Into the world

Into the world represent a stage of maturation and growing up. It is the time of change and adaption from one world experience to another. When going from familiar experiences to new ones, obstacles are usually met before being totally successful. The play of Educating Rita, by Willy Russel, agreed that moving into the world must have benefits for individuals, as well as the song lyric “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.
Individuals moving into the world, are bound to come across many obstacles that they overcome to be successful. The core text ‘Educating Rita’ is about a woman’s transformation to the educated middle class from the working class.

Language is the most significant technique in the core text that shows moving into the world must benefit for individuals. In the first act, the language of Rita the main character used reflects that she comes from a different world as Frank, ”she said I was off me cake”. The language also shows the barrier between the two characters. Frank said to Rita “You are?”, “What am I?” Rita answer as she had no clue Frank was asking for her name. By Act 2 of this play, Rita has changed the way she speaks ‘It’s just boring, insignificant details’ as she has made her transition into the world of working class. This transition benefited her as it has made her disregard the junk like words and slangs she used to speak.

The benefit of into the world can also be shown through the symbolism of the play. Act 1 Scene 1, when Rita tries to enter Frank’s office she was stuck “It’s that stupid bleedin’ handle of the door” emphasizing the difficulty in entering the educated middle class. At the beginning of Scene 2, Rita is then seen in the doorway with an oil can fixing Frank’s door “I was just oilin’ it for y’’ revealing her working class nature. The change of her name also symbolizes Rita trying to enter a different world “I am not a Susan anymore. I’ve called myself Rita”, reinforcing the lack of self-confidence in Rita. Also, the window in Frank’s office is also symbolic, as Rita always looks through the window in the earlier scenes of the play, “The ones who come here all the time The proper students”. In Act 2, Rita was found sitting at Frank’s seat, symbolizing her transition made into the world of the educated. Moreover, “Rita? Nobody calls me Rita but you” Rita said to Frank emphasizing the successful transition she has made. Moving into the world benefits individuals as it allows them to gain inner self-confidence and become a stronger person as shown through Rita.

Stage Directions also play a role in demonstrating the benefits of into the world for individuals in the core text. In Act 1, Rita was shown “looking at the bookcase” and “She goes to the window and looks out” showing how much she wanted to be one of them, the educated middle class people. Throughout the whole of Act 1, Rita “sits in the chair by the desk” confronting that she does respect Frank as her teacher. As she became more and more educated in Act2, she begins to “enters and goes to the swivel chair behind Frank’s desk” portraying Rita no longer feels she is in a different world as Frank neither is he an authority to her there she sits at his usual seat. Stage directions in this play shows how a person can benefit by moving into the world, confidence and knowledge can be gained during the course.

The related text “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman is a song about generational poverty. This song tells a story about the narrator trying to escape the past, same as what Rita wanted to do in the core text. Many obstacles were in the way of the composer to find a new perspective in her life. The abusive relationship her father is an example, in the 4th stanza the composer outlines the difficulties that she faced in, “he live with the bottle that’s the way it is” and “I said somebody’s got to take care of him, so I quit school and that’s what I did “, these two quotes show the acceptance of the obstacle. This related to the core text Educating Rita as both subjects has went through many obstacles before their success. The rhyme of “anywhere, somewhere” portrays the sign of the composer wanting to move in to a new world. The use of personal pronoun used in this song “I, We” created an intimacy to the composer and also delivering that she is the one who wants to escape the poverty like how “my mama went off and left him” resembling Rita leaving Denny to get a better life. Future tense is use in this text to deliver the message from the composer as she believes in a better life in the future, “I know things will get better.” as Rita did as well.

Going into the World is unavoidable and must be done at some stage in a life. It can be difficult and everyone deals with it differently. ‘The play Educating Rita by Willy Russel and the song Fast Car by Tracey Chapman all show that relationships with people assist one’s transition of going into the world, people deal with obstacles differently and maturity brings great rewards which then benefits the individual.