English literature on Educating Rita Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English literature on Educating Rita - Essay Example The system failed to tame me. However, it certainly turned me into a failed poet, a frustrated teacher and an unreliable husband, carrying on with life from one drink to the next. In that context, the entering of Rita in the scheme of things was like the gushing in of a waft of fresh air into a room that had been sealed and locked for centuries. Rita reminds me of something that had been since ages considered being patently British and which the current education system badly needs- ‘COMMONSENSE’! The system is still carrying on with the moth eaten and anachronistic canons and way of doing things set in concrete by the prophets of the yore. In Rita I found the flickering remnants of the essential British spirit of challenging the old norms, the raw courage of our hearty and robust, seafaring and blasphemous ancestors. Her referring to ‘assonance’ as â€Å"getting the rhyme wrong†, her irreverent aversion for Forster, her street smart solution to the s taging problems marring Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, her delight at connecting with the essentially universal appeal and humanness of Macbeth, her sense of stifling abhorrence for and a congenital allegiance to the British working class culture, her innocent fascination with Rubyfruit Jungle, her differences with Denny, her uninformed feminism, her inferiority infested sense of inability to fit in with my so called cultured guests and above all her deep ingrained belief in her ability to become something more and better than what she is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.., raw, yes, common, yes, unrefined, yes, unsophisticated, yes, upstart, yes, but, certainly not devoid of ingenuity, gumption and hope. The system needs more Ritas. Second Dairy Entry Rita fascinates me†¦, or is it something else. My feelings towards Rita are getting confused, jumbled up and rather intense with each passing day. I dejectedly wait for her in my office, and the minute she enters the room, my heart starts beating with the intensity of a herd of buffalos thundering across some plane. Am I in love with her or is it just an attraction between the opposites? By Jove†¦, I am confused like some bleeding idiot! What do I want from her? What do I intend her to do? Why do I have a feeling of intense guilt, lurking behind my mind? When I first met Rita, she wanted to get cultured†¦, get cultured as the world understands culture. The bumbling idiot simply had no idea of her innate originality, appeal and charm. Then I decided to educate her so as to give her a voice, not to make her somebody, but to make her realize that she was already somebody. I wanted to teach her a way of expressing herself that the world could understand, a way of conveying ideas that could make people appreciate and understand her effortless humour and wit. I wanted her to be a woman in her own right. I wanted her to be able to make choices for herself. I think I have succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. Rita is now moving in the world with confidence and poise. She is meeting people and making friends. She has changed her job, though without telling me. She has moved into a flat with a flat mate. And, yes, I think boys find her attractive. They want to be with her. Why this makes me angry and drink profusely. Did I want her to make choices so as to eventually be her inevitable choice? IS IT SO? NO, NO, NO†¦