All,
http://www.litnotes.co.uk/educatin.htm
Go here. It is an excellent page. It has been created for AS level English students and so it is probably good enough for us!
Read through the content. Pick one of the 'starting points' and write a response to it. Post it. Simples!
Frank has stopped 'looking' at things. (the picture) and Rita is looking at things for the first time -she 'sees' differently because she wants to learn about 'everything'.
ReplyDeleteRita is almost childlike in her view of the world she is inquisitive and always wanting to know more to be filled with knowledge. However Frank is just the opposite he feels restrained by his knowledge, Frank has received the finest education but has never explored the world the ways Rita has.
Right at start its obvious that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Why?
ReplyDeleteIt is made obvious that Rita will make Frank see things differently from the start, as she is not the stereotypical student. We get this impression from stage directions and dialect in the script. The way Rita's movements are described and the fact she refuses to sit down when offered suggests she's different, as most people would sit down when they entered the room without having to be prompted.
She cannot articulate like Frank, but her freshness is 'like a breath of fresh air' to him. Why do you think this would be so?
ReplyDeleteI think Frank would consider Rita's freshness a 'breath of fresh air' because, although she might not be able to articulate like Frank, she's rough, gritty and to the point; Rita speaks her own mind, in her own vernacular, making important points and revealing her character as she does so. I think Frank would find this, along with the fact he would be spending many lessons with 'laa-dee-daa' pupils, constantly articulating and showcasing their vocabulary like the stereotypical student, a reason for Frank viewing Rita as a breath of fresh air. Frank would view Rita as something special, something a lot more 'real' than the other student 'drones' he has become bored with working with.
I think the sentence, 'As Frank deteriorates' is fairly interesting and pinpoints the exact feelings of what Frank is undergoing. It shows how his life is slowly dipping downhill with every mouthful he takes; not only that, but personal life too, as he has a rough time with his wife and in the teaching criteria.
ReplyDeleteThe play is about education in many forms.
ReplyDeleteRita has decided to enroll on an Open University course to be educated . This form of education is simply learning the things she needs to know in order to pass an exam. By carrying out the course she is also educating herself about life, exploring who she is as a person and experiencing life as a student. I think that the different forms of education are what helps Rita fulfill her ambitions and become the woman she wants to be.
Frank is 'successful' but unhappy
ReplyDeleteFrank has some success in his life. He had some poetry published, was married and has a comfortable job. But the inverted commas show that it could be a different type of success or success from a different view. It could be Rita seeing Frank as a successful person because he is intelligent, he has had the education she is craving and he has a loving partner at home. But the unhappy side of Frank's life could be that he has lost his wife, his poetry work wasn't recognised, and then Julia leaves him when they were holiday. He has also lost the will to work, as he doesn't seem to give a crap about work or his students, and he is consumed in an unhealthy alcohol addiction. I think this makes Frank look like he's a miserable old man , because he doesn't have a positive view about himself or of others, yet he self-indulges all the time, through his drinking down a thte pub and not being bothered to do anything for anyone else
There is an element of irony in the things that Frank and Rita yearn for in life. Rita says there is little 'meaning' in her way of life, and she thinks an education will bring her that. On the other side, Frank has had an education and has become very intelligent and 'successful' over time, which Rita clearly admires however he seems to struggle to find any kind of 'meaning' in his life. He tries to convince Rita that there is culture in the people that she is mixing with at the moment, but she is only interested in escaping from them.
ReplyDelete"He seems to be cut off from 'real' life, unllike Rita, who is a very practical woman"
ReplyDeletePersonally I find this statment quite interesting as who is to say what 'real' life entails? Also in 'real' life people hit barriers and have to over come them and Frank throughout the play, does hit a lot of walls in terms of stress, Low self-esteem and an ever drifting relationship with his wife. Yet to overcome or forgett about these problems he turns to drink! And unfortuanatly this is what a lot of people do! So is this saying everybody who drinks to drown away there sorrows is cut off from 'real' life? I disagree with that, therefore i believe he does have a very 'real' life, possibly even 'realer' than the average person. Frank has both highs and lows in his life and so does every single person on this planet so what makes him different or cut off than everybody else? And I also disagree that Rita has a more 'real' life than Frank!
In Educating Rita Frank Knows that if Rita wants to progress she will have to 'Dicipline' her mind, but being the person she is Rita prefers a more Subjective(personal) view on litrature, but Rita soon changes her mind knowing that by doing this she will change her life and help her obtaine a new life with 'meening' I think Rita doesn't understand upper class but see's it as better even if it meens changing her personality which I disagree with.
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ReplyDelete[She cannot articulate like Frank, but her freshness is 'like a breath of fresh air' to him. Why do you think this would be so?]
