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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. In the last part of Act 3, Higgins and Pickering take Liza for her final test. Where does this "test" take place?

2. Why is Liza's father, Doolittle, upset with Higgins?

3. What shocking word does Liza use during the social visit with the Eynsford Hills in Act 3?

4. Why is Pickering afraid at the party?

5. To whom does Liza plan to go for advice the day after she leaves Higgins?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Liza ultimately think of the party and of her success at the end of Act 3?

2. Why is Liza so upset in Act 4? What does she want to know?

3. What does Higgins mean when he says that "my manners are exactly the same as Pickering's"? In what sense is he right? In what sense is he wrong?

4. How do Freddy and Clara feel about Liza after meeting her, and why do they probably feel this way?

5. How does Freddy feel about Liza and what does he want from her? How is he different from Higgins?

6. 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?

7. What does Higgins mean when he says that people are really "savages"?

8. What does Higgins think Liza should do with her future? Does he really give it any thought?

9. Why is Doolittle unhappy with his new status? What is ironic about this?

10. How does Liza finally come into her own as a woman at the end of Act 5?

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 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?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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