Within Educating Rita it could be argued that Russell is trying to depict an aspect of conflict within class and culture in the UK- the play itself being in the context of the country during the 1980’s where the rise of Thatcherism grasped many industrialised areas of Britain, thus Russell attempts to depict the importance of education with in this era to those who wanted to escape from the lower end of the social scale. This directly affects one of the two characters in the play, Rita. Who- due to a working-class background- feels held back in life; bringing us to the rising action within the play. Willy Russell begins to create an image of Rita in Act I Scene 1, as a woman who has wasted her life on simply living the social normalities …show more content…
Furthermore Russell begins to explore the development of Rita’s education in the play- this can be seen in Act 1 scene 6, here Frank has invited Rita to a dinner party however she did not attend said arrangement due to Rita’s lack of confidence in herself as a modern, ‘upper-class’ woman and this causes Frank to doubt her will-power especially in her studies and education. This uncertainty within her self exhibits the still existing class divide between the two characters and can be seen where Rita begins to briefly explain her reasons for not coming along to Franks dinner however when she elaborates it becomes clear there is still a clash of cultures in their lifestyles and Russell depicts this through means of a pun; ‘It was Spanish’ This brings across the idea that Rita feels, despite her best efforts at becoming an educated woman, she is ultimately reverting back to her looming social status which Frank doesn’t believe is holding her back but is an image of her underlying character which he finds so individual and makes her an interesting woman. Russell used the dinner party almost symbolically to resemble the threshold at which Rita currently stands at- despite all of this newly found intelligence she still cannot dwell with those who have possessed this ‘knowledge’ for a significantly longer amount of time thus having a vague understanding of how one prepares and co-habits with others
A prime instance of this is when Willy feels insulted and responds, “I got a job, I told you that. What the hell are you offering me a job for?” (Miller 43). From Willy’s response, it is evident that he feels insulted, even though Charley just wants to help him out in his time of need. This would influence the family dynamic because any conversation with genuine words can be misinterpreted by Willy and turn into an argument. As a result, Willy’s family will try to resist interaction with Willy to prevent any misunderstandings and preserve any family bonds they have. Dementia is at fault again because the illness has turned Willy into an ignorant old man. Lastly, the final behavioural symptom that Willy exhibits is socially inappropriate behaviour (Lewis 1744). Willy displays this symptom when he yells at Howard and then exclaims “[m]y God, I was yelling at him! How could I!” (Miller 82). After Willy calms down, he realizes his actions were not socially appropriate and in disbelief that he would do such a thing. Willy’s reaction to his mistake proves that he knows the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour; consequently,
Priestley believed that the upper classes have wealth and influence and therefore have responsibility for the way in which society is organised. He argues that the upper classes control what happens to the lower classes and that this power must be exercised with care. He is trying to convey to the audience the need for personal responsibility and also responsibility for the way in which our actions affect others. In the play Priestley explores the diverse aspects of responsibility.
The play also arguably acts as a critique of Victorian-Era notions of middle class philanthropy towards the poor who believed themselves to be socially superior and had severe moral judgements towards the poor. It also represents the differences and the struggles between the younger and older generation. “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine and that I see him fairly frequently.” This quote clearly suggests that Mr. Birling is trying to bully the inspector through his status and authority in society and the power he has over him, Mr. Birling is comprehending that he is more important than the officer. He believes that having political and social power over people makes him all-powerful, even when he refers to the working class or the middle class. He thinks that the working class is just there to serve you as a labor. Mr. Birling suggests that the working class are not worth crying over, when he uses the quote ‘Several hundred women’ he sees Eva as just one of those worthless girls who worked at his money-making factory. This shows us his overall mindset that all his workers had not more value to him than that they were workers who just earned profits for him. By saying “they keep changing” he shows the readers that he wouldn’t have cared if any woman or man would’ve left his factory. Sheila also argues that her dad had a
Near the ending of the play Harrold Horrocks, the orphanage's inspector, brutally educates the audiences of Australians history the Stolen Generation, focusing on the treatment of and discrimination against the Aboriginal children within the orphanage. During his visit, Harrold inspects the children where he comments on unchangeable characteristic displayed by the Aboriginal children. One example is when he comments of the size of one Aboriginal child where he ensures Miss Emily Greenant, also known as The Black Skirt, will give him less food as he believes that the child will one day be a warrior and cause a rebellion – cleverly symbolising the intimidation Australians felt while colonising the Aboriginals. This view is further enforced through the character’s skilful yet subtle use of movement and voice as Harrold’s voice becomes quite high pitched and distressed and hunches over as if to protect himself from any surprise attacks. Another example of this hidden intimation is where Harrold sees a child with an overly big head; he instantly demands that the child is put to work in the yard instead of being taught – this is symbolising Australians want to colonise the Aboriginal people without any objectives therefore allowing audiences be educated on Australians cultural history Stolen Generation. It is through these symbolic and skilful use of dramatic languages that the audiences are highly educated on the Australians important cultural references of the Stolen
