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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 is Liza's father, Doolittle, upset with Higgins?
2. What does Liza plan to do for money?
3. What does Higgins throw into the fire?
4. In the last part of Act 3, Higgins and Pickering take Liza for her final test. Where does this "test" take place?
5. What does Higgins think of Neppomuck?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Pickering think about the evening? How do his feelings differ from Higgins's? How does he succeed in hurting Liza as well?
2. Why doesn't Higgins want Liza to fetch his slippers for him and perform other like tasks?
3. Does Higgins really not care about Liza? How can you tell? What comments and reactions on Higgins's part show that he is growing fond of Eliza?
4. How does Freddy feel about Liza and what does he want from her? How is he different from Higgins?
5. What do Neppomuck and the ambassador's wife conclude about Liza? What does it suggest about class differences and about high society that Liza is so easily able to fool everyone at the party?
6. Describe Neppomuck. Who is he, and what does Higgins think of him?
7. What does Liza ultimately think of the party and of her success at the end of Act 3?
8. How does Liza finally come into her own as a woman at the end of Act 5?
9. Why is Pickering just as important to Liza's transformation as Higgins, if not more so? What is he able to teach her that Higgins could not?
10. Why is Liza so upset in Act 4? What does she want to know?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write an essay about feminism in Pygmalion. In the Epilogue to his play, Shaw quotes Nietzsche in saying, "When you go to women, take your whip with you." Does Shaw agree or disagree with this statement? Is he a sexist or a feminist, in your opinion? Explain, using evidence from the play. Consider in your essay his characterization of Liza, Clara, Mrs. Higgins, and Mrs. Pearce.
Essay Topic 2
Write an essay examining the theme of morality in Pygmalion.
Part 1) "I'm a good girl, I am," Liza repeats in Act 2 when Higgins tempts her with chocolates, clothes, and money. Later, in Act 3, she tells Higgins, "I sold flowers. I didnt sell myself. Now youve made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else." What does she mean by these statements? What do the statements reveal about Liza's morals?
Part 2) Explain the irony in Liza's statement in Act 3. What does it say about the relative morality of low-class flower girls and high-class ladies?
Part 3) What does it say about the morality of upper and lower classes in general?
Essay Topic 3
In the Preface to Pygmalion, Shaw says that all great art should be didactic; that is, it should teach something. What does Shaw hope his play will teach people--both about language and about how reforming it might help society? Do you think the play is successful at communicating the intended message? Write an essay about this topic, using quotations from the Preface as well as from the rest of the play.
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This section contains 1,126 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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