Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Themes and issues of the Pygmalion
Social class and its impacts
Social class and its impacts
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
During the time of the play, Pygmalion, classes in England were seemingly artificial. It is shown very well in Act III during one of Mrs.
Higgins’s at-home days the differences between classes. Mrs. and
Miss Eynsford Hill claim to be of the upper class and they act as if they are in the upper class to try and impress Henry Higgins during this scene.
Eliza Doolittle is being tutored by Henry Higgins, a professor of phonetics, to speak clearly and correctly; to change from her old flower girl way to a lady of class. Having not been eduacated fairly well and not having learned this “new” language quite well a remark from Freddy Eynford Hill sends her back into her old ways.
At the being of the conversation, in Act III, Eliza is speaking with pedantic correctness of pronunciation and great beauty of tone.
“How do you do, Mrs. Higgins?[she gasps slightly in making sure of the H in Higgins]....” Eliza starts to go off and loses control of her emotions later on during the conversation when she misconstrues the remark of Freddy Eynsford Hill. She starts to get like her old flower girl self and gets so comfortable that she doesn’t even realize it. Henry jumps into the conversation and stops her and she finally realizes what happens. The Eynsford Hills still seem a little bit puzzled because they have never heard a person of such “high class” speak in such a manner.
Henry goes on to explain that she is just talking the new small talk and that everybody who is anybody is doing it. The Eynsford
Hills being the rocket scientist that they are don’t realize that Higgins is not telling them the truth about Eliza and who she really is. They want to be accepted so much by him and his upper class friends that they believe him and start talking in the same way. On the way out the door Clara imitates the silly nonsense and laughs as she says goodbye. Alfred Doolittle is another character in the play that doesn’t really show a class distinction. When you first see Alfred in Act II he is a trash man. “He is an elderly but vigorous dustman , clad in the costume of his profession, including a hat with a back brim covering his neck and shoulders,” states Shaw (the author of Pygmalion).
While his clothing and his appearance are disapproving, his language of persuasion is very appealing. Higgins is surprised by the way that Doolittle speaks and becomes somewhat interesting.
Class politics are introduced to the story when the Phonies arrive in Stella Street. The Phonies are disliked as soon as they arrive in Stella Street because of the renovations they make on Old Aunt Lillie’s house and the children of Stella Street make fun of the fact that the Phonies refurnish the house (p.13). Henni encourages the reader to make fun of the high class Phonies about the way they speak, because the Phonies use words such as ‘dinnah’ and ‘daaaarling’ (p.18). This shows the Phonies in a negative way enticing the audience to take Henni’s side or a middle class approach to the story. When the Phonies send a note from their lawyer to Frank’s family for a proposal of a new fence (p.22) they are once again looked at poorly.
…a beatnik who was born too late. His teeth were stained, he tucked his sorry tie between the third and forth buttons of his shirt, and his pants were chronically wrinkled.
The upper class lives far above the poor, causing the lower class to feel shame which then stimulates the desire to achieve equality and happiness which the American dream promises. The narrator, Esperanza, admits that when looking at the homes on the hill, "I am ashamed--all of us staring out the window like the hungry. I am tired of looking at what we can`t have." She feels self-conscious not only for her lack of money and house, but also because her family looks at these houses with such longing that their expressions are comparable to "the hungry." Since she feels that her family's income and means exists beyond the starving class, she does not want to look at the houses with an appearance of hunger. She feels ashamed for belonging to the lower class who can only look and admire the houses but cannot own them. Ezperanza no longer feels content with looking at the houses because she wants her own yet knows that at the moment, she cannot have it. In addition, Esperanza notes that "People who live on hills sleep so close to the stars they forget those of us who live too much on earth." The upper class lives on a metaphorical hill, near the stars and heavens because society raises up those with money. Because society places the wealthy on a pedestal or "hill" they become unaware of anyone other than those who live leisurely lives. They do not see the poor who struggle and work through the everyday hardships life throws at them. According to Esperanza, the poor live "too much on earth" signifying that they have experienced too many trials and tribulations yet have not spent anytime amongst the stars.
...heir own social status. They want to be able to say that one of their relations is an ambulance driver because ambulance drivers are “a most exclusive class of girl, most exclusive, all ladies – they stipulate that, you know” (Price 211). These women are willing to put Smith’s life on the line for bragging rights. Price exposes the less benevolent nature of their motives and the problems inherent in dividing groups on the basis of class.
