How Does Social Class Affect Different People From Different Time Periods?

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

Education in “Pygmalion” is depicted as a stepping stone into a better life, but it is how one puts one’s knowledge to use that determines their satisfaction with life. The main message of “Pygmalion” is appearances can be deceiving. Higgins, a high middle class man who studies phonetics--the science of speech-- with a proper education, conveys a persona of being cold, stern, proper, conventional, and intellectual. Eliza, on the other hand, grew up on the streets, which resulted in her hideous accent. She was “...not at all an attractive person…[She] wears a… hat… exposed to

1. In terms of the workplace, how does social class matter? In terms of the workplace, as much as we’d like to think that it isn’t important, social class matters.

This sudden change in character shows that an upgrade in social class not only changes the way that people look at you but that it can also have many benefits as well. Going against the thesis, there is one character, Colonial Pickering. Colonial Pickering is a friend and a safe haven to Miss Doolittle. She trusts him, and with good reason, from the beginning to the end of the play, he treats her the same, like a lady. ?Colonial Pickering is a compete contrast to the character of Henry Higgins in terms of manners and behaviour. Colonial Pickering is Shaw?s evidence that wealth and poverty can mix.? (Galens and Scampinato, 245). Most characters in Pygmalion expect the rich and poor to stay separate except for the open hearted and minded, Colonial Pickering.

The famous Greek philosopher Epicurus said “He who is not satisfied with a little, is satisfied with nothing” however today it’s because of the Industrial Revolution that society isn’t satisfied with the little and this has had a major negative impact on humanity.

Social Class and Your Life Social class is what we can be born into, if someone got lucky they can work up to improve their social class or in rare occasions someone can fall to the lower class. Social class determines who are the elites in the economic spectrum, who can thrive and who can get by with just the little money that they have from the minimum wage lower class workers get. Some may ask themselves does social class affect the quality of life? The answer is yes, it does affect the life of a lot of people because how much money workers have determines what benefits they will get in the future. From defending themselves legally to eating healthy it is all determined how well they are doing economically.

The three effects of social class on family life: the choice in husband or wife, divorce, and childbearing. When it comes to the choice of a significant other to marry, it can cause a lot of stress. In a capitalist class, it is thought that the children have to marry someone from a family that is of the same social class or that has a certain last name. This is because who one marries is thought to affect both of their entire families rather than just the ones getting married. Although in a more middle class or poor family, it may not matter as much unless they are trying to move up the social ladder.

Social class is an aspect that has been covered by numerous novels, stories, articles and even plays. A major play that has covered the aspect of social class was “The Importance of Being Earnest”, by Oscar Wilde, published in 1899. Oscar Wilde used certain characters to depict the aspect of social class; like Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell played an important role in the play that conveyed the aspect of social class and various parts of it. Therefore, in this essay, I would discuss how social class is portrayed throughout the play by Lady Bracknell’s

Valentine’s Day is when a lot of relationships get started. That is excellent but, have you ever wondered how political views, racial, and social class differences impact human relationships? Social classes, different political views, and different religions can have an effect on forming relationships.

The different classes in both plays had their advantages and disadvantages; however, some classes had more benefits than others. In Pygmalion, the upper-class was the most privileged money-wise. Henry Higgins was an upper-class educated man who had quite a reputation and enough money to take on the challenge of transforming Eliza, a lower-class woman, into an upper-class citizen. As a member of the upper-class, Higgins had access to “chocolates, and taxis, and gold, and diamonds” that members of the lower-class didn’t necessarily have (Shaw 19). These objects are associated with

In the Victorian England period, how a person is viewed by society determines everything. What kind of jobs are available, who it is ok to marry, and even who is acceptable to interact with. How a person is viewed can change their life for better or for worse, and sadly women during this period must work twice as hard as their male counterparts to get the crucial social respect needed to succeed in their societies. How a person appears and how they dress plays a big part on how someone is viewed, but flower-girl-turned-duchess Eliza Doolittle must learn the hard way that just because a person fits the outside criteria of a lady does not exactly mean she would be treated as so, by society and most of all her mentor Henry Higgins. Throughout the play, Pygmalion, By George Bernard Shaw, the author makes the theme of prejudice against women very apparent by the way they are treated in society and the unreasonable expectations they are held up to, making it very difficult for women like Eliza Doolittle to move up in society and be seen as equal in the eyes of those above them.

Social class is everywhere. It has always played a big role in society, both during the Victorian era and today. Thus, it is obviously one of the themes in many films, books, and television shows, especially in those featuring the Victorian era. An example may be ‘’Great Expectations’’ by Charles Dickens. We will also compare ‘’Mansfield Park’’ by Jane Austen from the Georgian period to get a deeper insight on the change of the British social system. These two people, along with many other famous artists have been known for their titles as ‘’Social

Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw, portrays the transformation of a cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a sophisticated society lady through the handiwork of her "sculptor," Professor Henry Higgins. She is discovered by Higgins and Colonel Pickering at Covent Garden, where Eliza is selling flowers to Pickering, while speaking her native Cockney. Soon, Eliza appears on Higgins ' doorstep to ask him to teach her proper pronunciation so that she can become a flower shop girl. This opportunity becomes her ticket to a much better life. Her rise in society is juxtaposed against another family who has the opposite misfortune. The Eynsford Hill’s were once wealthy, until the death of the husband, who was also the only breadwinner,

George Bernard Shaw was an Irish immigrant in England, ostracised from society because of his appearance and heritage rather than from judgement of his person, this kept him apart from most social classes of the time. This feeling of not fitting in may have inspired Shaw to write the play Pygmalion which premiered in 1914 to comment on the shallow nature of the people of this era and satirise the class system. To do this Shaw introduced Eliza Doolittle, a class chameleon, to guide the audience through the corrupt social hierarchy and give light to those who don’t have a real place in the structure, like himself and Eliza who are judged based on appearance and speech. Shaw confronted his audience with his satirical reflection of reality; speech defines a persons’ class instead of what they have to say and to appear beautiful is more important than to be kind. Emphasising these important aspects in different ways in various characters gives an interesting view on how this class system influenced the people in their context. Pygmalion is a both reflection of influence of class and the values it promotes which Shaw skilfully uses to criticise inequality of all those within it.

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.