to fuel his adulation he has taken on Open university applicants, â€Å"l suppose I did take it on to pay for the drink†. Wily Russell created Frank with a drink problem because it shows he is miserable in life , as he needs to drink to numb the pain and ignore his sadness.He is extremely self deprecating, â€Å"it's myself I'm not too fond of†, this is because he sees himself as being responsible for his failed marriage, he dislikes his robotic students and his poetry is unpublished, Frank knows that Rata will lose her originality, â€Å"you will have to abandon our uniqueness in order to pass examinations. I'm going to have to change you. â€Å", and therefore this Is a worry to him. These unfortunate events have led to Frank having a low self-esteem resulting in Franks abuse of his own body by way of drink.Frank Is a poor role model as he doesn't realism he needs to face his problems and change because he Is old, traditional, stuck In his ways, and thinks It's too late, this Is symbolized when Rata tells Frank to fit the door handle, Frank says â€Å"l suppose I always mean to† to which Rata responds â€Å"that's no good always meaning' to, is it? â€Å". I think this n essential part of Franks character because he needs someone to aid him and bring about the process of self-improvement, someone to show him that life is more than being unhappy and someone to boost his self-esteem, Rata.Rata is an opinionated, intimidated, open minded, honest, naive, working class, Lilliputian hairdresser going against expectations in order to seek an education. When asked by Frank, â€Å"What do you want to know? † she replies, â€Å"Everything†. Despite hurdles she has got to a position In life where she has the opportunity to change and she Is determined to do so, as she wants to know â€Å"everything†.Wily Russell has created Rata In this Individual unique manner, she neither fits the norms expected of her peers nor Franks ‘Robotic students', so that she is a breath of fresh air into Despite helping Frank later in the novel Rata becomes reluctant to do so as she starts to think that he is helpless, â€Å"If you could stop pouring th at Junk down your throat in the hope that it'll make you feel like a poet you might be able to talk about things that matter†. She realizes that he needs her more than she needs him and therefore moves further away from him.In the opening stages of the novel Rata is very eager ND determined to learn; this is unusual of Franks students and is the reason why he values her fresh uniqueness so highly. Wily Russell has given Rata great determination; this enables her to not only make significant changes to herself but also to change Frank because he admires her as do the audience, â€Å"l think you're marvelous†. Atone point in the play Frank is reluctant to educate Rata as he doesn't consider himself worthy to teach her without her Joining the ranks of his robotic students, however as usual Rata has the last word and wins Frank over.Wily Russell has characterized Rata and Frank in this manner so that they can learn room each other, although Frank sees his role in Rite's lif e as her educator he himself will be forced to accommodate significant changes in life by Rata. I think Wily Russell is very successful in reflecting on the whole of society's way of life through Frank and Rata, showing their differences and how education involves more than Just gaining knowledge of literature. It is important that as an audience we like the characters and we have a relationship with them so their well being becomes an interest to us.This makes the play more exciting and involves the audience because if something bad happens to the harassers it affects us too, if something good happens this affects us equally. A character can also be intentionally portrayed so that the audience dislike them, this still creates a relationship with the character and still involves the audience and an example of this portrayal of character is Denny. I felt angry when Denny burnt Rite's books because he was trying to deny Rata, an endearing character, of an education and I was happy whe n Rata moved out.Russell makes us sympathies with the two characters as he wants the audience to care for and be involved with Frank and Rata, also characteristic them to be endearing. He does this by making Rata confide in the audience and Frank as well as being extremely open. He makes Frank unhappy in life, miserable and self- deprecating. Instead of walking into the classroom and talking about literature Rata talks about other matters such as smoking â€Å"l hate smoking' on me own. An' everyone seems to have packed it in these days†, art â€Å"that's a nice picture, isn't it? And swearing, â€Å"it's the aristocracy that swears more than anyone†. When asked, â€Å"would you like to sit down? † by Frank she sharply replied â€Å"no! † as she is not a typical student. These hints of individuality make us like Rata because she is new to us as she is to Frank. Mire's the first breath of air that's been in this room for years†. She passionately tel ls us everything about herself and enjoys talking to us. We can see this as she says, â€Å"l talk too much, don't l? I know I talk a lot. I don't at home. I hardly ever talk when I'm there.But I don't often get the chance to talk to someone like you; her back and like her talking to us. We sympathies with Rata because she has had a hard time getting to a point at which she is able to have an education and she has difficulties in learning because of the issues at home. In Act 1 Scene 4 Rata tells us that she writes her essays at work because her husband doesn't like her doing it at home, â€Å"Denny gets dead marked if I work at home. He doesn't like me doing' this. I can't be bothered arguing' with him†.Some people may not sympathies with Rata because she often doesn't let