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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. At the end of Act 2, Higgins is shown teaching Liza a lesson. What specifically does Higgins teach Liza?

2. How does Liza feel about the bedroom she'll be staying in?

3. What is Freddy looking for at the beginning of Act 1?

4. What is one example Shaw gives of when people might want to change their accents?

5. At which university does Sweet teach?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Henry Sweet.

2. Why are shorthand methods inadequate for ordinary use?

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

4. What does Higgins boast that he can do for the Flower Girl?

5. How does Higgins feel about women?

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

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

8. What does Higgins's housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, think about the plan? Who seems to have a more sensible view of the situation, Higgins or Mrs. Pearce?

9. What makes some English people despise others? What can we infer would solve this problem?

10. Why does Liza become upset when Mrs. Pearce takes her up for a bath? What does this incident show about Liza?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Write an essay examining the attitudes toward love and marriage in the play.

Part 1) How does Shaw satirize, or make fun of, conventional attitudes toward love and marriage, for instance, through Higgins and Doolittle?

Part 2) What, according to Shaw in his Epilogue, is the balance of power men and women seek in marriage? What is an ideal marriage like?

Part 3) Why do some men never marry?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about symbolism in the play.

Part 1) One of Liza's treasured possessions is a birdcage. Consider what a birdcage symbolizes in Liza's life. For instance, what imprisons Liza, and when does she ultimately become free? Examine in particular her conversations with Higgins in Acts 4 and 5.

Part 2) Higgins has a dish of chocolates on the piano. In Act 4, Liza puts her ring into the dish. Why does she do this? What do the chocolates and the ring symbolize for Liza?

(see the answer keys)

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