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.
Harold Cardinal made a bold statement in his book, The Unjust Society, in 1969 about the history of Canada’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples. His entire book is, in fact, a jab at Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s idea of ‘the just society’. Pierre Elliott Trudeau made great assumptions about First Nations people by declaring that Aboriginal people should be happy about no longer being described as Indian. His goal was to rid Canada of Indians by assimilating them into the Canadian framework. Considered by many as a progressive policy, Trudeau’s white paper demonstrates just how accurate the following statement made by Harold Cardinal at the beginning of his book is : “The history of Canada’s Indians is a shameful chronicle of the white man’s disinterest,
Social classes have been around since the beginning of time. Most people are lead to believe that rich people live in beautiful and extravagant homes, throw luxurious parties and do not give a damn about keeping it a secret. The poor people are happy to have a roof over their heads and have food on the table and will work their asses off to make a penny. The higher the class that someone is in, the better that person’s life is perceived to be and vice-versa. There is old money versus new money, which determines which side of town one lives on. Everyone knows the difference in social classes and is able to see where most people fit in. In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader is exposed to many things that show a difference in social class that sadly, still exist in today. Most people have a dream of being in a certain class; whether they ever get to experience it or not, the dream is there. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, shows how social class plays a theme in the story.
along with the rest of his family to work in a factory to help repay
When one thinks back to all the school years between kindergarten and high school, they will not remember the name of every teacher they have ever had without hard thought. There are always going to be the teachers that stood out from all the rest for one reason; they connected with their students. When asked about school, students will not reply with an undoubted love for all the time spent going through it. It is simply something we must all go through to get on with our lives and be an active member of society. I get the strangest looks from my peers when I say I like school. Now obviously, I have not loved every second spent behind a desk or all the time required to be spent with every teacher, but overall I do enjoy school because of the
Some people may believe that education all over the United States is equal. These people also believe that all students no matter their location, socioeconomic status, and race have the same access and quality of education, but ultimately they are wrong. Throughout history, there has been a huge educational disparity between the wealthy and marginalized communities. The academic essay “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” by Jean Anyon, an American critical thinker and researcher in education, conveys that depending on the different economic backgrounds students have, they will be taught in a specific way. He reveals that the lower economic background a child has then the lower quality their education will be and the higher their economic background is the higher quality their education is. Anyon’s theory of a social ladder is extremely useful because it sheds light on the
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a constant theme present: social class. Fitzgerald makes a connection between the theme of social class, and the settings in the novel for example The Valley of Ashes which is described as a “desolate area of land” (p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground” (p.21) which is where the poor people live. The Valley of Ashes is situated between West Egg and New York, West Egg being the place where the aspiring classes are situated, which is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), this is where Gatsby lives. West Egg is the place of ‘new money’, Fitzgerald shows this by the idea of the main character Jay Gatsby, rumoured to be selling illegal alcohol (prohibition) which means he is quickly making vast amounts of money.” Who is this Gatsby anyhow? Some big bootlegger?”(p.86) Gatsby shows off the amount of wealth he has by his fabulous parties and oversized mansion. “There was music from my neighbour's house through those summer nights. In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.”(p.33) Fitzgerald uses the word ‘enchanted’ to paint a visual picture of what the house and the scene looks like, a magical and enchanted castle, with elegant furniture. This is in comparison to East Egg where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, in a house where “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside” (p.10). East Egg being the place of ‘old money’ which is made from the inheritance of their past generations, the people who live it East Egg are mainly well educated, historically wealthy and live quite elegantly, but they are also quite ‘snobbish’. Gatsby’s background does not fit into the social standards of East Egg...
I can still recall the realtor’s squeamish smile and politely scrutinizing voice when my mother and I were at an open house in Greenfield, “You’re from there? Oh, well this may be out of your price range.” Growing up in the east side of Indianapolis, or what many tend to refer to as the ghetto, it was very difficult to move to the suburbs in Greenfield. Not simply due to conforming to their norms, rather, facing the stigma of residents who believed I was in a lower socioeconomic class than their “perfected nuclear families”. In all reality, my family is in the working-middle class, yet when we first entered the quaint (dull) Greenfield area, as soon as my family discussed our initial area of residency people would automatically leer and place
In the story, “A&P” by John Updike, the student identifies the differences of social classes between Sammy, a checkout clerk and Queenie, a wealthy girl that visit’s the store. Though not from the same class structure, Sammy is compelled to interact with the girl, however fails in doing so because she is considered privileged.
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
Two Works Cited In John Updike’s "A & P," Sammy is accused of quitting his job for childlike, immature reasons. Nathan Hatcher states, "In reality, Sammy quit his job not on a matter of ideals, but rather as a means of showing off and trying to impress the girls, specially Queenie" (37), but Sammy’s motive runs much deeper than that. He was searching for a sense of personal gain and satisfaction. By taking sides with the girls, he momentarily rises in class to meet their standards and the standards of the upper-class.
In this passage, the author Elizabeth Gaskells shows, through the point of view of George Wilson, a millworker, the difference between the working class and the upper high class during the 1840s in England. She criticized the upper class and sympathized the working class. Gaskell uses several specific elements such as point of view, selection of detail, dialogue, and characterization to create a social commentary.
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
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.
streets of London & was as clean as she could afford to be but to the
An important lesson that has been learned throughout life and the beginning of time is to respect the individual’s content and not their image. It is shown throughout George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, that different people can be brought together in the same circumstance, being a heavy rain shower in London, but distance themselves so effusively because of outer appearances. The situation between the nonintellectual flower-girl and the sophisticated Pickering, Higgins, and the Mother-daughter is drawn out over the judgment of her poor speech and her value as a person as she constantly defends herself against their prejudice. Shaw uses Pygmalion to show how language shallowly reflects the importance of social classes within the Victorian era through the portrayal of characters, their conflicts, and transformation in the first act of the play.