Frank have a say, interrupts him and puts him in uncomfortable situations such as when she says â€Å"Look at those its†, this makes Rata seem over powering and insensitive towards Frank who is alr eady unhappy in life. The audience sympathies with Frank because he is unhappy in life and often puts himself own â€Å"Everything I know†¦ Is that I know absolutely nothing†. We feel sorry for Frank as we can see that he is a better person than he thinks he is. As we already have established that we like Rata the fact that she likes Frank makes us like him too.She tells Frank â€Å"If I'd got some other tutor I wouldn't have stayed† she also says he is scoring â€Å"ten out of ten† and tells him to â€Å"go to the top of the class an' collect a gold star†. We trust Rata that Frank is a good person. The popularity of a character is often dependent on another characters views, such as when Rata speaks badly of Denny, â€Å"l hint he's thick†, this hints towards what Dyne's character will be like in the play and straight away puts him down in the audiences eyes. People may not sympathies towards Frank in instances such as Act One, Scene Four whe n Frank gives Rata his work to criticism, â€Å"you want literacy criticism?I want an essay on this lot by next week† Frank could be seen as guilt tripping Rata because she will now be forced to return to Frank and speak badly of his work. This will be portrayed as hurting Frank as he is already fragile and could be seen as a nasty act on Rite's part, she will have to act superior to her professor and put him down. Frank misjudged Rite's character and put her in a potentially damaging situation, which caused Rata a lot of stress and discomfort, â€Å"What me? Some stupid woman who gives us all a laugh because she thinks she can learn† and â€Å"I'm a freak†.Franks efforts to include Rata in an upper class circle could have been seen as inconsiderate as she wasn't at the stage where she could comfortably fit in, he should have reassessed to situation to ensure he wasn't doing Rata any harm. Also, Franks reluctance to teach Rata could be seen as selfish because he is more concerned about himself losing her company than her being pappy. However, I believe that Frank was looking at the situation from both of their points of view; he was never trying to hurt or slow Rite's progression but instead, think what was best for her.As Rata becomes educated she learns about different aspects of literature such as sentimentality, subjectivity and literary criticism. She studies a number of authors and becomes knowledgeable of literature. We can see that Rata has learned about literature when Frank says â€Å"you recognize the hallmark of literature now'. She recites Blake from memory â€Å"O Rose, thou art sick† and is knowledgeable of him muff don't do Blake without doing Innocence and Experience†. She talks about Peer Gent, Blake and Shakespeare â€Å"We were talking about Shakespeare†.Rata can now make her own decisions about literature, Frank earlier commented that Rata would not â€Å"richer† if she looks â€Å"below th e surface†. Rite's newly acquired knowledge is vital in the role of the beginning of change. She uses her literary skills when talking to other students and making new friends. However this literature would not be important to her if she didn't want to change as she is using education to empower her, this would not be necessary if she did not desire change. Rata learns a lot about life throughout the play which shows that education is more than Just about passing exams.Rata learns that through education she can break away from the traditional expectations placed on a working class woman in the sass's and by the end of the play she realizes that education offers freedom to make choices in life. She also learns that education in itself does not provide a better life but does give her the empowerment to make change if she so wishes, â€Å"l might go to France, I might go to me mother's. I might even have a baby. I Dunn. I'll make a decision. I'll choose†. Education has giv en Rata a new unique outlook on people; she learns to see them for who they are and not for their class or literature knowledge.Through education Rata found new confidence in her ability to achieve much more than she ever thought possible, it opened up new horizons for her. By the end of the play Rata had knowledge of literature but more importantly she had a greater understanding of life. What Rata learned about literature will help her to pass exams and in the long run will only affect her in a small way compared with what she learned about life that will affect everything she does such as her thinking, reasoning, the way she treats others and herself.Education matured Rata and gave her skills and choices that will stay with her forever giving the message that education is about more than Just passing exams. Frank learns that he is a better teacher than he thought he was at the start of the play and learns to reinvent his teaching skills, â€Å"l wanted to come back an' tell y th at. That hay good teacher. † He sees that his knowledge has empowered Rata and has potentially made her happier.However, Frank may think that Rite's changes are bad ND feel responsible for Rite's loss of individuality as he did earlier in the play, â€Å"l shall insist upon being known as Mary, Mary Shelley', by saying this and referring to the author of Frankincense Frank is questioning his skills as a teacher because he think he has created a monster in Rata. Rite's open personality inspires Frank to face his problems more head on â€Å"If you could stop pouring that Junk down your throat in the hope that it'll make you feel like a poet you might be able to talk about things that matter†.In the earlier stages of the play Frank was hiding from problems such as his rink issues, unhealthy