Educating Rita - Studying act 2 scene 4 and 5.
Act 4 and 5 contains the dramatic climax of the play. The relationship
between Frank and Rita reaches a crisis point. Following these scenes
the relationship between them changes significantly. There is a
complex number of underlying themes to the way in which the leading
characters interact with each other. In acts four and five each of
these themes are challenged and changed. It is clear that these
changes are hurtful to the characters but they both realise they have
benefited from each other. This is romantic comedy the scenes being
reviewed are the storm before the calm of the happy ending. The
relationship between Frank and Rita is left as a question mark, a
cliff-hanger. What is certain is the benefit that both characters have
had from this relationship.
Frank and Rita's relationship can be seen from a number of main
aspects or themes. The first, appearing early in the play is the fact
that they are potential lovers. There had been signs of flirting
between Frank and Rita such as "Why didn't you walk into this room
twenty years ago?"
We again realise there is a sexual element in their relationship as
old, staid Frank is jealous of 'Tiger.' He asks Rita in act two scene
four "Is Mr Tyson one of your customer's?" Frank feels threatened by
Tiger who is younger and more dynamic and involved than him. Frank
jealousy is probably provoked by Rita saying "They're not trapped
they're too young for that. And I like to be with them." It would seem
that not only Tiger has taken a liking to Rita but Rita seems to
reciprocate.
In act four when Rita talks about how she finds "Tiger fascinating."
The stage directions show Frank turning his back on her as he doesn't
want to show Rita his true emotions and the pain he is feeling, for
the fear of being rejected and mocked. The intimate personal nature of
their row in these scenes would indicate a deep emotional
relationship. They are very personal with their comments, and seem to
know each others weak points. Frank's problem with drink and Rita
refers to him as "Mr Self-Pitying Piss Artist." In addition she
accuses him of letting opportunities pass him by and not taking
advantage of his position and talents "It's little to you who
squanders ever opportunity and mocks and takes it for granted."
Frank's response to these personal criticisms is to satirise Rita's
new found place in the middle class society. "Found a culture have
you, Rita? Found a better song to sing have you?
The play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams first opened in Boston in November 1947. It also opened later that year in New York and ran for 855 performances. It shows a confrontation between the Old South and traditional values and the materialistic and industrial ‘new’ America. This turbulent confrontation is shown through the characters of Blanche and Stanley, with Blanche’s sister Stella caught in the middle. It was written after The Great Depression and the American Civil War. The novel Atonement by Ian McEwan was first published in 2001. It is set in 1935 and is about Briony a 13 year old girl who make a mistake that dramatically changes the lives of her sister Cecilia and her childhood friend Robbie. She spends the rest of her life trying to atone for what she did.
“I wouldn’t do a thing like that. Why would I do a thing like that?” she said.
Chapter 1 of The Power of Guidance talks about the theory that teachers must be patient. In Nancy Webber 's article “Guidance or Punishment” she addresses the behavior of a student, Ryan, and questions if having more patience will help his teacher in helping him learn. She goes on to explain why she is uncomfortable with correlating this term with teaching due to the context of it being used in unpleasant situations (2). Rather, she believes that she has little patience because of her passion to teach. In her opinion, a person whom dislikes teaching and working with children has more patience. Instead, she defines this behavior as a part of development and believes that teachers should accept that aspect of their jobs. It is this key understanding that separates a good teacher from a poor one. If a teacher wants to help their student, they need to be willing to help them to find ways to appropriately display their emotions, rather than tollerate their behaviors and use patience to control the situation.
“I know I’m starting at a very young age. Not even fifteen and already so independent- that’s a little hard for other people to understand. I’m pretty sure Margot would never kiss a boy unless...
Sadly, the characters revealed in The Joy Luck Club have personal histories so complicated by cultural and emotional misunderstandings that their lives are spent in failed attempts to cross the chasms created by these circumstances.
Anne Beiler, the founder of Aunt Anne’s Pretzels was born into an Amish family. She then left the Amish lifestyle when she married her husband at the age of nineteen. She stated that the professionals stated that, “Auntie Anne’s should have never happened.” She also stated that the business professionals stated that her company should have never been successful because she was missing the three main things that make a successful business. First, she was missing capital. Secondly, she was also missing a business plan. Lastly, she did not have any formal education.
to dig deep into the core of the matter. Here Rafe is shown as a very
Education provides unique experiences to everyone. These experiences are not depended on the individual’s personal backgrounds or social statuses. According to Jane Thompson, a scholar in education, the process of education can either be a restriction on creativity or a “practice of freedom.” In Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, the protagonist’s experience through the Open University is a practice of freedom as she is provided with the opportunities to express her thoughts and discover her own limits. There is an internal struggle within Rita as the new environment threatens to erase her past life. Rita is able to maintain her practice of freedom through the help of Frank, whom provides her with a welcoming and encouraging learning environment.
“The guys really get to know each other on a personal level and I think that
The Crucible is an incredibly influential play no only in the fact that it displays many important themes, but it also portrays how a theocracy impacts societal actions. The Salem witch trials were the culmination of the problems with theocracy. The actions of society, not only are impacted by their personal thoughts, but also in religious undertones affect them. Act two in the play portrays not only all of these themes, but also some important events leading towards the witchcraft hysteria. Act two in the play portrays how theocracy ultimately leads to chaos.
For this assignment, I decided to do my film review on To Kill a Mockingbird (Mulligan, R., & Pakula, A. (Directors). (1962). To Kill a Mockingbird[Motion picture on VHS]. United States of America.) I have a personal connection to this film because it is one of my most beloved novels by Harper Lee. I have never watched the film so it was a nice experience to see the characters I have loved for years come to life just before my eyes. The film particularly focuses on a white family living in the South of the United States in the 1930s. The two siblings, Jem and Scout Finch, undergo major changes while experiencing evil and injustice in their small town of Maycomb. Jem and Scout’s father is named Atticus and he is a well-respected man in the town as well as being a lawyer.
“But before they do it I want you to try and remember what it was like to have been very young.”
do with a bit of something different in his life and this is why he
In the play Educating Rita, Willy Russell uses many dramatic devices to develop the themes and characters. By doing this he is able to build up an image of the characters and themes in the audience’s head. One of the main ways he does this is through characterisation. The two main characters (and the only ones we actually see) are Frank and Rita. These two characters couldn’t be any more different. Frank is a University lecturer in English Literature with a drink problem. He had a failed marriage and is in a struggling relationship with ‘Julia’. However he does appear to have a comfortable middle class lifestyle and has written some poetry in his time. Rita is a working class, 26 year old hairdresser who has taken the big step of enrolling on to an Open University literature course. She is married to a man called Denny, he objects to the course as it means Rita been away from home and leaving her social life within the community behind her. When these two meet a whole can of worms is opened and many amusing, sad and entertaining events take place.
in his office to Rita. He tells her that he "sometimes get an urge to