Pygmalion- the Symbols Behind the Characters

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Pygmalion- the Symbols behind the Characters George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion can be interpreted in many different ways through different points of view. There are so many layers in the play. One can say it is a great love story that the protagonist and the antagonist express the subtlety of love. Others can find the story is expressing the woman’s right at the time. Some can claim that is a story reflects an old apotheosis. However, most of readers agree this play describes the everlasting social problem- Class. The characters in Pygmalion display the main construction of their society—middle and low classes, for their difference, interaction, and author Shaw’s confliction. Shaw lays an irony in front of every human being, “who am I? What can become of me?” This question is asked by every character in the book as asked to everyone who reads it. Shaw greatly satirizes the middle class morality, and points out the great pain that brings to those people encountering the class problems. He expresses his idea that people are equal, and more education and more money do not make a person better than others. Throughout human history, most people have been divided into two classes, the middle class and the low class. The middle class always is displayed as rich, well educated, and represents social righteousness. Their appearance deserves every compliment word, like ‘nice’, ‘kind’, ‘justice’ etc. In Pygmalion Shaw gives two symbolic characters. When one of the middle class symbolic characters, Pickering meets the flower girl, he stops the bystander who threatens the flower girl although he is not the one in trouble. We can see the words ‘nice’ and ‘justice’ are well fit on him. Another symbol of middle class is Mrs. Higgins. In the entire story, she never makes any mistake against her status. She speaks perfect language, has elegant
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