Rita´s odd accent

Rita changes her way of speaking because she wants to talk properly. Frank doesn´t like it at all, he wants her to be herself.

Frank and Rita have different views on what means to talk properly.

Rita thinks that talking properly means talking in a sophisticated way, using fancy language and posh accent (in my mind I believe that it would sound like that).

Frank thinks that talking properly means talking the way she usually did, with slung language, talking fast and without caring what others think of her.

This, among other changes, is what Frank has been fearing all along: how much of the new environment has Rita acquired and up to what extent should she do it.

Should she change completely?

Franks fears for her, he never wanted her to change (although in the previous scene, he was excited by these new changes). In this scene, we can see the side effects of the changes, so to speak.

Frank has given Rita so much freedom in her choosing that now he doesn´t know how to cope with the new Rita. A very defiant Rita , trying to show Frank that she is now a little innocent girl any more, that she can take care of herself now.

Act 2 - Scene 2 & 3, Question 1

Rita´s changes

There are different aspects as regards Rita´s changes:

-As regards her feelings:

*After Summer School, Rita has build up her confidence. Not only has she opened up to meeting new people but also to getting to know new books, new poetry. She is trying to expand her knowledge on these new matters.

* She doesn´t feel old any more as in the beginning of the story. She now feels like the rest of those boys and girls sitting on the Grass, outside. She feels young (even though she is). She doesn´t feel that is late for her to start learning.

* She tells Frank that she asked a lot of questions during classes, that means that she was not afraid of making them or making mistakes. I think that is definitely Frank´job: he has been working on with Rita during their sessions, don´t you think? Trying to loosen her up, to relax and not to be afraid of making a mistake.

*She is living with a flatmate. Now that she is single, she is trying to get her life back on track, the way she always wanted and she is no longer living by the rules of her husband.

-As regards her experiences at Summer School and what she has learned:
*Her way of answering back to someone is not the same, she doesn´t make jokes now by gives "clever" answers. I think that the word is not clever but honest and respectful answers.

* Rita has never topped working: essays and more essays. Even though it was hard work, she liked it very much. I believe she didn´t mind working so hard because the whole experience (getting to know other people, listening to tutors and teachers, getting to know London, etc) was worth it, including the fact that she had to work a lot.

* Rita already knows the author Frank wants to introduce her. She even knows it by heart and what should be studied when reading him. Rita has enter into the University system, as I mentioned in previous posts.

However, there are things that NEVER change:

* Rita´s intention to reform Frank as regards his drinking problem.

* Rita´s intention to get Frank back into writing poetry (with her "subtle" present).

Frank is excited to see a renovated Rita. One that has learned a lot during the summer yet deep down she is the same Rita that he never wanted to change: a person who takes care of others, who explores her new experiences in depth, and so on.

Frank is shocked by how well she is entering this world, even though he never doubted of Rita´s capability.

Renovated Rita is peppier than ever.

Act 2, Scene 1 - What do you think?

I CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!

After Rita surrenders, she decides to forget about her dreams and go to the pub where her husband and mother are.

But when she sees her mother crying and saying " We could sing better songs than those" she is reminded of why she goes to Frank´s office, why she goes to see Macbeth and so on. She knows she can do better than that, she can do others things apart from drinking and hanging out in pubs. Her mother reminds her of her main objective: HER NEW LIFE AND CHANGE.

She remembers her main objective and the reason why she gives up many things (having a baby, agreeing with his husband, etc): she WANTS TO BE BETTER.

Her first hopes appear again, reminding her that by studying hard, and putting all her body and soul into it, she can achieve anything she wants.

I can even say that, maybe next time, she will have the guts to knock on Frank´s door.

Question 2 - Act 1, Scene 7 & 8 - Educating Rita

Share with your Students!

From the very beginning of the scene, we see a very caring and worried Frank who is 1st concerned about the way Rita enters his office (then he knows it was because of excitement), then he is concerned about her health and how she eats: "Look, how about a proper lunch?" he asks her.

This attitude of sharing, in this case the apple and the can of soda, between student and teacher is the one that called my attention.

In my opinion, this is a clear example that there is more to teaching than just delivering the lesson to the students but caring about them, asking them about their lives is also part of it.

In fact, Rita learns something in this "lesson": the difference between Tragedy and Tragic but what is important is the fact that Frank asks Rita about Denny, he invites her to his dinner party at his house, and so on.

HUMANIZE YOUR TEACHING!

THINK OF YOUR STUDENT AS A PERSON AND NOT MERELY AS A LEARNER!

Act 1 - Scene 6, Question 3

Rita´s Expressions

Rita uses a couple of expressions to emphasize how important the course is to her:

-"(I´m) Busy finding meself"

-" I´ve begun to find me"

-(to Frank) - " You give me room to breathe"

- " You just , like feed me without expectin´anythin´in return"

-(about Literature) " It´s providing me with life itself"

-" Coming here, doing this, it´s given me more life than I ´ve had in years, an´he (Denny) should be able to see that"

- " If it´s all in my head, he (Denny) can´t touch it"

What I loved about this Scene, is the fact that in this struggle for starting to work, the roles changed. In this scene, Frank is the one that wants to talk about personal problems, he wants to get involved in Rita´s life to find a way to help her. Contrary to what I may expect, Rita wants to start working right away, she doesn´t want to be affected by her situation, she doesn´t want to give Denny the satisfaction of having succeed in getting Rita distracted.

I like her last quote: " If it´s all in my head, he can´t touch it". It is dead true. Nobody can get into our mind but ourselves. Fortunately, our thoughts are ours only.

Act 1, Scene 5 - Question 1

University: Game with its specific rules

Frank tells Rita the story of the theology student so that she can realize that learning and going to University has its rules.

Unfortunately, you cannot do whatever you want(or write in this case); you have to stick to the rules that the professor imposes so that you can pass.

Sometimes you need the skill to "blend in" because that is what the professors, the University is asking for.

As Frank says, playing to be smart or clever is not the answer: that can get you into trouble.

I believe this story helps Rita to understand life a little bit more and not about just the fact of how to write an essay.

She learns that life has its rules and in some subjects is no good to break them.

In mi opinion, wanting to learn is absolutely key to start University, having that motivation is absolutely important but there are other things to take into account to start learning: TO KNOW THE SYSTEM.

If you understand how the system works, you can get into this game that is called LIFE.

Act 1, Scene 3&4 - Question 2

Frank´s room and the "Proper" Students

Rita loves Frank´s room. She thinks he has taste. She looks at it as her ideal room: full of knowledge, messy yet attractive. I believe she can smell when wisdom is around her and that turns her into somebody who is eager to learn.

When she sees this room, her mind starts to day-dream. She dreams about having a room like that one, having another life and fitting into the life of a "proper" student.

What´s a Proper Student? Well, in Rita´s terms, Proper students are responsible, nerd-like students who study all the time. She idealizes them and that is why she gets so upset when Frank implies that they are lazy or do not take education that seriously.

I believe that during this part of the play, Rita wanders if she could one day be at the same level of those proper students. She doesn´t want to miss the opportunity of being close to them, in fact, BEING ONE OF THEM is her ultimate goal.

Act 1, Scene 2 - Educating Rita