Middle-Class-Morality and Comments on Class and Social Standing made by Shaw in Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is the story of Henry Higgins, a master phonetician, and his mischievous plot to pass a common flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, off as a duchess at the Embassy Ball. In order achieve his goal, Higgins must teach Eliza how to speak properly and how to act in upper-class society. The play pokes fun at "middle class morality" and upper-class superficiality, reflects the social ills of nineteenth century England, and attests that all people, regardless of class background, are worthy of respect and dignity. Pygmalion pokes fun at middle class morality through the characterization of Mr. Doolittle, Eliza's father. Mr. Doolittle is a "common dustman," an insolent man who spends his time drinking alcohol at the local pub. He is not too proud to beg for money, even from Eliza. Moreover, he lives with a woman to whom he is not married. When Henry Higgins writes to a politician and refers to him as the best moralist speaker in London, Mr. Doolittle is forced into the middle class, and thus he must adhere to "middle-class" morality. This means he is expected go to church, marry his live-in girlfriend, give up alcohol, refrain from picking up women, and give money to his impoverished relatives, 'Middle class morality claims its victim.'. This is in contradiction with his upbringing as a working class man whom society had no moral expectations of. His behaviour only seemed inappropriate when he was forced into the middle class. Eliza is faced with a similar situation. After Higgins introduces her to fine society, Eliza ca... ... middle of paper ... ...orking classes and social equality. As a member of the Fabian Society, Shaw worked to educate the public through seminars, schools, discussions, and lectures. He believed in evolutionary or democratic socialism-the idea that wealth should be gradually redistributed among all classes through public ownership of industry and business. Shaw's background as a political and social reformer is reflected in Pygmalion. Above all, Pygmalion is about the universal truth that all people are worthy of respect and dignity, from the wealthy nobleman to the beggar on the street corner. The difference between a common flower girl and a duchess, apart from appearance and demeanour, is the way she is treated. Treat the flower girl as if she were a duchess, worthy of respect and decency, and she will become a better person as a result.
“A&P” by John Updike and “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner both explore class conflict and the problems that arise from it. In “A&P”, Sammy, the narrator, comments on a girl that he calls Queenie, who is more upper class, while he works at the A&P grocery store. Updike suggests that those with money have more freedom than those without. In “A Rose For Emily”, the entire town watches Emily as she falls deeper and deeper into mental illness. Here, Faulkner seems to suggest that those with money have less freedom. In “A&P”, Updike suggests that members of the middle class have a particular fascination with the rich, which ultimately leads to their demise. In “A Rose for Emily”, Faulkner also suggests that members of the middle class have a particular fascination with the rich, but that this ultimately leads to the demise of those in the upper class. This is evident in point of view, tone, and symbolism in “A&P” and “A Rose for Emily”.
In the world of rhetoric, the use of the past tense is often associated with the purpose of placing blame. But, there is one columnist who would probably associate it with more constructive connotations. David Brooks is a columnist for the New York Times; he tend to write about contemporary issues within the United States. Brook’s displays a slightly paradoxical style that is critical, yet light and sympathetic. He accomplishes this primarily through the use of history and the ethos of his sources which simultaneously works as an appeal to the pathos of the audience.
The Great Gatsby “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts the vast social difference between the old aristocrats, the new self-made rich and the poor. He vividly interprets the social stratification during the roaring twenties as each group has their own problems to deal with. Old Money, who have fortunes dating from the 19th century, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. The New Money made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth. As usual, the No Money gets overlooked by the struggle at the top, leaving them forgotten or ignored.
Social status is one of the common themes in Of Mice and Men, it is explored through characters of difference social status and racial backgrounds. Steinbeck uses the characters of Crook and Curley’s wife to demonstrate how social status and racial background impacts the chance of success in the world. The period which the book was composed influence the context and the message being communicated by Steinbeck. During the Great Depression a black is not consider much of a person because of the period and social perspectives. An example of social order is when Crook submits when his life is threatened by Curley’s wife; “Listen nigger… I could get you strung… so easy it ain’t even funny.”(Steinbeck J. 1937, page 91). Curley’s wife remains him
The "American Dream" supposedly allows everyone to climb the "social/economic ladder," if they wish to do so. Anyone that works hard is supposed to be able to move to a higher class. However, society often prevents social mobility. Social classes dictate who moves to a higher class and who does not. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this issue was especially prevalent. The rigidity of classes was often an underlying theme in many novels during this time period. For example, The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby both feature the exclusive nature of social classes as a motif. In both The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby, the rigidity of social classes and the desire for social mobility leads to the downfall of several
The theme of society and class was evident throughout The Great Gatsby. The novel goes into great depth about the theme of society and class and the divisions of rich and poor. It is apparent that the author, Scott F. Fitzgerald, believes that the “American Dream” has been corrupted into a yearning for money and materialistic items. With that said, Fitzgerald uses the theme of society and class to show society that the idea of the “American Dream” is unattainable.