diet, relationships, lack of confidence and attitude towards Rite's education. Rata influences Frank because he sees the way she accommodates change in herself which in turn encourages him to take a close look at himself and the ways he too can change, she adds humor and Joy to his life helping him to not view himself so negatively.Following this process Frank learns to be more relaxed about life and face his problems rather than hiding behind his drunkenness, Rite's personality inspires Frank to be more light-hearted and reveal Franks true self. By he end of the play I think that Franks changes as a teacher are more important to him because he realizes that he has to power to influence people, now that he has discovered this it will be easier for him to practice and take into account when around him.What Frank learns as a person is still very important to him but by the end of the play he seems to forget all that he has learnt by reverting to his old ways, in Act Two Scene Three we find out that Frank gave a lecture drunk, â€Å"Passed? I was glorious! Fell off the rostrum twice† and says to Rata, â€Å"Sod them – no, buck them! , this shows that what Frank learnt wasn't as important to him because he choose to take the easy way out rather than the more beneficial way to himself. Russell uses Rite's language to show Rite's changes.At the start of the play Rata speaks in a crude and socially unacceptable manner. As she becomes educated she is inspired by Trash's dialect and mimics her choice of language. However, by the end of the play Rata reverts back to her old manners of talking like an uneducated woman. When Rata first meets Frank she speaks in a very strong Lilliputian accent and is very direct, she TTS people in uncomfortable positions, this can be seen when she starts to talk about an erotic painting using words such as â€Å"its†.Frank reacts to this by coughing and hastily looking down on some papers, this shows he is embarrassed talking about a sexual topic unlike Rata. Rite's language represents her as being uneducated, Frank speaks in a posh way, as he is educated; his vocabulary is wide and well chosen. T he different language makes it easy for the audience to realism and be reminded of their different backgrounds; language is a good comparison between the two characters. In the next scene Rata changes her language, she tries to speak like an educated upper class member, when asked â€Å"What's wrong with your voice? By Frank, Rata replies, â€Å"Nothing is wrong with it, Frank. I have merely decided to talk properly. As Trash says there is not a lot of point in discussing beautiful literature in an ugly voice. † Rata chooses to change her voice because she doesn't feel worthy of discussing poetry in her own â€Å"ugly' voice, she considers her newfound self to be of more importance than her uneducated self and therefore wants to rid of any relations to her old ways. She has lost her uniqueness and innocence that Frank valued so highly in her.I don't think this change in Rite's character is a positive one because it shows that Rata considers class and status to be more impor tant than a person, I think that this change will not make Rata any happier because she is only doing it to please Trash, and despite not knowing this at the time, it does not suit her other unique characteristics. By the end of the play Rata averts back to her original language, she says, â€Å"l Dunn. He's a bit of a wander really. But Vive never been abroad. An' me mother's invited me to here's for Christmas.I think this is because Rata has realized that language is an unimportant external change and doesn't make a person any happier. Rata is still liked by Frank despite her uneducated language possibly even more so because it gives her individuality. Rata language is probably similar to Russell own, as he is from Liverpool. Having Rata speak in such a manner makes the play appeals to people whose language is similar and will allow Rata to be easily related to by a wider audience. Wily Russell only has two characters in the play; this unusual amount helps exaggerate the differen ces between Frank and Rata.They create a culture clash as they were brought up in different manners; they have different backgrounds and now have different expectations for the future. In the past Frank was educated and grew up to live in â€Å"Former' an upper-class part of Liverpool. Now, he has lost all his aspirations and lives to drink, â€Å"l did take it on to pay for the educated because she thought â€Å"studio' was Just for wimps† and didn't try hard at school because it would have parted her from her friends, â€Å"if I'd started taking' school seriously I would have had to become different from me mates, an' that's not allowed†.Now, Rata wants an education, she wants to learn â€Å"everything† and her hopes for the future are to discover herself, â€Å"See, I want discover myself first. Do you understand that? † The two characters learn from each other. Russell has put Rata and Frank together because they educate each other, in terms other t han Just literature and examinations. They are moving towards one another's pasts and are both needy of each other. At this point in the novel Franks influences on Rata have been focused mainly in an academic sense, â€Å"assonance. Well, it's a form of rhyme†.Rata teachings have inspired Frank, â€Å"l think you're the first breath of air that's been in this room for years†; possibly even driving Frank away from his predicted future. Having two characters in the play makes it easier for the audience to hear Frank and Rite's opinions. It is easier for the audience to see how they are different I. E. In language. And finally, it makes the audience endear towards the characters because they are different and willing to help each other. We don't like one and dislike the other