Clash of Classes and Cultures in Educating Rita Essay example -- Educa

Clash of Classes and Cultures in Educating RitaTo What Extent Would You Agree That Educating Rita Depicts a Clashof Classes and Cultures?Educating Rita is a play by Willy Russell, a playwright recentlyturned novelist. Educating Rita contains only two characters, ayoung woman called Rita and a middle-aged man called Frank, althoughthis may sound boring these characters are so interesting that anymorecharacters would ruin the ambiance of the play. In the early part ofthe play Rita, a hairdresser from north-west England, has started anOpen University course with Frank, a university reviewer in his earlyfifties, in order to change herself. Throughout the play Rita becomesmore and more cultured giving up anything that gets in the way of her fosterage or tries to stop her being the cultured individual she wantsto be.Rita is a working class woman in her late twenties trying to findherself through with(predicate) a university education Frank is a divorced universityprofessor in his early fifties. Bored of teaching Frank drinks hislife away and has taken on Rita as an Open University student to fundthis habit. These two interesting characters from very differentbackgrounds are thrown together and the clashes of class and cultureare picture in a number of ways. Ritas language is very colloquialand this, at times, amuses Frank for example, What in the name ofGod is being off ones cake. Her language is twain new and puzzling toFrank as he is used to hearing the generally proper English spoken byhis university students. These phrases seem out of do when issuedby Frank. One is obviously very off ones cake, - you cant saythat Frank. Franks sesquipedalian language does not mix withRi... ...etween two classes and cultures.In the earlier part of the play Rita feels border by an alienenvironment, the university and its students, she is nervous and, as aresult, comes across as very loquacious. She sees this in herself whenshe says, I talk too much in act one scenery one. However, towards theend of play her speeches are generally shorter. In this newenvironment Rita also feels isolated but gradually changes and feelsas though she can act with the real students. When she lastlydoes this in act two, scene two it may surprise the audience becausein earlier scenes she describes them as real students as though herlife and their lives cannot mix. But, when she finally does speak tothe student, the first line she tells us she said was, Excuse me butI couldnt help overhearin the rubbish you were spoutin aboutLawrence.