Rita's Sense of Being a Half Caste in Willy Russell's Play
Section A
1. Discuss Rita's sense of being a half caste in Willy Russell’s play.
At first Rita is more of an outcast in both social classes. It is when she decides to go to the Open University that she becomes a half cast. She doesn’t seem to fit in when she attends her literature classes. The way she talks, looks and behaves differentiates her from the rest of her classmates. Even though her husband does not approve of her studies and that most students are demeaning towards her, she is determined to learn everything, concentrate on her studies and get control over her life.
What Rita truly wants is to get out of her current social class, for her, education is a way of achieving this and she is probably right. Rita thinks that she is lacking something and thinks a university degree will fill the gaps in her life. Maybe she finds that her meaning in life is to be better than her social class, to break free and sing better songs. To Rita, education is a passport out of her mediocrity into a superior lifestyle. She tries hard to conform to the social customs of her peers.
When Frank invited Rita to his dinner party she became nervous about what to wear, how to act and even what wine to buy. Rita changed her mind about going to the party because she sensed that she would not fit in. When Frank told her that he wanted her to be her true self, Rita said “But I don’t want to be me. What’s me? Some stupid woman who gives us all a laugh because she thinks she can learn, because she thinks that she one day will be like the rest of them” (Willy Russell, Educating Rita,1981, act 6). It is evident here that Rita sees herself as an alien and when she went to the pub instead of the fancy party she realized that she didn’t belong there either. Rita was in-between two social classes, who cultures and all she wanted was to find herself and fit in.
Rita thought that Frank invited her to his party to have her there as some sort of entertainment and said “I don’t want to be
1. Discuss Rita's sense of being a half caste in Willy Russell’s play.
At first Rita is more of an outcast in both social classes. It is when she decides to go to the Open University that she becomes a half cast. She doesn’t seem to fit in when she attends her literature classes. The way she talks, looks and behaves differentiates her from the rest of her classmates. Even though her husband does not approve of her studies and that most students are demeaning towards her, she is determined to learn everything, concentrate on her studies and get control over her life.
What Rita truly wants is to get out of her current social class, for her, education is a way of achieving this and she is probably right. Rita thinks that she is lacking something and thinks a university degree will fill the gaps in her life. Maybe she finds that her meaning in life is to be better than her social class, to break free and sing better songs. To Rita, education is a passport out of her mediocrity into a superior lifestyle. She tries hard to conform to the social customs of her peers.
When Frank invited Rita to his dinner party she became nervous about what to wear, how to act and even what wine to buy. Rita changed her mind about going to the party because she sensed that she would not fit in. When Frank told her that he wanted her to be her true self, Rita said “But I don’t want to be me. What’s me? Some stupid woman who gives us all a laugh because she thinks she can learn, because she thinks that she one day will be like the rest of them” (Willy Russell, Educating Rita,1981, act 6). It is evident here that Rita sees herself as an alien and when she went to the pub instead of the fancy party she realized that she didn’t belong there either. Rita was in-between two social classes, who cultures and all she wanted was to find herself and fit in.
Rita thought that Frank invited her to his party to have her there as some sort of entertainment and said “I don’t want to be