Pygmalion Study Questions
(please do not write on this sheet) Act I1. In the opening scene, why do you think Shaw attaches labels rather than specific names to his characters. How would you describe the types of characters in Act I? 2. What actions and statements by the Flower Girl reveal that she combines integrity with shrewdness? How would you describe the other aspects of her character? 3. What are your impressions of Freddy, his mother, and his sister? In what ways do they typify their class, and in what ways do they surprise you? 4. What is the Note-taker’s attitude toward people in general? What is his attitude toward women in particular, especially the Flower Girl? What does he do when the church bell rings, and why? 5. What does Higgins’s boast—“In three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess”—foreshadow for the following acts? What difficulties do you foresee arising from such a plan? Act II1. What reasons does Eliza give for wanting speech lessons? Why is Higgins willing to take her on as a student? 2. In what ways does Pickering serve as a foil for Higgins? How does he differ from him in character, attitudes, manners, and ability? In what ways does he serve as Eliza’s advocate in Act II? 3. How does Mrs. Pearce react to Eliza? On what points do she and Pickering agree? What class and what class’s interest does she represent? 4. What does Eliza reveal through bargaining with Higgins and snatching the handkerchief back from Mrs. Pearce—ignorance, greed, or self-esteem? 5. Doolittle exposes the pretensions of what he calls “middle-class morality.” Why does he prefer his own “undeserving poverty,” and why does he cheerfully confess to it? What stereotypes about class and morality does he highlight? Act III1. In what ways is Mrs. Higgins a contrast in manners and attitudes to her son and to Mrs. Eynsford Hill and Clara? 2. What is Mrs. Higgins’s reaction to Eliza? What concerns does she share about Higgins’s and Pickering’s selfishness and irresponsibility? How do her views compare with those of Mrs. Pearce in Act II? To what extent are their concerns due to their attitudes about class and to what extent are they due to gender? 3. Despite Eliza’s tragic tones in describing her aunt’s death, the scene retains its comedy. How does Shaw preserve comedy in this potentially tragic story? 4. How does Clara’s belief that Eliza’s speech is “the new small talk” provide an example of class pretensions? What does Freddy say that show he is infatuated with Eliza? 5. What does Nepommuck say Eliza is? What are his reasons? How is his position similar to and different from Higgins’s? Act IV1. What emotions does Higgins express when reacting to his victory? What gratefulness does he show for Eliza’s performance? How does he show sensitivity or insensitivity to her feelings? 2. What are Eliza’s feelings regarding her future? What varying or conflicting feelings do you think she might have for Higgins? 3. The fourth act, which represents the first major crisis to erupt in the unconventional Higgins household, is unusually short—hardly more than a scene. What advantages might Shaw see in introducing the crisis in Act IV and in keeping the act very short? 4. How does Act IV initiate the falling action of the play? How does it differ from the rest of the play? What is the tone of this act? To what extent is your opinion of Higgins changed by his words and attitudes in this act? Act V1. Why does Eliza in her distress turn to Mrs. Higgins? How has Eliza changed in the course of the play apart from her speech, manners, and appearance? 2. How has Higgins’s view of Eliza changed? What are the emotional implications of asking Eliza to come back “for the fun of it”? 3. Review Pickering’s role and his character. Does his character suggest that certain qualities are inevitably associated with class? What kind of qualities would those be? How does Pickering appear to define social class? 4. In what ways does Alfred Doolittle’s acceptance of affluence conflict with his earlier criticisms of middle-class morality? Through Doolittle, what might Shaw be saying about class-motivated behavior? What kinds of lower-class behavior in twenty-first century American society conflict with standards of behavior adopted by the middle class? Epilogue1. What happens to Freddy and his sister Clara in the Epilogue? What kind of predictions does Shaw seem to be making about the future of the English class system? Does Shaw appear to view this future with optimism or pessimism? 2. The question of the first half of the play is whether Higgins will win his bet with Pickering. What is the question of the play following Act III? 3. What moral picture does Shaw paint in the play of the relationships between characters in Pygmalion? What vices or weaknesses are condemned? What virtues are praised? What characters are the most sympathetically portrayed?
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Extra credit vocab is SINGLE ELIMINATION:
1. 4 people will present 5 words @ for 5 pts. EC in Listening/Speaking. If they are unprepared on Monday, they are eliminated. 2. Everybody who wants to be eligible to take the quiz will have to write a sentence using each word correctly. Failure to have a hard copy of 20 sentences on Tuesday will eliminate the student. 20 points of extra credit in Writing. 3. The quiz is spelling and fill in the blank: 1 point @ for 40 points. Minimum score of 28/40 to earn the extra credit. No exceptions. Here are the words: Abecedarian Ablate Ablution Absquatulate Abstemious Adjure Affective Agathism Ailurophile Aleatory Amanuensis Amaranth Anomie Antediluvian Apodictic Aposiopesis Arriviste Atavism Atrabilious Avatar |
AuthorDr. C teaches AP Lit Archives
April 2020
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