Gains and Losses in Educating Rita
The question of what Rita gains in Educating Rita is quite easy to answer. What she loses is less obvious. Her intention is to gain a college education and she largely succeeds in this. On the way you could say she loses her job and her husband, but it is worth asking whether these are really losses to the person Rita, or rather Susan, becomes.
The play follows just over a year in Rita's life and shows her gradual progress in an English Literature course. At first Rita knows she wants to do the course but not how to do well in it. It seems that she would rather do anything but talk about literature in the early lessons but she gradually gains confidence and skill in her speech and writing. A good example of her progress is her response to Macbeth. Initially she does not understand how to write about it and produces a 'crap' essay. Frank explains that the essay is not bad in terms of a personal response to the play but it does not fulfil the criteria of the course she is doing. Rita accepts this and resolves to write the essay again.
Rita's education goes far beyond just reading and responding to books however. When she first comes to the university she is impressed and even a little intimidated by the intelligent people she sees around her. By the end of the play she is able to tell them when they are speaking nonsense and join in their conversations as an equal. Success in her literature course has thus given her greater confidence in the wider world.
Willy Russell shows that for Rita, education involves a move out of her original social class and away from the values of her family and friends. This could be seen as a loss for her, but in moving beyond her working class background she gains in self-respect and self-confidence so that she is better able to handle the challenges of life. The most obvious thing she loses is her husband. From what Rita says, they seem to get on well enough, but Denny doesn't understand her wish to be educated.
In the book the character Lavaughn is the type of person who cares about her education because she wants to get somewhere in life. Lavaughn tries her best to keep her grades up because she wants to get into college. Lavaughn is so focused on going to college because according to pg 10 chapter 4 her mother says “ nobody in this building Ever went to college, nobody in this family “Somebody got to be the first, right”. With her mother making these statements, Lavaughn want to pursue her goal to go to college.In addition, Lavaughn is a very determined person. For example, Lavaughn was looking for jobs that were being offered when she was at school.She found a job babysitting for another teenager named Jolly. Finally, Lavaughn would also be considered to be a caring person. Lavaughn is caring because, when she had to babysit, she was sacrificing her education to babysit Jolly’s two children. For instance, on page 27 it says that Jolly was gone for two days and Lavaughn had to stay home from school for a whole day. Also on page 21, chapter 8, it says that “Myrtle and Annie saw me skipping lunch to finish my math”. This shows how Lavaughn happens to be a caring, persist, and helpful person.
One of Miss Moore's defining qualities is her intelligence. Her academic skills and self-presentation is noticeable through her college degree and use of “proper speech” (Bambara, 385). Miss Moore also makes her intelligence evident from the methods she uses to teach Sylvia and the other children. Unlike planting them in classrooms, she takes them out on trips to show them the real world. Despite all the insults she receives from th...
due to weak funding in the educational system. Milloy makes the readers wonder why certain schools do not live up to the standards of others in nearby towns. Although a play ground was built for this school, Maurice may never be able to play on it because he must learn how to walk, talk, and eat all over again. People take forgranted the daily rituals of life and if put in the shoes of a parent of this boy, one would realize how tragic this accident was and even the effects the education system has.
The play’s major conflict is the loneliness experienced by the two elderly sisters, after outliving most of their relatives. The minor conflict is the sisters setting up a tea party for the newspaper boy who is supposed to collect his pay, but instead skips over their house. The sisters also have another minor conflict about the name of a ship from their father’s voyage. Because both sisters are elderly, they cannot exactly remember the ships name or exact details, and both sisters believe their version of the story is the right one. Although it is a short drama narration, Betty Keller depicts the two sisters in great detail, introduces a few conflicts, and with the use of dialogue,
Her father insisted that his children be educated, so he called for a tutor. The Dandridge children had lessons in the mornings before breakfast, Martha always dreaded them, especially spelling. She would much rather be out playing than sitting inside learning how some words were not spelled the same was as they sounded. Although these studies seemed like a waste of time then, later she would find that they would become quite useful.
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
Gene therapy works by introducing new and functioning genetic material to damaged genes to help it function and to produce beneficial proteins. If a gene is inserted directly into a cell, it usually will not function. So to complete this task, a vector, a modified virus is used to carry and deliver the new gene. There are two different categories of vectors than can be utilized in this process; recomb...
Evidence of Shakespeare Not Writing His Plays How would the world react if they found out the famous William Shakespeare did not write his plays? If the conspiracy that Shakespeare was not the actual author of his words was revealed to be true, the world would be devastated. The issue is that Shakespeare might not have written his plays. Prior knowledge of this matter is that there are no records of Shakespeare ever going to school. Other knowledge is that he did not travel enough to describe his settings.
Li, Julang. "Mechanisms Involved in Targeted Gene Replacement in Mammalian Cells." Genetics. Vol. 156, 809-821. Oct. 2000.
Oscar Wilde once said, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught". On reading "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, I realized that education played a role in the plot of the story. Dee Johnson's College education helped developed her egotistical character which became her utmost flaw. Does education shape ones character? And is it really a positive thing in all circumstance?
Edmondson, Paul, and Stanley Wells, eds. Shakespeare Beyond Doubt: Evidence, Argument, Controversy. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, n.d. Print.
Education is a social problem that is very prominent in the world today. Education affects not only children currently attending school, but what they do when they are older. It affects where someone may end up later in their life, what job they will have, and how much money they will be making. Unfortunately, not everyone graduates high school, goes to college, and earns a high paying job. The cards some people are dealt can be much different, and education today arises as a social problem because of income, family life, and the area someone lives. These three areas can really help someone in their education, but it can also set them back.
The importance and worth of education is first conveyed at the beginning of the film through the conflicts and differences between Erin, several of the other teachers and members of the school board. An extract from one of the first dialogues between Erin and Margaret, is the first sign of how education is going to be perceived throughout the film. The quote, “By the time you’re defending a kid in a courtroom, the battle’s already lost. I think the real fighting should happen here, in the classroom,” said by Erin to Margaret, evidently displays her view that acquiring an education is vital to secure a sound and prosperous future. By “fighting” I believe Erin is trying to indicate her belief that guiding some students along the correct path can ...
A mere mention of the term theatre acts as a relief to many people. It is in this place that a m...
Shakespeare got married to Anne Hathaway. He was 18 and Hathaway was 26 at the time.