because we sympathies with them both and their different situations.However, there are some problems with having only two characters, the audience could get uninterested because of the lack of variet y created in the play. We only see the story from two different viewpoints and therefore have a limited understanding of the social effects and implications of the play. It could be difficult for the audience to fully understand the impact of the characters changes on Frank and Rite's family and friends as we are never given a first person account. Russell uses clever devices such as Dramatic Irony in the play.Dramatic Irony occurs whenever we see one of the characters say something negative of the other because we know they like each other through their body language and speech, â€Å"He glances at his watch, moves to the window, looks out, glances at his watch again and then moves across to the books. † In this case Franks body language clearly shows he is waiting with great anticipation for Rite's arrival. He also often compliments her to the point at which his efforts could be perceived as a little flirtatious, â€Å"irresistible thing like you†.Rite's speech indic ates she too likes Frank â€Å"Because you're a crazy mad pips artist who ants to throw his students out the window, an' I like you†. Rata shows her affection more openly than Frank despite her insult. The Dramatic Irony keeps Frank and Rite's relationship more interesting to the audience and makes the audience intent on watching the play as they want to know how their relationship ends. An interesting relationship is vital in this particular play because there are only two characters and so much of the play is dependent on their varying relation.The structure of the play changes throughout. In Act One Rata needed Frank to teach her, she was demanding, Hereford she controlled the action, said the most and always had the last say. However in the next act, Rata changes her voice and accent, attempting to speak like a member of the upper class and converses freely with Franks other students as she thinks she is educated and therefore is on their level. There is a dramatic revers e in roles at this point in the novel.It is now that Frank needs Rata, Frank needs to change doesn't need Franks help anymore and accuses him of trying to hold her back, now that she knows â€Å"what clothes to wear, what wine to buy, what plays to see, what papers and books to read†. Rata thinks differently to what she did before, Frank earlier commented that Rata would not â€Å"overcomplicated† Blake, but she now makes her decision that Flake's poetry is â€Å"richer† if she looks â€Å"below the surface†, this shows she doesn't think she needs Frank to tell her what to do anymore.The more Rata is changing the less dependent she becomes upon Frank. She makes independent decisions and believes she is better than Frank as she goes against his word, â€Å"l don't need you. Vive got a room full of books†. She adopts an opposite view to at the start of the play when she begged for Franks enlightening knowledge. Frank expresses his views to this chang e and says to Rata, â€Å"Found a new song to sing have you†, this suggests that Frank doesn't like Rite's change and thinks she is pretending to be something she's not.This change made me empathic with Frank because he is still interested in Rata and she is no longer interested in him. Frank has given Rata much throughout the course of the play and Rata seems unwilling to help Frank in return at his time of need. If I were to direct to play I would dress Rata in costume that symbolisms school life and education to exaggerate her change. She would be rearing a university scarf or Jumper apposed to cheap, second hand, common clothes representing an uneducated person of working class status, which she may have worn at the start of the play.Frank would be dressed in a messy, worn, suit and his classroom would be untidy and dusty especially the bookcase in order to exaggerate one well kept book hiding a supply of alcohol. The set is important because it is a part of Frank that is enticing for Rata, â€Å"I'm guan have a room like this one day. There's nothing phones about it. Everything in its right place. (After a pause. ) It's a mess. But it's a perfect mess. This use of costume and set would exaggerate both Frank and Rite's characters, providing a visual representation for the audience.Russell makes the audience think about society by using stereotypes and prejudices. His particular use of stereotyping raises a number of questions amongst the audience, concerning the following issues; society's influence, the government, the education system and personal values. Rata is a working class hairdresser, â€Å"you're a ladies hairdresser†, living on an estate in Liverpool, â€Å"our estate†, expected to stay at home and raise a family. This stereotypical working class woman trying to better resell makes us question our values.We ask ourselves whether or not it is right that society tells us what to do, is it right that Rata should be told to sta y at home with her harnessing husband and be forced to have a baby against her will, â€Å"Come off the pill, let's have a baby', or should Rata be allowed to push her family into uncertainty in attempting to better herself? In the 1970/sass the government overlooked the working class, they suffered due to the lack of investment made in the housing and schools, their chances in life were reduced and not cared about.The working class ere kept suppressed and unknowing so that they didn't start to question other peoples or the government's values. Most accepted the dreary situation, as it was hard to bring about change. Education empowered those who had it and those who audience see that it is not Rite's fault that she got into the miserable situation she did in