Literary Analysis †Importance of Being Earnest Essay

PICKERING rising and standing over him gravely Come, Higgins You know what I mean. If Im to be in this business I shall(a) scent liable for that girl. I hope its unders excessivelyd that no unafraid is to be taken of her position. HIGGINS. What That thing Sacred, I assure you. Rising to explain You see, shell be a pupil and belief would be impossible unless pupils were sacred. Ive taught scores of American millionairesses how to speak position the best looking women in the world. Im seasoned. They might as well be overgorges of timber. I might as well be a block of wood. Its- (38).Im very(prenominal) curious rough how Henry Higgins, in George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion, feels about his profession and how this translates to his interpretation of society. Higgins, a professor of phonetics, ultimately enters into a bet in which he is assigned the task of teaching a poor, uneducated yet located girl from the streets proper grammar, with the hope of transforming her into a duc hess in a few months time. Its unclouded from the beginning that Higgins, a man bounteous of contradictions and no filter, is the protagonist. At first, Higgins is clear opposed to the idea of teaching Eliza this is translucent through his blatant insults and sarcastic taunts. He makes fun of her poor grammar and the occurrence that she is clearly uneducated. Higgins infers that Elizas success will help her move up the societal hierarchy and even though Elizas version is unequivocal, Higgins initial experience of her never varietys his habitual attitude towards her is consistent throughout the play.In contrast, when Higgins first meets Pickering, an educated scholar, his doings is quite the opposite. The difference between his demeanors leads me to confide that quarrel does affect Higgins perception of society. This is sh accept go on due to his uncouth sluggishness of Elizas drastic transformation. I int overthrow to prove that Higgins views language as a tool for tender advancement and this understanding is what ultimately causes him to deal wad much as objects than human beings. Higgins considers teaching Eliza as more(prenominal) of a social service due to her economic and social disadvantage. Higgins asserts that, teaching would be impossible unless pupils were sacred (38). At first glance I presumed that sacred meant holy or special, yet he assigns an other(a) inwardness to the word.Higgins regards the English language as an exclusive privilege speech should be regarded with reverence and entitlement. He associates proper language with societal and spiritual implications and holds that it is what separates elucidate from fork and soul from soul. This suggests that Higgins believes the English language should be respected. In addition, he asserts that education and the ability to effectively communicate is paramount to the functionality of society its important because without language, society would crumble. Therefore, in teachin g Eliza proper grammar, Higgins gains a mother wit of power due to the belief he is changing her for the better, and ultimately into a different human being.Although its obvious that Higgins thoroughly enjoys the subject of language and is app bently enthusiastic about his profession, he tends to brag about his accomplishments and often belittles other peoples intellectual abilities. He negotiates people, Eliza in particular, with a rude indifference and no regard for feelings or emotions. Its clear that Pickering is trying to look out for Elizas best interest when he argues, If Im to be in this business I shall feel responsible for that girl. I hope its understood that no advantage is to be taken of her position (38.) Higgins bluntly responds What That thing and the difference in demeanor is candid. In comparison to Pickering, its clear that Higgins lacks decent ingenuity. His cockiness is further exemplified through his boasting Ive taught scores of American millionairesses h ow to speak English the best looking women in the world. Im seasoned (38).Finally, Higgins displays a sort of ambivalence towards language. He treats this knowledge of language is powerful and serves as a tool for social advancement. In addition, he believes that language is and should be a suitable subject for scientific studies. His ultimate view is that language should be utilized as a medium for artistic expression. Furthermore, its apparent that Higgins views his pupils as objects sort of than human beings when he concedes, They might as well be blocks of wood (38). This exemplifies how language could be seen as artistic. Theoretically, a block of wood could be interpreted as a light canvas it symbolizes how he utilizes language to shape and transform his students into something else, something more. Higgins bes to be diffident of his own identity operator as well because he suggests, I too might as well be a block of wood (38).Ultimately, Higgins shows that proper speech should be regarded as a fundamental essential of society the inability to communicate prohibits success. This assertion is exemplified through how he treats those almost him and how he views those that he teaches. He clearly believes that language is of paramount impressiveness especially in discerning social class. His assertion that he too might as well be a block of wood, is a fundamental example of his belief in the power of language as a tool for social advancement.The writing in this essay is my own work. If I declare used outside sources, I have declare them through correct documentation. eading Pygmalion, we come to learn that communication is about more than words, and everything from clothing to accents to physical bearing can affect the way people interact with each other.Higgins considers his teaching to be a kind of social work the inability to communicate he suggests is at the bottom of mans social issueNot only has Higgins come to view his clients as objects r ather than human beings, he even seems to have lost something of his own identity in the routine. There is a nonher interesting interpretation howver. A block of wood, like a canvas is a medium for artistic expression. He of course, is aid to shape his clients further this suggests that he himself could aslo be subject to the same processIn claiming he cant wobble his own nature, Higgins complicates his own claims about change and transformation if he cant change his nature, we have to question how he can really under stand to change mortal elsesEven the things we do to establish a connection with foreign people and things like using slang or nicknames can end up causing confusion and cases of mistaken identityHiggins. About you, non about me. If you come back I shall treat you just as I have always treated you. I cant change my nature and I dont intend to change my manners. My manners are exactly the same as colonel pickerings. Liza. Thats not true. He treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess as if she was a flower girl.Liza. I see. She turns away composedly, and sits on the ottoman, facing the window. The same to everybody. Higgins. Just so.Liza. Like dumbfound.Higgins. grinning, a little taken down without accepting the comparison at all points, eliza, its quite true that your father is not a snob, and that he will be quite at home in any station of life to which his eccentric destiny my call him. Seriously The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or vertical 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. (99)In this excerpt from George Bernard Shaws play, Pygmalion, I am not sure (what Shaw is trying to convey through Higgins justification of his unruly behavior). if Higgins is attempting to condone his unruly behavior or if (Shaw is using him to voice his criticism of class distinctions) he is simply preaching about his concept of class distinctions (im not sure what exactly Higgins belives or is trying to convey? He does, however, have a penchant for talking about the soul of man, about the importance of language, and social equality). Higgins, a professor of phonetics, ultimately enters into a bet in which he is assigned the task of transforming a poor, uneducated yet determined girl from the streets, into a duchess in a few months time.Its clear from the beginning that Higgins, a man full of contradictions and no filter, is the protagonist. Its humorous that throughout elizas transformation, she is the one who is blatantly manipulated and mistreated, meanwhile the other characters seem to receive less cynicism. On the other hand, Higgins actions and mannerisms never change his general attitude is consistent throughout the play. His rude indifference to her drastic transformation leads me to believe tha t Higgins doesnt believe in class distinctions. That said, (Higgins embodies the theme of I believe that Shaw uses Higgins as a patsy for his criticism of class distinctions all classes should be treated the same.Shaw develops Higgins belief in equality very clearly If you come back I shall treat you just as I have always treated you. I cant change my nature and I dont intend to change my manners. That said, its very clear that Higgins perception of those around him, and society in general, are concrete.Throughout the play, Higgins character never evolves Higgins life revolves around Eliza for practically the unanimous play. All his time is spent transforming her and inventing a new Eliza meanwhile he seems to forget that shes a human being with feelings. His unchanging perception and treatment of those around him is further reiterated when eliza claims colonel pickering treats a flower girl as if she was a duchess and Higgins simply retorts And I treat a duchess as if she was a f lower girl.