After finishing reading the book, I came to the conclusion that it’s not only Rita who learns during the course of the play but also Frank. There is plenty of evidence that suggests my interpretation.
Admittedly, Rita has become a different person. She is now a confident woman, who has passed a university exam and feels she can take decisions about her own life. This is something that at the beginning of the play Rita cannot do for she feels trapped in the life of hers. She has many things to consider for her future, such as going to her mum’s for Christmas, travel to France with Tiger, having a baby or even accept Frank’s invitation to Australia.
All the same, Frank is a different man too. Although he hasn’t given up drinking, I have the feeling that he will profit from the chance he is given by the University authorities in Australia. The change will do him good. Also, I believe Frank has learned a lesson: he has learned to accept other people’s opinion and being objective when evaluating essays.
The final scene in which Rita cuts Frank’s air shows really graphically that a student-teacher relationship is always reciprocal: you give and learn something, no matter how much experience you have on that field.
Admittedly, Rita has become a different person. She is now a confident woman, who has passed a university exam and feels she can take decisions about her own life. This is something that at the beginning of the play Rita cannot do for she feels trapped in the life of hers. She has many things to consider for her future, such as going to her mum’s for Christmas, travel to France with Tiger, having a baby or even accept Frank’s invitation to Australia.
All the same, Frank is a different man too. Although he hasn’t given up drinking, I have the feeling that he will profit from the chance he is given by the University authorities in Australia. The change will do him good. Also, I believe Frank has learned a lesson: he has learned to accept other people’s opinion and being objective when evaluating essays.
The final scene in which Rita cuts Frank’s air shows really graphically that a student-teacher relationship is always reciprocal: you give and learn something, no matter how much experience you have on that field.
3 comments:
Well said,Miriam! Let's hope neither of us ever forgets this lesson: teachers and learners ALWAYS grow together. 8-D!!!
I wonder why you say Frank has learned to be "objective when evaluating essays". Are you insinuating he was not so at the beginning of the play?
Anyway, this sounds like a good moment to thank you for your contribution to my own development. It's really been my pleasure to have had the chance to be educated by you, believe me!
I meant Frank seemed to be missing some of his objectivity at the end of the play when his feelings are mixed with his teaching and is not able to tell Rita why he believes her essays don´t include her own opinion but others´.
AS for me educating you, it sounds odd, but I will have to accept it in view of all the things I have reflected upon in this blog!
Hugs,
Miriam
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