Not My Glass of Wine - Not my Cup of Tea

Why didn't Rita go to Frank's dinner party?

At first, Rita was enthusiastic about the dinner party but not Denny. They had an argument about it, but anyway she wanted to go...
Something had already changed in Rita. She was very sociable, not an introverted woman at all, but now she feels insecure...
She cannot decide what sort of wine she should buy. She feels unable to talk to the other guests. She feels that everybody is going to laught at her. She feels that she is not going to fit or find her place in this party. She feels like a fish out of water.

I think that the dinner party and her life are a reflection (or consequence) of what is happening whith her studies. It's the beginning of the change, she is learning something new, she is experiencing new situations and she is seeing life from a new point of view, that is why she feels insecure, everything is new and she doesn't know how to react to this new situations.

Rita writes her essays with passion. She is unique, she still has this "something" that makes her different from the rest of the students. Frank doesn't want to change her. But she wants to start with the change...
The change which will make her able to feel secure with the rest of the students; which make her able to appreciate other things...

A change that will allow her to start again, to start a new (different) life...

Be dead Boring... or be dead Excitin'

What words does Rita use to express her enthusiasm for Macbeth?

"... I thought it was gonna be dead borin'..."
"... But Listen, it wasn't borin', it was bleedin' great, honest, ogh, it done me in, it was fantastic."
"... It was dead good. It was like a thriller."
" I just thought it was a dead excitin' story."

Rita was so delighted with the play, she felt so happy about her discovery, that she was eager to write an essay and tell Frank how did she feel. It was a completely new experience for her and the fact that she enjoyed the play promoted or encouraged her with the writing of the essay.

Could she use these words in an essay?

Of course she cannot use these words (read above) in the essay. This is colloquial language and she should use formal language do an essay.

Make a choice and Resign to something

What expressions does Rita use to emphasise how important the course is to her?

Rita claims that the course provides her with life. She feels satisfy, she is very happy with the course and she wants to keep doing it.
I think it's reasonable and maybe predictable that Denny, her husband, gets jelous. When somebody starts doing something, such as taking a course, job, or any kind of activity the people around him/her may fell neglected or rather abandoned. And it's true when we make a choice we have to resign to other things, and sometimes resign to spend time with people we love. What is more, Rita seems so excited about her carrer and her teacher that makes a good reason for Deeny to be jelous.
Although she is right to be angry with her husband actitud and the fact that he burned her books, I agree with Frank that they have to talk. If she is so happy with the course she has to do it and he should suppot her.

"Comin' here, doin' this, it's given me more life then I've had in years, an' he should be able to see that."

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger

Why do you think Rita says 'it makes me stronger coming here'?

As Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton said "the pen is mighter than the sword". I believe that knowledge is "power", knowledge not only opens your senses and helps you to see and discover things, but it also gives you a kind of power, which nobody can steal from you.

Rita is immersed in an emvironment where life is very simple. Her duty is to work and spend time with her husband and friends, that's all. She is inside a vicious circle.
People are there to live, not think about life or anything. The fact that Rita wants to learn will help her to change her environment (if she wants) will help her to think about other realities, even when the people around her don't like the idea that she can change her way of thinking, living (and maybe leave them).
Learning opens people's minds, learning empowers people. Knowledge makes people feel stronger (other people cannot deceive them).

I think this situation is repeated many times in the entire world. Just as an example, George Orwell's "Animal Farm" just crossed from my mind, where ignorant animals are deceived and controlled by those who knows a little more. They are deceived because they cannot read.

What I learn from you about art an' literature, it feeds me, inside. I can get through the rest of the week if I know I've got comin' here to look forward to.
Denny tried to top me comin' tonight. he tried to get me to go out to the pub with him an' his mates. (...) They hate it when one of them tries to break away. It makes me stronger comin' here. That's what Denny's frightened of.

The Proper Classroom for Proper Students...

What does she think about Frank's room and about the proper students?


I think Rita is a very good observer. From the very beginning she is walking around and meticulously exploring Frank's room. She considers the room to be tasteful, with everything in the right place, and at the same time a mess. A perfect mess. I think everybody has its own mess. I have my own mess. The thing is be able to deal with that mess. As Rita says everything fits in its place. I think it has to do with lifestyles, we cannot experience something without using it. We cannot live without doing and experiencing everything we want to do, and sometimes that way of living results in a mess. A mess we can understand, our own mess. Another thing to highlight is that 'There's nothing phoney about it' (the room). The room represents all Frank's knowledge his life experiences, his likes, and everything is true, because its part of his life.
As for proper students, I think Rita missed the first chance to be a proper student herself. Being a proper student was harder than being just a 'normal' girl. You have to study, you have to work hard, it is boring, your mates don't forgive you if you became a proper student. So Rita chose the easy way.

'Possessing a hungry mind is not, in itself, a guarantee of success.'

Why does Rita want to study?

The answer is easy: She wants to know.

And now the question would be... Know what for?

When we are young we don't want to study, and many times we don't know why we "have" to study. We are sent to school by our parents (in the best case). But as we are so young (sometimes) we cannot see the utility of what we are learning (long term usage).

But in the case of Rita, she is already a grown up and she wants to study at the university. Study at the university... what for?
What for are we studying at universities (or terteary levels)?
We may have different answers, different goals, different interests, but in the end we're all learning. Some of us may want their degree, some others polish their English, some of us may study just for fun. Study for fun?

I think this is the beginning of all. When we start discovering that learning can be fun, that we can use our knowledge, and that we are open to new things that we didn't appreciate before (just because of ignorance, or not understanding).
Knowledge let us understand new things, or discover new things that we weren't able to see before. Knowledge opens our mind to new worlds, and that in my opinion, is what Rita wants.

"Because I wanna know Everything" = ) * (= "I'll have to learn about it all..."

"... y' sit (...) watchin' the ballet or the opera on the telly an' - an' y' call it rubbish cos that's what it looks like? Cos y' don't understand. So y' switch it off an' saym that's fuckin' rubbish."

"(...) But I don't want to. I wanna see."

Final Post