Answer these questions. What was Higgins trying to teach Eliza? Why did Higgins place a burner in front of Eliza? What did she have to practise? What perplexed Pickering in Scene 1? Why did Pickering ask Higgins to be reasonable in Scene 5? Did Eliza succeed in the end? What was the reaction of the others? Describe Higgins and Eliza. What exercises did Higgins do with Eliza? List them in your notebook and then number them in the order in which they occurred in the extract.
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- What was Higgins trying to teach Eliza? Higgins was trying to teach Eliza how to speak proper English, so that she could pass as a lady in high society.
- Why did Higgins place a burner in front of Eliza? Higgins placed a burner in front of Eliza to make her pronounce the letter H correctly, by making her blow out a flame with her breath.
- What did she have to practise? She had to practise speaking sentences with correct pronunciation, grammar, and accent, such as "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" or "In Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen".
- What perplexed Pickering in Scene 1? Pickering was perplexed by Higgins' ability to identify the origin and background of people by their speech, and by his lack of manners and respect for Eliza.
- Why did Pickering ask Higgins to be reasonable in Scene 5? Pickering asked Higgins to be reasonable in Scene 5 because he realized that Eliza had feelings and emotions, and that Higgins was treating her like a mere experiment, without considering her future or happiness.
- Did Eliza succeed in the end? Eliza succeeded in the end by impressing everyone at the embassy ball with her refined speech and appearance, and by proving that she had learned more than just how to talk like a lady, but also how to think and act like one.
- What was the reaction of the others? The reaction of the others was mostly admiration and astonishment, especially from the high-class guests and the Hungarian phonetician Zoltan Karpathy, who mistook Eliza for a Hungarian princess. However, Higgins was indifferent and ungrateful, and took all the credit for Eliza's transformation.
- Describe Higgins and Eliza. Higgins was a brilliant but arrogant and insensitive phonetician, who believed that he could change anyone's social status by changing their speech. He was obsessed with his work and had little regard for human feelings or relationships. Eliza was a poor but spirited and intelligent flower girl, who wanted to improve her life and dignity by learning to speak properly. She was courageous and determined, and also had a sense of humor and self-respect.
- What exercises did Higgins do with Eliza? List them in your notebook and then number them in the order in which they occurred in the extract. Some of the exercises that Higgins did with Eliza were:
1. Making her repeat words and sentences after him.
2. Making her blow out a flame with her breath to pronounce the letter H.
3. Making her recite tongue twisters and rhymes.
4. Making her listen to recordings of her own voice and correct her mistakes.
5. Making her read and write.
6. Making her learn etiquette and manners.
7. Making her dress and behave like a lady.