life. Hearing of Rite's family personally made me angry as they conformed to typical stereotypes and were categorized by society, at first when reading the play I was cross that they couldn't see ahead and see any other aspect s of life other than theirs, â€Å"he's blind, he doesn't want to see†.However my mood and feelings towards Rite's family changed as my anger turned to sympathy. Denny is scared of change, he feels safe in his current situation because he knows it. He feels threatened by Rite's change and therefore he tries to stop her, â€Å"he'd burnt me books and papers†, Denny is not trying to change, unlike Rata Denny is following another stereotype, being uneducated he is not willing to change. He is safe in his world and doesn't want Rata to branch out and explore other aspects of life because this would mean change to Denny. Denny doesn't want to be affected; he thinks he is happy living in his cocoon.If Rata gets an education Denny will lose control and will no longer be able to conform to societies expectations of a man to provide. I felt sorry for Denny because to him Rata was having an affair with education, â€Å"Rata: You'd think I was having' a bloody affair. Frank: Are n't you? † This has the same effect to Denny as it would is Rata had an affair with a man, however having an affair with another man would be socially unacceptable and Denny would receive more support, instead he would be left â€Å"wondering' where the girl he married has gone†.By Rite's family going out, getting drunk and singing, â€Å"l .NET into the pub an' they were singing', all of them singing'. † They are accepting their situation but also trying to escape from it at the same time. Rite's mother says to her â€Å"there are better songs to sing than this†, this metaphor means that the family could be doing better for themselves. Rata wants to get away from this, she probably sees herself in her family and realizes that she needs to move on. Information about Trash affects us in two very different ways.At first Rata builds a picture that enables us to form an impression of an educated, refined woman from an educated family, Know she's dead classy. Y . Now like, she's got taste, Winnow like you Frank†, this information makes the audience happy because Trash now symbolisms what Rata is aspiring to and Rata is closer to achieving her goal of bettering herself. When Trash attempts to commit suicide we are distraught because Rite's dreams have been shattered, â€Å"l thought she was so cool an' together – I came home the other night an' she'd tried to top herself. Magic isn't it? â€Å".Rata has been crushed by someone she longs to be. The information makes us cross because we like Rata and sympathies with her. Wily Russell suggests there is a middle ground between the working class and the upper lass by making Rata a freethinker and giving her educated views on all aspects of society, â€Å"Just because you think we're all O. K. , that we're all surviving', with the spirit intact† and â€Å"he's blind, he doesn't want to see†, Rite's thoughts and attitudes toward the world are broad and are not limited like those of her family she can reflect on her own situations and is not â€Å"blind†.Without these views Rata would be part of the stereotypical working-class, this can be seen by Franks prejudice views on Rata before and after he meets her, he starts by saying â€Å"some silly woman's attempt to get into he mind of Henry James† and after meeting her changes his views and speaks fondly of her, describing her as â€Å"funny, delightful, and charming†. Rata feels as though she is out of place with her family yet also does not feel comfortable with Frank and his associates.My opinions on a middle ground based on Russell suggestions are that the middle ground is a classification of working class that aren't ‘stuck in a rut'. A middle ground is based on thoughts and attitudes such as Rite's open-minded thoughtful views. Choices in education in the 1970/sass's seem limited, especially to the working class. Just by writing the play Russell make's the point that it is highly unusual that a working class woman is having a higher education.Attitudes were also very bad concerning school and education, Rata tells us about her past views about school, â€Å"studying' was Just for wimps† and she is surprised she got another chance to go to university and get a higher education, â€Å"l was dead surprised when they took me†. In the early sass's it was even possible to leave school and start work at the age of 15, choices in education have changed vastly as it is now an accepted norm that a woman such as Rata could go to university.The descriptions of the education system make us cross as the government at that time didn't care much for education and a lack of investments were input to the education system. Rata shows that the old education system failed many that had the potential to be educated. However, she also shows us that against all odds you can achieve the unexpected. Russell makes the main point that education can be a form of escape; it doesn't provide all the answers but gives a person choice and empowerment. Education makes a person consider all the options and look at life from different aspects.Education is always the fuel behind improvements made in the characters and shows that Russell thinks educations main purpose is to improve upon oneself. Wily Russell is extremely successful at teaching us lessons about the purpose of education as most of the lessons learnt show that education is about more than Just passing exams. I think â€Å"Educating Rata† brilliantly raises themes of social class, education, relationships and personal changes; the play is a credit to Russell skills as a writer as he writes about serious issues in a comical manner, which attracts an extremely widened audience.