Pygmalion and its characters
Choose a character and analyze the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists; how the character is affected by and responds to those standards; and how the character's reactions develop meaning in the work. "Pygmalion," a play by Bernard Shaw, is a mixture of a romantic comedy and a satire in which the main character, Eliza Doolittle, is judged only based on her English dialect. Shaw's play makes fun of a society that evaluates its citizens on their particular dialect rather than their character. As a result, Eliza is forced into the metamorphosis from a common flower girl into a lady. In the opening scene of Act One, Eliza has to fend for herself and vehemently asserts the virtue and sacredness of her character, which society fails to recognize. In this scene, the note taker, who will later be identified as Henry Higgins, repeats exactly what Eliza says: "Cheer ap, Keptin; n'baw ya flahr orf a pore gel." At this point, he realizes she is from Lisson Grove, a less-than-wealthy area of England. Furthermore, Shaw foreshadows the importance for Eliza to improv
Evidently at this stage, Eliza only craves the economic security and social respectability that would come with her ability to speak correctly. She does not know that this desire for security and respectability only constitutes the second small step in her larger quest for self-realization. Nevertheless, she is required to purge both her body and soul before she can ascend to a higher plane of awareness. Her haughty air is soon reduced to confusion, fear, and helplessness as she bears the tyrannical outbursts of Higgins who insultingly calls her a "baggage" and "a draggle-tailed guttersnipe." By the fifth scene, Eliza becomes a self-reliant woman, capable of facing reality. Her English is proper by this scene and she says, "How do you do, Professor Higgins? Are you quite well?" In addition to speaking proper English, Eliza has not lost her sense of self-pride. She says to Higgins, "I don't care how you treat me. I don't mind your swearing at me. I shouldn't mind a black eye: I've had one before this. But I wont be passed over." Although Eliza's speech has changed througho
Some common words found in the essay are:
Higgins Pickering, Furthermore Shaw, Act Eliza, English Eliza, Eliza Doolittle, , Lisson Grove, Cheer Keptin, Bernard Shaw, Professor Higgins, act eliza, flower girl, selling flowers, note taker, lisson grove,
Approximate Word count = 738
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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