In the first few chapters Gaskell offers various examples of what the traditional woman of England is like. Margaret’s early descriptions in Chapter 7, characterize the beautiful, gentle femininity so idolized. Margaret is beautiful in her own way, she is very conscious of her surroundings. She is privileged in her own way by being in a respectable position in the tranquil village of Helstone. Throughout the beginning of the novel it is eluded that Margaret has the onset of a mature middle class mentality. During the planning of her beloved cousin Edith Shaw’s wedding, Margaret comments on Edith seemingly oblivious demeanor, as the house is chaos in preparations. Edith tries hard to please expectation of her social class. She is privileged and beautiful; angelic and innocent, she is the perfect idyllic, ignorant child bride, designed to please. For Margaret, “...the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed”(Gaskell, 7). It is in this passage that the readers familiarize themselves with Margaret’s keen ability to see and perceive the differences between her and her cousin’s manor. Edith poses the calm demure and angelic tranquility a woman is decreed to posses. Unsurprisingly at the brink of commotion Margaret observes that, “the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of
He walks into the corporation building, and is greeted by a few of his colleagues, also heading to their cubicle. The man groans at his workload then glances around, seeing his supervisor frowning at him. “Oh boy, this isn’t good.” He thinks to himself as the supervisor walks into his boss’ office for the third time this week. His boss walks out a couple minutes later, and heads straight to the man’s cubicle. “Kevin, this is the third time in just this week that you haven’t been following the company’s procedures. Why won’t you just accept your job and do it like everyone else? I once had your job, and look at me! I’m now one of the head honchos of this place. So please stop disobeying, and you might get somewhere, and not fired.” Social class is a problem today, and it was just as big a problem as in the time of Jane Eyre. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, the protagonist deals with the issues of social class during her childhood, her first employment, her time at Moor house and Morton, and when she is reunited with Rochester.
Through attention to detail, repeated comparison, shifting tone, and dialogue that gives the characters an opportunity to voice their feelings, Elizabeth Gaskell creates a divide between the poor working class and the rich higher class in Mary Barton. Gaskell places emphasis on the differences that separate both classes by describing the lavish, comfortable, and extravagant life that the wealthy enjoy and compares it to the impoverished and miserable life that the poor have to survive through. Though Gaskell displays the inequality that is present between both social classes, she also shows that there are similarities between them. The tone and diction change halfway through the novel to highlight the factors that unify the poor and rich. In the beginning of the story John Barton exclaims that, “The rich know nothing of the trials of the poor…” (11), showing that besides the amount of material possessions that one owns, what divides the two social classes is ability to feel and experience hardship. John Barton views those of the upper class as cold individuals incapable of experiencing pain and sorrow. Gaskell, however proves Barton wrong and demonstrates that though there are various differences that divide the two social classes, they are unified through their ability to feel emotions and to go through times of hardship. Gaskell’s novel reveals the problematic tension between the two social classes, but also offers a solution to this problem in the form of communication, which would allow both sides to speak of their concerns and worries as well as eliminate misunderstandings.
The narrator sees the stubbornness in his neighbor, and uses the simile 'like an old-stone savage' to compare him to a stone-age man who'moves in darkness', that is, set in his ways, and who is unlikely to change his views.
In the Victorian era dust heaps were filled with useful garbage. Dust heaps were made up of many different things. One such ingredient – also the main ingredient – was fine cinders and ashes. These items, along with some soil, were sold to brick makers for making bricks, and to farmers for manure – especially for clover. The next item tended to be pieces of coal which were usually there because a servant’s carelessness. The coal was either resold or simply used. Another portion of the dust heaps was made from ‘breeze’. According to “Dust; or Ugliness Redeemed”, breeze was named after the cinders which were “left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an upright sieve”. These ciders were also sold to brick makers, but for burning the b...
Class is still everywhere. Throughout the history of Britain, class has always been an issue, and its topic remains to be an obsessional and contentious factor in people’s mind. As it can be seen, there are many factors revealing the existence of class, but at the same time, there are also many scholars suggesting that class is no longer valid. However, despite its ambiguity, it can be concluded that whether or not “classes” do exist, social division is still prevalent in British politics, public surveys, education, sport, and accent. In conclusion, to sum up the existence of class in modern Britain, class is still a relevant factor in society.
utterly lower class that would be to Estella. "I thought how Joe and my sister were then sitting in the kitchen and how Miss Havisham and Estella never sat in a kitchen, but were far above the level of such common things (Dickens 55)." This shows how the minimal differences between the two classes contribute to a greater variance in the attitudes of the two. Through his exposure to Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip discovers the realit...
In the 1950s, anthropologist Colin Turnbull spent three years living in a rainforest with the BaMbuti Pygmies. His 1961 book entitled The Forest People provides an ethnographic study of the culture he experienced. He states in the book’s acknowledgements “this book tries to convey something of the lives and feelings of a people who live in a forest world, something of their intense love for that world and their trust in it” (Turnbull). Turnbull uses his experiences to tell an elaborate story with characters a reader can easily form attachments to. He obliterates the stereotype surrounding the Pygmy people and, instead, shows the reader the beauty of their culture and lifestyle. The Forest People is not simply a description of a cultural group vastly different than our own; it is also a window into their world.
Social class is an underlying factor to which all characters run their lives. It is always a priority and influenced most, if not every part of their lives. Most of the characters in the novel respect the rules of class and are always trying to climb the social ladder. Or if they are atop this ladder, they make it a mission that they remain there. Mrs. Bennet tried very hard to have her daughters marry the most socially advanced men and in the end the daughters chose socially respectable men. Elizabeth at first preached against marriage for money, but strangely mocked herself by marrying the richest of them all.
...udice in the social ladder. The Bennet family, although wealthy, was looked down upon, is relation to their social status. They were seen as low on the social ladder, because they had "new money." Lady Catherine, is another example of pride and prejudice displayed through social status, "Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation…" Lady Catherine noticed flaws in everyone and used her position and title of "Lady" to rise above everyone and make herself seem superior to them. Her position gives her pride and she flaunts it in a negative way.
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.