Personal Choices In Educating Rita
analytical Essay
828 words
Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. Choices made, whether good or bad, follow you forever and affect everyone in their path one way or another. As you venture into new phases of life or worlds or ‘grow up’, you are commonly faced with having to make difficult choices and decisions, which may change your life forever. Each choice throughout this transition can be either rewarding or challenging, depending on the individual and the obstacles that they must overcome. However, through successfully moving into the world, it can consequently bring new experiences and opportunities, growth, change, self-fulfilment, greater freedom and choice, and other consequences, may they be positive or negative. The play, ‘Educating Rita’ by Willy Russell, and the music video ‘Fast Car’ by Tracy Chapman both explore this concept of ‘Into the World’ through the use of language, visual and dramatic techniques, as they portray the beneficial and negative relatable outcomes of personal choices and transitions into a new phase of life or world.
Rita makes the personal choice to change her life and acquire an education, as she colloquially considers there is “no meanin’ to life” in her current working-class lifestyle, her life is consequently altered. “But if you want change you have to do it from the inside…know like I’m doin…See I wanna discover myself first’”. Aspiring for greater freedom of choice, self-improvement and self-fulfilment, she metaphorically conveys that this will be achieved through obtaining and education. As Frank and the Open University both symbolise Rita’s pathway into the educated world, what Rita doesn’t realise is Frank’s contempt for himself and his job. Through using a co...
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...ially and impoverished marriage with Denny who disapproves and objects to her studies and education. It highlights that her husband has a more limited view on life as all he wants out of life is a baby, whereas Rita desires an education and to discover herself. The cumulative listing again conveys the working class ideology as Denny epitomises a working class man, as he believes they have choice because the pub down the road “sells eight different kinds of lager “, and ”choices between Liverpool and Everton”, whereas Rita wants choices only education can bring. As Rita’s growing confidence makes her “stronger”, and Denny is content with his place in the world, he gets frightened as he sees Rita choose to move on and them growing further apart, and as he lacks her desire of change and mobility, it is inevitable that he will consequently be left behind in the future.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously. the play 'educating rita' by willy russell, and the music video ‘fast car’ by tracy chapman explore this concept of ‘into the world.
- Analyzes how frank and the open university symbolise rita's pathway into the educated world, but she doesn't realise his contempt for himself and his job.
- Analyzes how the woman of 'fast car' chooses to change and move into a new world as she desires to escape an unfulfilling, suffocating, and unable to provide her with greater opportunities.
- Analyzes how the composer highlights the notion that individuals transitioning into new phases of life can encompass obstacles, which must be overcome by making challenging decisions and sacrifices in order to progress.
- Analyzes how the use of first person, colloquial language and slang in "denny gets narked if i work at home" conveys rita's socially and impoverished marriage with denny who disapproves and objects to her studies and education.
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