Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw, tells the story of a Cockney flower girl named Eliza Doolittle who is transformed into a lady through the tutelage of a phonetics expert named Professor Henry Higgins. One of the main themes in the play is the issue of social class and the rigid hierarchy that exists within British society.
At the beginning of the play, Eliza is a poor, uneducated flower girl who speaks with a thick Cockney accent. She is looked down upon by those in higher social classes and is treated with disdain by Higgins and his friend, Colonel Pickering. Despite this, Eliza has a fierce determination to better herself and escape her circumstances. She is willing to undergo the grueling process of learning proper speech and manners in order to become a lady and improve her social standing.
Throughout the play, Shaw uses Eliza's transformation as a commentary on the artificial nature of social class and the way it is used to discriminate against and oppress those in lower classes. Eliza's transformation from a Cockney flower girl to a lady is seen as a remarkable feat, but it is clear that it is only possible because of her natural intelligence and determination. Shaw suggests that social class is not a true indicator of a person's worth or potential, and that it is possible for someone from a lower class to rise above their circumstances through hard work and determination.
However, Shaw also uses the character of Professor Higgins to explore the limitations of social mobility and the ways in which those in higher classes often fail to see the humanity of those in lower classes. Despite the fact that Higgins is responsible for Eliza's transformation, he treats her as a project and fails to see her as a fully developed human being. He is unwilling to see past her social status and treat her as an equal, and this ultimately leads to their strained relationship.
In conclusion, Pygmalion is a thought-provoking exploration of the issue of social class and the ways in which it affects the lives of those caught within its rigid hierarchy. Shaw uses the character of Eliza to highlight the artificial nature of social class and the potential for those in lower classes to rise above their circumstances, while also using the character of Higgins to illustrate the limitations of social mobility and the dangers of failing to see the humanity of those in lower classes.
The Significant Social Class In Pygmalion
This sweeps Higgins off. Pygmalion is a play written for both the rich and the poor, a play written to provoke thought. She has a different way of explaining things and she wants to be her own person, but still use the traits of an upper class lady. Usually a ring symbolizes love and marriage though Higgins and Liza were never together; she leaves the ring by the chocolate dish. Apart from Eliza, Clara is seen to have a poor way of associating with strangers, especially when interacting with Higgins in Act I of the play Livingston, 2003. Now I've fifty, and not a decent week's wages among the lot of them.
Pygmalion: Social Class and Eliza
Higgins compares aliza to the women of high social class. Apart from Eliza, Clara is seen to have a poor way of associating with strangers, especially when interacting with Higgins in Act I of the play Livingston, 2003. Sheridan is trying on an extravagant party hat she brought for herself to wear to the garden party. Even the manner in which Eliza is dressed differently than others in her class. This evolution also enforces the idea that there is no true difference between the classes other than money, privilege, and respect. On the other hand, he uses Higgins as a high class with a bourgeoisie stand that is so indifferent, heartless, and fearless.
Language And Social Class In Pygmalion
Pickering teaches Eliza to have self-respect for herself by treating her as a lady. Pygmalion also showed that whatever class you were in, whether you were born rich or poor, you had a chance to succeed, as we can see with Mr Doolittle and Eliza, where Doolittle is given money by Ezra D. The play was first presented to the public in the year 1912. Shaw demonstrates what separated the classes in the book. Those unfortunate enough to have grown up in the slums of England give away their lowly origins due to their distinct mannerisms and accents. In Act 1, a bystander comments on the clothing of Henry Higgins by saying that since his boots were nice, Henry was of a higher class.
Pygmalion: Social Class And Liza Essay Example
Cathy insults Heathcliff based on his unfavorable background and appearance, and Catherine mocks Hareton for his illiteracy. Shaw shows through Eliza that people are more likely to respect others by the way they speak. Instead of writing a book about the prejudice and stereotyping, Shaw used the characters in his play, Pygmalion, to put forward his opinions. Higgins and Pickering's treatment of Eliza throughout her growth differentiated from each other due to their varying echelons of society. This is also evidenced by the fact that different cultures have different notions of polite behavior. She is intelligent though was not educated by the traditional standards. Symbolism and Imagery One of the symbols in this play is chocolate.
Pygmalion Social Class Essay
She even outdoes Eliza's parroting by repeating the word "bloody" as the latest thing. Eliza is depicted to have a cockney accent, while Higgins and Pickering are freer in a language that describes their high-class status. However, Bronte gives Rosalie the not so happy ending that she desired, to marry a rich man and have a loveless marriage. Eliza changes her ways and ventures into the professional world that forces her to act as a high class. The Eynsford Hill family, for example, is wealthy, but as Mrs. Twelfth Night is centered around a distinct and rigid class system, yet Shakespeare comments on its negative impacts, and yearns for a more fluid system, in order to create a more just and fair world. She takes offense when Jem says that, and Jem knows it.
The Link Between Language And Social Class In Pygmalion: Free Essay Example, 1442 words
He then goes into showing the reader how people of different classes interacted. People love her beauty, but she stands and operates like a statue with no words. If you want to come, come on. Marxism considers society to be formed communism in a revolutionary manner but uses gradual reform instead of revolution Shaw, 2018. Shaw used the transformation of Eliza and her father as a way to disprove a popular idea that people were born into a specific class and they could not change. Higgins, even though he is economically a part of the middle class hierarchy he has some short comings. Characters: Liza Doolittle is around eighteen and twenty years of age, a cockney flower girl who is energetic and street-smart.
Social Class and Manners Theme in Pygmalion
As a means of humour towards the readers, Shaw skewers the pretensions of the middle-class. Pearce to the middle class Doolittle after his inheritance to the genteel poor the Eynsford Hills to the upper class Pickering and the Higgins. Shaw reflects a society that is divided by wealth, education and language. The play is based on a poor flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, who is illiterate and defensive when somebody disrespects her for the dialect she speaks. Using the character and voice of Eliza, Shaw suggests to his audience the alienation felt by the lower class citizens of the time because of their social class and socioeconomic status. .
Pygmalion: Social Class and Doolittle
Victorian England is known for many paradoxes -- glaring contrasts between the rich and the poor, insistence on morality on the one hand and the practice of cynicism on the other, blooming creativity pitted against blatant constriction, imperial grandeur since Britain was then ruling almost one fifth of the total surface of the earth and domestic squalor since the majority of people did not have decent means of livelihood, and finally collectivity dictated by tradition opposed to the rapidly developing individualism. Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, is a novel that can be interpreted to have many different themes. He even says that a woman that speaks like that should have no right to be alive. Alfred is a moocher that finesses loans from the most miserly of people. In Act 1, a bystander comments on the clothing of Henry Higgins by saying that since his boots were nice, Henry was of a higher class.