1. What does Higgins's housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce, think about the plan? Who seems to have a more sensible view of the situation, Higgins or Mrs. Pearce?

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

3. What would, in Shaw's opinion, be a prodigious advancement in the English language? Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

4. What does the Flower Girl do at the end of Act 1 that shows she has a sense of pride and dignity about her?

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

6. Describe Henry Sweet.

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

8. Who are some of the most important people in England, according to Shaw? Why do you think this is so, again, 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. What bet does Pickering make with Higgins? Why does Higgins accept?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining the theme of morality in Pygmalion.

Part 1) "I'm a good girl, I am," Liza repeats in Act 2 when Higgins tempts her with chocolates, clothes, and money. Later, in Act 3, she tells Higgins, "I sold flowers. I didnt sell myself. Now youve made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else." What does she mean by these statements? What do the statements reveal about Liza's morals?

Part 2) Explain the irony in Liza's statement in Act 3. What does it say about the relative morality of low-class flower girls and high-class ladies?

Part 3) What does it say about the morality of upper and lower classes in general?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Write an essay examining the plot of Pygmalion. Tell what the central conflict of the play is and describe how it is developed throughout the plot. In your essay, describe and analyze all of the following plot elements:

--Inciting incident

--Rising action

--Climax

--Falling action

--Resolution

(see the answer keys)

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