Question

Using dialogue and events from the play, demonstrate how Shaw's characters wrestle with the class issue. For example, you can compare the "declassing" of Liza and Doolittle. Another approach could be to carefully study the character of Higgins and examine his relationship to social class. You may choose your own topic, but it must involve class and it must use examples from the play. Your essay should be at least 400 words long.

Answer 1

In Pygmalion, we observe a society divided, separated by language, education, and wealth. Shaw gives us a chance to see how that gap can be bridged, both successfully and unsuccessfully. As he portrays it, London society cannot simply be defined by two terms, "rich" and "poor."

Within each group there are smaller less obvious distinctions, and it is in the middle, in that gray area between wealth and poverty that many of the most difficult questions arise and from which the most surprising truths emerge.