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 feel responsible for that girl. I desire its understood that no emolument 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 teaching would be impossible unless pupils were inspirational. Ive taught score of American millionairesses how to speak English the best looking women in the world. Im seasoned. They might as well be blocks of woods. I might as well be a block of wood. Its- (38).Im really curious active 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 depute the task of teaching a poor, uneducated yet determined girl from the streets proper grammar, with the hope of transforming her into a duchess in a fewer months time. Its vindicated from the beginning that Higgins, a man ample of contradictions and no filter, is the protagonist. At first, Higgins is clearly opposed to the idea of teaching Eliza this is evident through his blatant insults and biting taunts. He makes fun of her poor grammar and the fact that she is clearly uneducated. Higgins infers that Elizas success will help her trend up the kindly hierarchy and even though Elizas transition is unequivocal, Higgins initial perceptual experience of her never changes his general attitude towards her is consistent passim the play.In contrast, when Higgins first meets Pickering, an educated scholar, his demeanor is quite the opposite. The residue between his demeanors leads me to believe that language does affect Higgins perception of society. This is shown further due to his rude indifference of Elizas drastic transformation. I pin down to prove that Higgins understands language as a tool for social cash advance and thi s understanding is what ultimately causes him to treat slew to a greater extent as objects than human beings. Higgins considers teaching Eliza as more 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 other(a) meaning 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 physical body from class 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 inter extend is paramount to the functionality of society its authoritative because without language, society would crumble. therefore, in teaching Eliza proper gra mmar, Higgins gains a sense of function 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 plain enthusiastic about his profession, he tends to brag about his accomplishments and often belittles other peoples mind abilities. He treats 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 manners. His cockiness is further exemplified through his boasting Ive taught scores of American millionairesses how 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 long suit for artistic expression. Furthermore, its apparent that Higgins views his pupils as objects rather 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 blank read it symbolizes how he utilizes language to shape and transform his students into something else, something more. Higgins seems to be unsure of his own identity 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 necessity of societ y the inability to communicate prohibits success. This assertion is exemplified through how he treats those around him and how he views those that he teaches. He clearly believes that language is of paramount importance 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 admit used outside sources, I have acknowledged them through correct documentation. eading Pygmalion, we come to find 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 rather than human beings, he even seems to have lost something of his own identity in the process. There is another 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 but this suggests that he himself could aslo be subject to the same processIn claiming he tilt change his own nature, Higgins complicates his own claims about change and transformation if he cant change his nature, we have to wonder how he can really under stand to change someone elsesEven the things we do to establish a connection with unfamiliar people and things like using slang or nicknames can end up causing confusion and cases of mistaken identityHiggins. more or less you, not about me. If you come back I shall treat you just as I have forever treated you. I cant change my nature and I dont set to change my manners. My manners are exactly the same as colonel pickerings. Liza. Thats not true. He treats a anthesis girl as if she was a duchess. Higgins. And I treat a duchess a s 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 father.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 snowflake destiny my call him. Seriously The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good 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 justify his unruly behavior or if (Shaw is using him to voice his criticism of class distinctions) he is s imply 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 ironic 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 that Higgins doesnt believe in class distinctions. That said, (Higgins em bodies 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 whole 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 flower girl.