Pygmalion: George Bernard Shaw and Play

After Higgins, confesses to his undying love for Eliza. Eliza decides to leave Higgins’s home because felt that it would only hurt Higgins more to have her stay another moment in his home because she did not share the same feelings for him. She now resides at the home of Mrs. Higgins.

“All you can change is yourself, but sometimes that changes everything” said Gary W. Goldstein. Eliza has changed herself and her identity and that also changed her life and how she sees things now. She has a whole new perspective on life. Eliza did change herself for the better. But at some points, you could see the old her through the new her. Henry Higgins really helped her do that. No one can completely forget who they were in the past and this story is a very good example of it.

The play also arguably acts as a critique of Victorian-Era notions of middle class philanthropy towards the poor who believed themselves to be socially superior and had severe moral judgements towards the poor. It also represents the differences and the struggles between the younger and older generation. “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine and that I see him fairly frequently.” This quote clearly suggests that Mr. Birling is trying to bully the inspector through his status and authority in society and the power he has over him, Mr. Birling is comprehending that he is more important than the officer. He believes that having political and social power over people makes him all-powerful, even when he refers to the working class or the middle class. He thinks that the working class is just there to serve you as a labor. Mr. Birling suggests that the working class are not worth crying over, when he uses the quote ‘Several hundred women’ he sees Eva as just one of those worthless girls who worked at his money-making factory. This shows us his overall mindset that all his workers had not more value to him than that they were workers who just earned profits for him. By saying “they keep changing” he shows the readers that he wouldn’t have cared if any woman or man would’ve left his factory. Sheila also argues that her dad had a

To understand literature is to not only understand human nature, but to also understand how the surrounding conditions affect humans. It is often the situation that people are placed in which drives their actions. Similarly, the Marxist approach to studying literature focuses on how certain economic conditions can affect character’s values and actions. In addition, Marxism teaches that wealth is a critical part of society, as without it many opportunities are no longer present. For example, an individual with wealth can go through life leisurely, while a person without it is subject to greater hardships. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the struggle due to economic conditions is evident, as the dreams and aspirations of the Younger family become deferred due to their struggles with poverty. The economic conditions of the Younger family not only lead to the deferral of their dreams, but also to the neglect of their moral values as they begin to see wealth as a necessity.

Eliza now has two suitors; one who is staid and reserved and one who is amiable and gay. While Mr. Boyer sees Eliza as a woman with “an accomplished mind and polished manner”, it is Sanford’s view of Eliza’s exuberant nature that ensures her downfall (10). In Major Sanford’s letter to Charles Deighton, he sees Eliza as a conquest. He writes that she is “an elegant partner; one exactly calculated to please my fancy; gay, volatile, apparently thoughtless of everything but present enjoyment” (18). Sanford does

His hesitation to do so, however, stems from the events of Dunstan’s youth and the conflict between his own values and those of Percy Boy Staunton, his mother and the Deptford society. These conflicting values lead Dustan to the cul-de-sac of an unlived life.

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

In fact, poverty that the black community experiences has a direct correlation to discrimination, as Tayebeh Nowrouzi claims, “Big Walter 's life was a constant suffering from his discriminated hostile economic and social world… he could not escape the despair and poverty that discrimination imposed on African Americans” (Nowrouzi et.al. 2272). In arguing this claim, Nowrouzi is explaining that economic poverty is due to racism and discrimination. The phrase “he could not escape” confirms how although Big Walter worked diligently his whole life, the poverty and economic failure was an impending doom. Moreover, the use of the words “constant suffering” suggests that Big Walter and the black community have been dealing with poverty and economic disparity for as long as they have been alive. The life of Big Walter is very symbolic because the treatment of African-Americans has not changed from his lifetime to Walter and Travis’s lifetime. The legacy that A Raisin in the Sun has left in modern society is very negative because the play demonstrates a profoundly racist and discriminated point of view of African-American poverty. However, not only does the play show differences in the welfare of African-Americans compared to whites, it also illustrates the theme of money and greed.

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.

Higgins tries to take all of the credit for Eliza’s transformation into a lady. In his mind, Eliza did nothing and without him, she would not have been able to accomplish this task. Mr. Higgins continues to express his dominance by telling Eliza what to do even though she does not work for him. Eliza does not like the way that Mr. Higgins treats her and leaves his house, angrily. After searching for Eliza, Mr. Higgins finally finds her and tells her that he paid for her services and she needs to finish her job. In this way, he treats her as if she is

The novel highlights the significance of class consciousness and how one particular class can become subjective to the hands of the dogmatic elites. The derogative attitudes regarding social class first occurs when Jane suffers horrible treatment from John Reed. He violently torments Jane and constantly reminds her that she is an orphan and a dependent of the Reed family, forcing into her mind that to be without a class is to be without worth. He imposes fear into Jane and reminding her that he is the superior being.

In the movie, Higgins targeted phonological features proper of Eliza’s Cockney dialect. According to Higgins, Eliza’s accent should be modified to “transform” her into a fine lady. The undesired behavior was weakened by a series of reinforcements based on punishment and reward. Eliza was offered chocolate, for example, when she correctly pronounced a set of sentences. Once Eliza achieve the “correct” pronunciation she was offered multiple rewards. For example, she attended the Ascot Horse Race, for which she was offered a new wardrobe.

However, readers of the play may argue that Eliza and Higgins stop working together and conflict later on so that supports the theory of class struggle by Marxism. But when the two characters conflict with each other it’s not because of class struggle or anything related to hierarchy, it’s because of Eliza not accepting Higgins as a teacher as Higgins starts mistreating her so rather Eliza gives the credit for her transformation to Colonel Pickering and have constant arguments with Higgins now that she have learned the dialect of a higher class. “Mrs Higgins. I’m afraid you’ve spoiled that girl, Henry.” Eliza can also be seen as spoiled because of all those higher class ways and lifestyle she just adapted to. This type of conflict can be related to a house dispute and doesn’t show a behavior of lower class revolting against higher class to gain rights. “Liza. That’s not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.” “Higgins. The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat anyone else better.” As for Higgins’s personality, he always treats people with rudeness so

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.