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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. What does Higgins say when he finds that Liza is not married?

2. What does an upside-down e represent?

3. When does Shaw first become interested in the subject of phonetics?

4. Of what does Mrs. Pearce warn Higgins?

5. Based on what you read in the Preface, with which of the following statements do you think Shaw would agree?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Liza likely mean when she says "I'm a good girl, I am"? Why does she say this?

2. Describe the Flower Girl.

3. What does Higgins do for the Flower Girl? What prompts him to do so? What does this act suggest about Higgins?

4. Why does Liza's father come to see Higgins?

5. What are three methods of phonetic shorthand that Shaw mentions in Pygmalion, and what are they used for?

6. Describe Higgins.

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

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

9. Why are shorthand methods inadequate for ordinary use?

10. Who is the Gentleman in the first act, and what do he and the note-taker have in common?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Read the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. How is Higgins like Pygmalion? What other stories, movies, or television shows can you think of that are modeled on this same general plot? Why do you think people are fascinated by the idea of transformation or makeovers?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay describing the transformation of Liza Doolittle from common flower girl to lady.

Part 1) In what specific ways does she change, and why? Are the changes mostly superficial or deep changes?

Part 2) Consider Liza's statement at the end of the ambassador's party: "nothing can make me the same as these people." Is she now really transformed into a duchess? Why, or why not?

Part 3) When and how does Liza truly come into her own as a woman? What does she realize about herself at that point in the play?

Part 4) Does Liza's process of transformation have to do with the way she speaks, or does it have more to do with the way she views herself? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the plot of Pygmalion. Tell what the central conflict of the play is and describe how it is developed throughout the plot. In your essay, describe and analyze all of the following plot elements:

--Inciting incident

--Rising action

--Climax

--Falling action

--Resolution

(see the answer keys)

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