By the end of the play Rita having a mind trained to think, has developed :: English Literature

By the end of the play Rita having a mind trained to think, has developed a confidence that enables her to make her own decisions. How far do you think that Frank was solely responsible for this development. By the end of the play Rita having a mind trained to think, has developed a confidence that enables her to make her own decisions. How far do you think that Frank was solely responsible for this development, or do you think that Frank was simply' the key that unlocked Rita's mind In Educating Rita, the audience sees the wilful struggle of a working class woman's thirst to be educated .A literature professor takes on the challenge, because she is like 'a breath of fresh air'with a totally uncluttered mind. He teaches her many things as well as instils in her the self confidence to relate to almost anyone. However; as she learns and grows, she not only becomes influenced by others, she loses that part of herself that makes her unique and individual; which makes her like all the rest. Our first impressions of Frank and Rita are that they appear to be complete opposites. They come from two contrasting social backgrounds; Frank is a well educated man of middle upper class. Rita is an uneducated working- class girl. Their jobs go from one intellectual extreme to the other. Frank being a university professor while Rita works as a hairdresser. Rita is discontented with her present life, she feels incomplete, like she's missed out on something. She feels that the so-called 'working class culture 'she was brought up in is hollow and meaningless. Rita is determined to get the education she never got, to raise the standards of living, and also to raise her from her state of ignorance to one of intellectual and social confidence. She looks down on herself and the culture she belongs to, but is optimistic that she can learn her way into a better way of life. She believes that freedom will come with education; therefore Frank can give her this freedom by educating her. Frank is also unhappy with his existence. He has everything Rita wants from life but wishes he didn't. He turns to drink to make living in the culture he hates more bearable. He doesn't want Rita to experience the same thing, which is why he doesn't want to teach her. He doesn't want to be the one to take away her simple, down-to-earth way of life and replace it with the kind of life he has. In my opinion this shows that Rita's determination played a greater deal in the development of