Educating Rita (Act 2 Scene1 )

After the time Rita spends at Summer School, she comes back with a new attitude that is not only seen in the way she dresses but also in her attitude towards Frank.
One of the main changes that have occurred in Rita is the way she responds to Franks´ requesting as regards the books she should read in this term. That is, now that she “knows” more and as a consequence she is more familiar with different poets, she is confident but at the same time arrogant. This can be seen when she talks about a particular poet, Blake, as if she knew about him from a long time ago!! She says: “You don’t do Blake without doing innocence and experience, do y´?” and previously she looks at Blake’s poem and recites by heart. In this situation she may want to show that she is not the same illiterate girl than before.
Another attitude to point out is the way she feels now towards “the others” as she calls them. In this scene she seems not to feel different than them. In fact, now she might consider herself as “one of them” since she ask Frank to have the tutorial down there, on the grass. This whole situation is rather different than the ones before the summer school when she used to look the “proper students” through the window as if they were from “other world”.
Last but not least, her attitude towards Frank is different too!! Now she shows Frank that she cares about him by asking him for his holydays, giving him a present and also by telling him that he shouldn’t drink any more since he “gots so much goin´for him.”
As regards Frank attitude towards Rita’s changes, he may feel quite impressed; but also he seems to feel quite ashamed since she has learned lots of things without him but with others.

In this scene, after having tried unsuccessfully to have the tutorial down there (on the grass), she tries to open the window and she says some words that may have another meaning: “won’t bleedin´ budge”. To me, those words may mean that we don’t know what opportunities we have until we try; we have to struggle, as Rita does when opening the window, to achieve what we wants, and surely we will get what we wanted. But if we don’t success, at least we will know that we have tried hard.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 7 & 8)

In the previous scene, Frank invites Rita to his dinner party but she doesn’t go. She gives lots of excuses to say why she didn’t go, for instance that she didn’t have what to wear or that she didn’t remember where Frank lives, etc. I think that the real cause of her absence was that she didn’t feel very confident about herself. She might have felt that she wouldn’t be able to talk about the same topics, issues, etc with Frank’s friends. This might have happened because Rita needs to gain more confidence on herself and on the knowledge she is getting. It’s not an easy job but it’s not impossible to achieve, it would take time.

By the end of the scene 8, Rita asks Frank to be completely honest as regards the way she writes and what she has to do so as to pass the exams and to write essays as the other students do.
What Frank tells makes her feel that she needs to change her writing style since she tends to express her inner thoughts and feelings. So she considers that they have to start again since she feels that her work till then is not enough to achieve her goal.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 6)

After having seen Macbeth (play written by Shakespeare), she tells Frank that “it wasn’t borin´, it was bleedin´great (…) it was fantastic.” Although she uses these words to express her enthusiasm, it would be improper to use them in an essay.
I think that Rita might have to distinguish what language style (I mean formal or informal) is the best to write an essay. It wouldn’t be rare to think that she may write with an informal language since she may feel that her thoughts are expressed better with that informal language style. That is, by using “her real words” (the words that she uses daily), she may be able to express herself when she saw the play.
Sometimes people tend to feel awkward when they use, wear or talk in a way that they aren’t used to. However, we should try hard if we want to be better, so that Rita should try hard to write the essay with a more sophisticated language.


When Frank and Rita talk about the play and the difference between tragedy and tragic, Frank makes Rita realize that the main character, Macbeth, can’t avoid what is going to happen, that is, his fate. Then Rita says “all them out there, they know all about that sort of thing don’t they?” I think that what she may want to say is that all those students (when she says that, she is watching through the window to the students, I guess) have another way to analyze things, a deeper one than she has. She might think that they have the “tools” that are needed to make that kind of analysis. What I wanted to say when I refer to “tools” is that they may have been “trained” to make analysis of that kind.
I feel that she might be sorry about that since she is not aware of many things yet as regards literature analysis.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 5)

She emphasise how important the course is to her by saying that to take that course is a way to “find herself” inside.
To me, what she may want to say is that learning will help her to discover the abilities she is unaware of. That is, no one knows what is able to do until you try to do so; then you will know if you succeed or fail.
That decision of taking the course will enable her to feel more confident since she will “find herself” as she says.
She also emphasise the importance of going to the course by saying that coming there makes her stronger because she feels that she is learning a new world instead of wasting her time going to the pub with her husband and mates. I think that because of that she refuses to go to the pub with Frank when he invites her. She doesn’t want to keep doing those things that now she considers being unworthy for her new life.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 3 & 4)

Rita’s essays (on Howards End and the two she writes on Peer Gynt) tend to be quite short since she does not give any reasons supporting what she writes: a sentence that is just the basis of an argument. What she needs is to think over more ideas so as to justify what she states in her essays.
She considers that coming there (to attend classes) makes her stronger because she feels that she is learning instead of wasting her time going to the pub with her husband and mates as she says.
Rita knows that education is very important to change her life in some way; she feels that she is learning something different everyday so that she feels more confident so that she says that coming there makes her stronger.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 2)

After reading this scene, what Rita needs to learn is to have an objective point of view, to analyze from a different point of view than hers. This happens when she has to read a book and she got angry because of the author’s opinions about a particular subject. I think that she needs to separate those things: subjectivity and objectivity.
As regards the way he tries to teach her that difference between subjectivity and criticism, Frank is good teacher since he wants her to feel comfortable in the place where they are, this is seen when Frank told her that she can sit wherever she wants so as to feel fine.

Educating Rita (Act 1 scene 1)

I think that Rita wants to study because she is eager to learn since she considers that study will enable her to see things from otherpoint of view, more deeply. For example, she says that she doesn´t want to see ballet or the opera and think that it is rubbish but she wants to watch it and understand it.

I think that she is an intelligent woman since she knows what she wants (to succed in life).