Essay about George Bernard Shaw's Life and Works

HIGGINS [with the look of confusion on his face]: Fine thank you, Eliza we need to…

F Scott Fitzgerald was one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Although his last finished work was more than 60 years ago, today they are enjoyed with more enthusiasm and acclaim than they were when they were written. His works are cited as an influence for many other authors. Fitzgerald saw his writing as a reflection of his own life. His works are closely based on his experiences at Princeton, in World War 1 and his love life. Although he was not overly popular at the time of his death, today, he is regarded as one of the best authors of the modern era.

1. Shaw and Barry distinguish two different forms of utilitarianism. What are these two forms? Briefly describe each and use examples.

Robert Gould Shaw was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His family lived off the inheritance of his merchant grandfather. He was born into a prominent abolitionists family. Abolitionists are people who wanted slavery to end. His parents were Francis George Shaw and Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw, and he had four sisters: Anna, Josephine, Susannah and Ellen. He was a Unitarian. A Unitarian is a person, especially a Christian, who asserts the unity of God and rejects the doctrine of the Trinity.

If you ask anybody, they will know about the Holocaust, but if you ask how the prisoners felt, some wouldn’t know how to answer. Some felt an undying love for their family, others an undying hate for the Nazi regime, and many had their view of life completely changed. The latter was what had happened to Eliezer Wiesel, also known as Elie. During his memoir known as Night Elie’s tone continuously darkened throughout the book.

Response To Literature: Setting All around the world horrific events have happened and are still happening, but the rest of the world just stands by and watches. How is it possible for nobody to speak out or do anything? In the book Night Elie Wiesel describes a horrific event he was forced through (the Holocaust) and the world didn’t do anything. Why doesn’t anyone do anything? People around the world are keeping silent because nobody wants to get involved, some people just don’t care, and some people just don’t know how to help.

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is a play that shows a great change in the character Eliza Doolittle. As Eliza lives in poverty, she sells flowers to earn her living. Eliza does not have an education. This shows through the way that she does not have the most proper way of speaking. This happens through when Eliza is speaking to the other characters when she meets then when she is still at a low level of poverty in her life. To understand the reasons Eliza is able to change and be changed into an almost Cinderella like character. With Eliza going from and growing and changing through the hardship she faces. In the play Eliza begins with no confidence and works towards having a way to reach trough from learning during her life

George Bernard Shaw and John Edwards seem to share some quite similar beliefs regarding language and identity. More specifically, how language alters one’s identity. Edwards uses discussions involving class, gender, and dialect; while Shaw uses his character, Eliza Doolittle to discuss these connections between language and identity. Both authors debunk the stereotypical perception about language and groups, just in two separate ways. Edwards explains it over several chapters of his text “Language and Identity”, whereas Shaw demonstrates it through one person.

Social class can be thought of as a very important indicator of who a person is.

also set up a tiny dye house in the basement and scullery of his house

Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, describes Shaw’s viewpoint on social class distinctions in the 1900s by describing characters of the upper, middle, and lower classes in the play. Through the characters’ descriptions, language, and actions, the distinction between classes becomes very prominent. Similarly, Galileo, by Bertolt Brecht, describes Brecht’s take on the social class structure during Galileo’s time and how the differences between classes affected Galileo’s opportunity to do scientific research. Both plays depict a society ruled by the upper-class and a lack of coherence among the upper, middle, and lower classes that leads to eventual conflict. In both Pygmalion and Galileo, the authors highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the different social classes in order to critique how the relationships between people from different classes affect their interactions with each other.

him. So on the third of April of 1920 in St. Patrick's Cathedral New York City

While literary critics do attempt to elaborate or develop ideas articulated by Karl Marx, it is important and necessary to make a distinction between Marx's specific socio-economic and political agenda and the body of literary theory which emerged years later. Marxist literary criticism proceeds from the fundamental philosophical assumption that "consciousness can never be anything else than conscious existence...Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life" (Marx 568-9). Marxist critics use this challenge to the notion of an innate, prefigured, individual human nature to reexamine the nature of creative or literary authority.

“Pygmalion was written to challenge the class system, traditional stereotypes and the audience’s own views.”

Social standing is central to the plot of George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion”. The portrayal of class identity in Shaw’s play appears to be a criticism of the distinctions between high society and the poorer classes in Victorian England. Shaw’s aim was to portray how the upper-crust of Victorian society viewed the lower classes, as evidenced by Higgins’ treatment of Eliza upon her first visit to his laboratory; Higgins treats her as though she is too stupid to understand that he is insulting her. The assumption is that the wealthy view the lower classes as being somehow lesser. So what is it that Shaw is trying to impart upon the reader? Shaw appeared to show open disdain not just for the upper class of society but for society in general, and Pygmalion may be interpreted as an open criticism of class distinctions in Victorian England.