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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 does Mrs. Higgins think when her son shows up for a social visit at the beginning of Act 3?

2. Who is Neppomuck?

3. What does the ambassador's wife think of Liza?

4. Whom do Higgins and Pickering go see when they discover Liza is missing?

5. Who is delighted with Liza's "small talk" during the social visit with the Eynsford Hills in Act 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Higgins mean when he says that people are really "savages"?

2. What do Neppomuck and the ambassador's wife conclude about Liza? What does it suggest about class differences and about high society that Liza is so easily able to fool everyone at the party?

3. Does Higgins really not care about Liza? How can you tell? What comments and reactions on Higgins's part show that he is growing fond of Eliza?

4. How do Freddy and Clara feel about Liza after meeting her, and why do they probably feel this way?

5. What does Liza ultimately think of the party and of her success at the end of Act 3?

6. What happens to Doolittle in Act 5? Explain how Higgins is responsible.

7. During the social visit with Mrs. Higgins and the Eynsford Hills, what does Liza say that is shocking?

8. How does Liza finally come into her own as a woman at the end of Act 5?

9. What does Higgins conclude about the evening and about their joint project at the beginning of Act 4? What does he say that hurts Liza's feelings?

10. Describe Mrs. Higgins and her relationship with her son.

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 about the ending of Pygmalion.

Part 1) Considering the ending of the play, what do you think Shaw's attitude is toward the traditional "happy ending" of most romances?

Part 2) Why, according to Shaw, does his play not end the way most people might expect?

Part 3) Would the play be more satisfying if Liza had married Higgins instead of Freddy? Why, or why not?

Part 4) (optional) If you have seen it, you may consider the slightly different, more "Hollywood" ending in the movie version of the play, My Fair Lady. Compare the ending of the play with the ending of the movie. Which do you prefer, and why?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay describing the transformation of Liza Doolittle from common flower girl to lady.

Part 1) In what specific ways does she change, and why? Are the changes mostly superficial or deep changes?

Part 2) Consider Liza's statement at the end of the ambassador's party: "nothing can make me the same as these people." Is she now really transformed into a duchess? Why, or why not?

Part 3) When and how does Liza truly come into her own as a woman? What does she realize about herself at that point in the play?

Part 4) Does Liza's process of transformation have to do with the way she speaks, or does it have more to do with the way she views herself? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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