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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What insulting term does Higgins use to describe Liza in Act 2?

2. Which of the following describes the Gentleman (later identified as Pickering)?

3. Which best describes the first scene?

4. What is Freddy looking for at the beginning of Act 1?

5. Where does Liza tell Freddy she is going at the end of Act 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Liza become upset when Mrs. Pearce takes her up for a bath? What does this incident show about Liza?

2. Why does Liza's father come to see Higgins?

3. Describe the Flower Girl.

4. What does Higgins do for the Flower Girl? What prompts him to do so? What does this act suggest about Higgins?

5. What should all great art be, according to Shaw? Do you agree? What does Shaw hope his play will teach?

6. What does Freddy do at the beginning of Act 1 that shows poor manners?

7. What bet does Pickering make with Higgins? Why does Higgins accept?

8. Why does the English language need to be reformed, according to Shaw?

9. Why, according to Shaw, is it important that people be trained scientifically to lose their accents, rather than simply learning by imitation?

10. Describe Higgins's laboratory. What does it reveal about his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining the theme of manners in Pygmalion.

Part 1) Evaluate Higgins's statement from Act 5, "The secret is not having good manners or bad manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another." What does he mean by this? Do you agree with him?

Part 2) Do you think Shaw agrees with him on the subject of manners? For instance, is there something honest about the rude way Higgins behaves, and something hypocritical about the "polite" manners of other people in the play?

Part 3) Which characters in the play behave the same to everyone, and which characters treat people differently depending on the class they belong to? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about feminism in Pygmalion. In the Epilogue to his play, Shaw quotes Nietzsche in saying, "When you go to women, take your whip with you." Does Shaw agree or disagree with this statement? Is he a sexist or a feminist, in your opinion? Explain, using evidence from the play. Consider in your essay his characterization of Liza, Clara, Mrs. Higgins, and Mrs. Pearce.

Essay Topic 3

Read the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. How is Higgins like Pygmalion? What other stories, movies, or television shows can you think of that are modeled on this same general plot? Why do you think people are fascinated by the idea of transformation or makeovers?

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