ReplyDeleteUp to this point, we begin to realize that Rita's education had never been formal, yet she's been utterly taught in the manners of life... We are to assume that she is a being of higher IQ; not due her yearning to being viewed as posh, nor 'smart' by the outside public- then again does she really wish it or perhaps she merely assumes the later?- but the simple fact remains: she has succeeded in acknowledging her choices (those which she's always had, yet has always repress)
When asked what she wished 'to learn', her reply had merely been 'everything'!
The recognition of such trivial choices as thrust for knowledge and revilement in self-empowerment, makes her a remarkable intellectual...
These I presume are what 'Frank' had concluded within the first few moment of their first encounter (and perhaps the lecturer may have even secretly envied her choices; her actions; her whole perspective of life... well, just her in general).
And in JJ's own words: these all make her "bow-tie-cool!"
PS:sorry Christian W, had to do it <(^_-))...
Right at start its obvious that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Why?
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious from the start that Rita will gradually make Frank see things differently because it is clear that they are two completely different people. Frank is very laid back whereas Rita is very outgoing and speaks her mind; such as describing the picture as "erotic". It seems that Frank is at first fascinated by how Rita acts but as their relationship develops, Frank gets used to Rita's personality and begins to understand her view on things.
Rita makes Frank see things in a different light, this is because he'd fed up of the norm. his students having the same oppinion as him, because that is what they think is right, but then he meets Rita who astounds him and is like a breath of fesh air to Frank with her different veiw on things.
ReplyDeleteFrank is successful but unhappy, rita wants to be successful because she thinks she is unhappy now. So frank trys to slow down ritas teaching and thinks if rita becomes successful it could make her more unhappy. this shows rita and frank see things differently. Rita thinks frank is kind of happy and just wants to be as successful as him. Rita becoming successfu coud change the way she is as a person.
ReplyDeleteRita wants to be succesful because she thinks she is unhappy where she is. its quite apparent that Rita's high level and comitment remain constant throughtout in order to achiever her goal of a better life. The term "wants" connotates her eagerness to succeed however she may feel limited due to the expectancy and pressure of family members
ReplyDeleteWhat we begin to see is Frank is no stranger to knowing the in's and out's of academic knowledge, but what we don't see is his practical knowledge for living. I think when he felt almost independent, and taught students that just simply answered 'yes sir no sir, what ever sir' as an easy way to persuade themselves into his good books, it psychologically made Frank see himself almost as the next Einstein, but as Rita came onto the scene, she changed his whole vision on his real self. She is a breath of fresh air, more of the type to express her inner knowledge of life, which Frank doesnt seem to have, and vice versa for Rita as she doesnt have one clue on the academic side. They are a pair that have been combined with the knowledge they need to share with eachother, which I think eventually brings them together.
ReplyDeletefrank being successful was interesting to me because of the fact that it's the way you define successful, yes he has a grasp of literary knowledge but he has no family, hes been recently divorced and is an alcoholic through these things of course he is going to be unhappy even if he has an easy teaching job where the salary is good as he says it's the only reason he does it is for the money in my personal opinion this does not equal to a 'success' this equals to an almost waste of human life yes although he does have a purpose in life which is to teach the young minds of the future but he isn't really doing anything substantial enough to be classed as a success to me.
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ReplyDelete"Rita wants to be 'successful' because she thinks she is unhappy where she IS. What will happen is that she will CHANGE as a result into someone different and that will affect the way she is as a person."
ReplyDeleteRita believes that to be a better person and success she needs too be this educated "upper class" student. Although there is nothing wrong with the old Rita but she is determined to change herself; by doing this she loses all her characteristics and personality becoming a make believe person. Forgetting her roots, changing her into the students she once hated for looking down on her. Rita doesn't know what she is doing to herself until it is too late and by the time she realizes, the old Rite will be forgotten.
"Frank has stopped looking at things (the picture) and Rita is looking at things for the first time, she sees differently because she wanys to learn about 'everything'.
ReplyDelete-personallly, I believe that this 'opinion' is completly wrong. I think that its the complete opposite in reality infact, Rita has a broader outlook on life and Franks is very restricted, cynical and stereotypical.
In her own way, Rita teaches Frank general life lessons, her experiences and strong views could be a threat to Frank, this may be the reason why frank no longer has the desire to teach Rita.
Right at start its obvious that Rita will make Frank see things differently. Why?
ReplyDeleteRita makes Frrank see things differently at the beginning through her interperation of the picture describing it as "erotic" ; one which Frank had never noticed and as the story progresses her knowledge of life influences his views on literature from not an academic angle but from that of a normal person.
Frank is conventionally 'educated' - a professor- but what he has is lots of 'knowledge'. I can see where this is coming from but Frank does not only portray himself as well educated. we can tell this from the initial difference between him and Rita. It would be wrong to call Rita common but she is in comparison to Frank. Face to face , person to person they are similar but deep down they are parted by there education and up bringing ... will that all change ?
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