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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 about the experiment with Liza?

2. What shocking thing does Liza tell her listeners at the social visit with the Eynsford Hills in Act 3?

3. How is Mrs. Higgins portrayed?

4. For whom or what does Pickering say the evening has been a real triumph?

5. What is the setting at the beginning of Act 3?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Pickering think about the evening? How do his feelings differ from Higgins's? How does he succeed in hurting Liza as well?

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

4. Why doesn't Higgins want Liza to fetch his slippers for him and perform other like tasks?

5. What type of job does Liza propose to do in the final act? Why might she be better at this job than Higgins?

6. 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?

7. What does Liza say about marriage in Act 4? What does her statement reveal about her morals?

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

9. 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?

10. Describe Mrs. Higgins and her relationship with her son.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 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.

(see the answer keys)

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