Social class was the foundation of everyday life during the Middle Ages. Social class played a significant role in the lives of medieval people. The aristocracy class and the immoral lower class were often viewed by society as practically different races. In The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer shows the wide variance among the classes in every aspect of their daily lives. The zeitgeist of the Middle Ages can be seen through his illustration of differences between classes in moral behavior, economic power, the autonomy and education of women during the Middle Ages.
In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood, who represented sense and her sister Marianne, who stood for sensibility, Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper and lower classes in English society to give the reader a full understanding of the motivation to be a part of the upper class and the sacrifices one will give up to achieve such status. Austen exposes the corruptness of society, the significance of class and the fundamental building blocks both are to the decision-making surrounding her protagonists, Marianne and Elinor.
Charles Dickens and Mulk Raj Anand both base their novels, Great Expectations and Untouchable, around the central theme of social class. The characters, Pip and Pundit, personalities go through some transformations as they are influenced by a range of characters they meet throughout the text. The authors use a range of literary techniques to convey the character’s values, beliefs and ideas throughout their novels. These literary techniques reveal to the readers that the characters’ attitudes towards high social class and wealth is what ultimately leads them to compromise their family for their own selfish values. This is suggested through the characters, various literary techniques and the use of narration/ dialogue.
along with the rest of his family to work in a factory to help repay
Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, is set in a Victorian England, where social class is a huge factor in life. Brontë is very critical of Victorian England’s strict hierarchy. the main character, Jane, is a governess. Her social position is very complicated in which she has to be sophisticated, educated, intelligent, and soft spoken but she is then talked down to as she is of a lower class. The job of a governess is to teach children, whether it be art, writing or reading english literature. Victorian society is very corrupt and in the novel Brontë truly captures and illustrates the challenges that Jane has to face as a governess. The novel also emphasizes the social gap between individuals and how big it really is. In Victorian society, the rich get the most out of life and life for the poor gets harder. No individual should judge or belittle another due to the very minor factor of social status, but it seems to be very important in Jane’s society. The message that Brontë expresses in the novel is that social class is a meaningless catalyst in the progression of relationships, creating giant gaps between individuals.
Denied a job, missed opportunities, dating issues, societal oppression, and political targeting – These are all common examples of what happens when classism exists. Class, the economic or social status of an individual, in America is extremely important and can be easily used as a weapon against the masses. Classism as defined by Merriam-Webster is the "prejudice or discrimination based on class" (Merriam-Webster, 2017). Using class, or economic status, as a view point for an individuals, or group's worth, has been happening for many years. The act of discriminating against someone(s) based on this is at the heart of classism. This discrimination could be passing someone up for a job opportunity. Denying an application to college, apartment,
In a lot of ways, the nineteenth Century depicted in Great Expectations is epitomic of the particular period. A lot of societal aspects correlate with the events in the book and especially the dynamical structure of the society. And even though the picture most people have of a Victorian society is set up in different compartments and highly contrasted one, the actualities of the time speak of an England adapting to industry and the ideals of the Enlightenment period. Dickens’ treatment of England at the time “is based on the post-Industrial Revolution model of Victorian England” (Google Scholar). He ignores the aristocratic air associated with it and instead pursues a standpoint focused on commerce. Still and all, we get the sense of how pivotal, or rather, central, this notion of compartments is to the plot of the story, especially with regard to social class. And this leads to the point; the class system of the nineteenth century. Unlike modern England and the modern world, generally, the earlier 19th century version had more defined social classes because values and beliefs about what made people who they were had, just like the physical structures, been morphing in comparison.
inside him when he grows up. If you are a girl, you would usually hang around girls,
Gabriel García Márquez is arguably Latin America’s most well known writer and socialist with Marxist ideals. His short story, Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon, is one that well exemplifies a few ideals of Marxism, without enforcing a political agenda, something only the greatest writers can achieve. One concept of Marxism is that capitalism can only thrive on the exploitation of the working class. This leads to economic conflict which creates class tension, this type of disputation is prevalent within Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon. To begin, the setting of the story is not clear, it is assumably in a small town since everyone is familiar with one another and the titles and careers of the characters are exposed in the story. One can also assume