Her job and dialect optimize the way she grew up, and how the expectations of her upbringing limit her future, as being a working class woman she is expected to get married, have children and then become a housewife, ‘I should've had a baby by now. Everyone expects it.’ There were no further expectations for women and certainly no need for them to have an education, ‘Denny gets dead narked if I work at home’. Rita doesn’t like the housewife stereotype and decides to rebel against it by taking the pill and starting a formal education, ‘But I mean, I don't want a baby yet. No. I wanna discover meself first.’ Rita’s family refuse to see the benefits that this could give her and this leads her father to feel sorry for Denny and to feel annoyed at Rita’s lack of commitment to her family, ‘Denny, I'm sorry for you, lad. If she was a wife of mine I'd drown her.’ When Rita thinks about quitting the course to please her family, it’s her mother’s unintentional comment at the pub, ‘There must be better songs than this,’ which drives her forward in the course, ‘And I thought, ‘All I'm doing is getting an education. Just trying to learn. And I love it. It's not easy, I get it wrong half the time, I'm laughed at half the time but I love it because it makes me feel as
indeed a person who has a lot to say and Frank listens and responds to
Rita notices his sad expression and asks him what was bothering him. Phil tries to explain to her that he was stuck on the same day, but she would not believe him. To prove that it was true, he begins stating random facts about people in the café. Surprised, Rita spends the whole day with him. At the end of the day, while they were discussing the situation, Rita tells him that he should think of this “curse” as an
Linda and Willy’s relationship in the play is characterized by deep love and affection, but Willy does not frequently show the physical manifestations of such feelings. After thirty-five years of marriage, both characters have come to know each other’s subtle quirks and dreams, but Linda’s thorough understanding of Willy cannot be reciprocated. At first glance, she resembles a stereotypical housewife who passively stays home while her husband maintains his role as the breadwinner of the family,
The social class rift between Tom and Roxy displays realism. Twain illustrates, “Tom’s mother entered now, closing the door behind her, and approached her son with all the wheedling and supplicating servilities that fear and interest can impart to the words and attitudes of the born slave. She stopped a yard from her boy and made two or three admiring exclamations over his manly stature and general handsomeness, and Tom put an arm over his head and hoisted a leg over the sofa-back in order to look indifferent” (Twain 36-37). This scene depicts Roxy trying to reconnect with her son. Arrogant. Repulsed. Egotistical. These are all qualities
The story begins in a hotel placed in Italy where a “muddle” takes place over the switching of rooms for a view. In these first few pages the main character describes Mr. Emerson the man who had offered his room as having some childness aspect but “not the childishness of senility” (pg 4). The author in my eyes is trying to draw a connection to the character and his reformist views and tie childness into Mr.Emerson as his matching views are new and young. The two characters introduced hold a large role in being the authors symbols of the peaking liberal social class mostly relevant in Italy unlike the sober aged ideals displayed in Windy Corner, Lucy’s childhood home in England. Another display of this conflicting culturalism is shown by the support of Lucy, Charlotte, and others in Mrs. Lavish, who was a struggling italian author in pursuit of writing a new novel paralleled with Mrs.Honeychurch’s outburst over the misuse of a woman's time and place when hearing about the female writer. Mrs. Honeychurch
Russell shows the child’s admiration for her mother by elevating her in comparison to the audience and showing her in an ethereal point of view with heavenly diction and imagery. The excerpt opens with the narrator describing her mother as “perform[ing] in starlight” (1). The immediate association of Hilola and the stars portrays her as larger than life and otherworldly. This shows how the narrator believes her mother is a divine being. She describes that her mother’s “shoulder blades [are] pinched back like wings before she [dives]” ( 33-34). This imagery paints the portrait of her mother as an angelic creature who is above the audience that is watching her. The narrator’s depiction of the tourists is opposite than that of her mother. She recounts the tourists “slapping at ubiquitous mosquitos” (26) and “unsticking their khaki shorts and their printed department store skirts from their sweating thighs” (27-28). She portrays them as mere flesh in the sense that they are grimy and adj. The fact that she describes all the audience members as being dressed in a stereotypical tourist outfit shows how she believes that they are all the same, and there is no variation or uniqueness to any of them. In terms of their actions, she relays that “they shushed and crushed against and cursed at one another.” (28). This masculine repetition and repeated use of conjunctions as a polysyndeton even further highlights the
is not quite good enough. Rita wants to be of a higher status than her
To look at the relationship created by Russell between Rita and Forster we have to understand how
Educating Rita tells a story of a 26-year-old married hairdresser, Rita, who decided to get education by taking a course in English literature from the Open University. Through the development of the relationship between Rita and her alcoholic and cynical tutor, Frank, this story brings up many concepts in adult development and education. After watching the movie, I have a further understanding of the concepts of changes, motivation to learn, freedom, and stability.
The setting of the scene at Sallie’s grand house shows the obvious difference between Sallie and her friends’ wealth and social position compared to the March’s. Sallie treats Meg as her little project as she calls Meg by a nicer nickname, “Daisy” and invites her to a party that has a higher status than Meg’s. Sally’s dialogue is condescending and the way she insults Meg and her friends demonstrates that she thinks she is better than them. For example, Sallie talks rudely about Mr Brooke, “A tutor? How funny.” This shows that in the 19th century being a teacher was considered a lower-class job and education wasn’t highly paid or respected.