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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Shaw's attempt to help Sweet fail?

2. Of what does Mrs. Pearce warn Higgins?

3. According to Shaw, what can people do to get rid of their low-class accents?

4. Who is Robert Bridges and what does he have in common with Higgins?

5. How does Higgins make his money?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Higgins feel about women?

2. Why does the English language need to be reformed, according to Shaw?

3. What does Higgins think of the Flower Girl's accent? What humorous hyperbole does he use in speaking to her?

4. Why does the Flower Girl become upset at the note-taker? What is she most likely afraid of?

5. How are Clara and her mother different?

6. Who are some of the most important people in England, according to Shaw? Why do you think this is so, again, according to Shaw?

7. Describe Higgins's laboratory. What does it reveal about his character?

8. What would, in Shaw's opinion, be a prodigious advancement in the English language? Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

9. What bet does Pickering make with Higgins? Why does Higgins accept?

10. Describe the Flower Girl.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the theme of nature versus nurture in the play Pygmalion.

Part 1) Henry Higgins transformsd Liza Doolittle. Does he really change her essential nature, or only the superficial aspects? Explain.

Part 2) Consider Pickering's statement, after the ambassador's party, that "Eliza was doing it so well. You see, lots of the real people cant do it at all: theyre such fools that they think style comes by nature to people in their position; and so they never learn." What does this say about Liza's natural sense of style?

Part 3) Consider how Liza was raised (reread Act 2 for her father's comments about how he raised her). Did Doolittle's nurture (or rather, lack of nurture) harm Liza? Is he to be blamed or credited for the way she is now?

Part 4) While Higgins changes Liza, is she able to do the same with him? Why, or why not?

Part 5) Consider this statement from Higgins: "I cant change my nature." Is this true? Can anyone really ever change his or her nature, or are all changes only superficial? Explain, using examples from the play.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of Clara and her transformation in the play.

Part 1) How does Clara change in the course of the play, and why?

Part 2) How does Shaw satirize various foibles of society through Clara (for instance, snobbery and fads among young people)?

Part 3) How are we meant to view Clara? Is she a sympathetic figure, a ridiculous figure, or some mixture of both?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you examine the negative consequences of having money and social status in Pygmalion. Liza's father, Alfred Doolittle, is poor but does not wish to have money. Why? When he comes into money, why does he blame Higgins for delivering him into the hands of middle-class morality? Does he make a good point? What are some of the drawbacks to having money? What are the restrictions of being in a particular social class?

(see the answer keys)

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