Essay Changes in Rita's Character throughout Educating Rita

Rita Dove was born August 28, 1952. She was born in Arkon, Ohio. Her spouse was Fred Viebahn, her mother was name Elvira Hord, her father was Ray Dove, and their beautiful daughters name was Aviva Dove-Viebahn. She has officially started everything she loves to do and will continue to do what she loves to do, she really enjoys making poetry and quotes.

Many elders of color will share their stories with you if given the opportunity. Stories on how the United States changed their lives in both a positive and negative way. Stories describing their upbringing, family, traditions, culture and religious beliefs. I was lucky enough to interview Rita, an elder of color. From her stories, you are able to see how she has battled with life from all different angles.

“The History Boys” and “Educating Rita” have common themes running through the spine of each text, regarding formal education and learning for self-satisfaction. The History boys tells the story of 8 academic working and middle class boys from a grammar school in Sheffield whom are applying for Oxford and Cambridge university in the 1980’s and are studying intensely to succeed. Their teachers, Hector and Irwin have a conflicting approach to education. Irwin teaches the boys specifically how to pass their exams but contrarily Hector teaching style encourages learning for the purpose of obtaining knowledge. Bennett comments on these differing types of education via the characters of Hector and Irwin. Educating Rita, set also in the 1980’s and located in Northern England is about a woman who enters the world of formal university education as a mature student on an Open University course. She has never had a strict and authentic education as she comes from a working class background, so she wants to prove to herself that she can triumph and live a better life. Both scripts imply that formal education can be obtained, however at the compromise of individual intellectual flare and distinctiveness. Initially in the text, Rita and the group of boys both are unrefined, raw and sincere with their way of viewing and analysing scholarly stimulus. However they both lose this quality as the plays progress due to the education system moulding them to pass exams and not to obtain wisdom.

“Moving into an unfamiliar world will always be accompanied by challenges but such transitions create an environment for personal growth”

Finally, Woodrow and Rita’s relationship also subsides along with the hope of finding Elaine. Their relationship with each other showed no signs of weakness in the beginning. In fact, when Rita says, “She ain’t in her room,” to Woodrow in regards to Elaine, she proceeds to kiss his forehead as if it were an everyday ritual (Jones . Once the couple became worried about where Elaine could be, we are especially warmed by their love when Jones writes, “Rita, in the last blocks of their apartment, leaned into her husband and his warmth helped to put her to ease” (Jones 736). Clearly they depend and take comfort in one another. It’s heartbreaking when Rita states toward the end of the story, “I know what you have been doing and who you've been doing

The society we live in distorts our own unique desires and goals. When in a workplace or community it puts more pressure and expectation on individuals’ goals, warping them until a point where one identifies what they truly want and breaks the mould and expectations of society to do this. Examining texts such as ‘Educating Rita’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ in addition to my own personal experience will bring forth an understanding of how society affects growing up and transition into new phases of life into a larger world.

Significant experiences in people’s lives provide opportunities for growth and development. Going ‘into the world’ means moving from familiar experiences to new horizons. When going from familiar experiences to new ones, obstacles are usually overcome before being totally successful. Individuals might be given advice and/or guided through the transformation to reaching new horizons. Great rewards and opportunities also come about while going through the process of growth and development. The script of Educating Rita, by Willy Russel, about the transformation of a woman going into the world, is great proof for the persuasion of the statement, as well as a visual text from the Sunday telegraph called, Two Boys in Redfern.

Educating Rita was written in 1980 by the playwright Willy Russell and is one of his most famous plays to date. Since the play has many similarities to Russell’s life, it is viewed as a semi-autobiographical play containing certain similarities to his life; for example both he and Rita were female hairdressers and were under-educated at school. The play is written as a comedy and shows the change in character and personality of a young

When I was in sixth grade, I could not understand English at all. So I could not do homeworks by myself. My parents were worried about it and they asked Dr. Browning , who was the ESOL teacher, for help. She suggested to do the tutoring with Mrs.Adams.

"Educating Rita" displays the major changes that occur in the main character, an initially narrow minded, outspoken and socially naïve Liverpudlian trapped by her working class life. Rita thinks an increase in intelligence and worldly knowledge will change this, and set her "free". She strives to change classes, and although is different from her working class peers, she still isn 't ready to be accepted as middle class. She aims to reach her goal through an Open University course, yet naively thinks knowing what books to read and clothes to wear will allow her to immediately become accepted as part of her chosen social strata. Change is a major part of the play, affecting Rita in both positive and negative ways. It shows how the influence of education helps to bring about these changes, and how eventually Rita is able to overcome and negative problems and settle on a happy balance. Rita is also molded by her tutor, Frank, and learns a great deal from him, whilst also teaching him in many ways.

The novel Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid is about a little girl named Annie and her life as she grows up. Annie is thrown into an unfamiliar world as things begin to change around her. She is tries to deal with it by lying and keeping secrets which makes her more calculative and immoral.

Willy Russell, a famous playwright presents this two character dramatic piece following the story of Susan White, a 26 year old working class woman, with a passion for education and self-discovery. She strives to be a certified member of the middle class, believing that education is the key to gaining more choices in life. By changing her name to ’Rita’, after the author Rita Mae Brown, she hopes to breach the limitations of her class, and progress further with the help of her tutor Frank, under the illusion that education will set her free. Directly reflecting the society in 1985, when the play is set, Russell through the use of political satire, and simple slapstick, conveys the social division, gender inequality and stereotypes in this play. Political satire is a significant part of comedy with the purpose of ridiculing social and political failures through the use of wit, irony, and humour.

Rachel is Melinda’s former best friend. Rachel is snotty and changed her name to Rachelle. She isn’t my favorite character because she dropped Melinda without knowing the whole story. Rachelle says “ I hate you” to Melinda. She said that because Melinda called the cops at a party so everyone assumed she called the cops to come break up the party.

In the novel Educating Rita you see how a person can transform, from a person who can´t find herself to a person who gets more independent and know who she is and how to be glad about the person she has become. The novel is written by the author Peter Chepstow and is a novelized version of the screenplay by Willie Russell.

‘Educating Rita’ explores the way in which a woman, in her late twenties, Rita, has to deal with everyday life, conflict change and different phases as she becomes educated. The play is based on Willy Russell’s own life. At the start of the play, Frank is a more relaxed character. Rita is a hyper and open minded character, searching for adventure. She comes from the working class society and tries to become educated and well respected. Frank on the other hand is from the upper-class society, well educated but has lost most of his respect through drinking. As the play progresses Frank starts to show a romantic and affectionate side of himself towards