Gains and Losses in Educating Rita :: Educating Rita Essays

Gains and Losses in Educating Rita The question of what Rita gains in Educating Rita is quite easy to answer. What she loses is less obvious. Her intention is to gain a college education and she largely succeeds in this. On the way you could say she loses her job and her husband, but it is worth asking whether these are really losses to the person Rita, or rather Susan, becomes. Â   The play follows just over a year in Rita's life and shows her gradual progress in an English Literature course. At first Rita knows she wants to do the course but not how to do well in it. It seems that she would rather do anything but talk about literature in the early lessons but she gradually gains confidence and skill in her speech and writing. A good example of her progress is her response to Macbeth. Initially she does not understand how to write about it and produces a 'crap' essay. Frank explains that the essay is not bad in terms of a personal response to the play but it does not fulfil the criteria of the course she is doing. Rita accepts this and resolves to write the essay again. Â   Rita's education goes far beyond just reading and responding to books however. When she first comes to the university she is impressed and even a little intimidated by the intelligent people she sees around her. By the end of the play she is able to tell them when they are speaking nonsense and join in their conversations as an equal. Success in her literature course has thus given her greater confidence in the wider world. Â   Willy Russell shows that for Rita, education involves a move out of her original social class and away from the values of her family and friends. This could be seen as a loss for her, but in moving beyond her working class background she gains in self-respect and self-confidence so that she is better able to handle the challenges of life. The most obvious thing she loses is her husband. From what Rita says, they seem to get on well enough, but Denny doesn't understand her wish to be educated.