{"id":223,"date":"2014-05-22T16:06:14","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T16:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/chapter\/major-barbara-study-guide\/"},"modified":"2023-12-07T15:41:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:41:33","slug":"major-barbara-study-guide","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/provincialenglish\/chapter\/major-barbara-study-guide\/","title":{"raw":"Major Barbara: Study Guide","rendered":"Major Barbara: Study Guide"},"content":{"raw":"

Study Questions<\/h1>\r\n
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  1. Contrast Barbara with her brother Stephen.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Explain the Andrew Undershaft foundling tradition.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. What challenge does Barbara level at her father in Act I?<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Who is Barbara\u2019s grandfather?<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Why does Bill Walker strike Jenny Hill?<\/li>\r\n \t
  6. What financial aid does Undershaft offer his three children?<\/li>\r\n \t
  7. What is Stephen\u2019s main criticism of Undershaft\u2019s treatment of his workers?<\/li>\r\n \t
  8. Does Nietzsche\u2019s definition of \"Dionysian\" (and \"Apollonian\") in Birth of Tragedy<\/i> apply to Dolly\u2019s understanding of the term? See a good handbook of literary terms such as Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms<\/i>, ed. J.A. Cuddon; or A Handbook to Literature<\/i>, Holman and Harmon; or A Glossary of Literary Terms<\/em>, M.H. Abrams.<\/li>\r\n \t
  9. Why is winning Barbara\u2019s capitulation in the wager so important to Undershaft? Why does Barbara capitulate?<\/li>\r\n \t
  10. Discuss how Shaw explores the notion of class in the play.<\/li>\r\n \t
  11. Explore Shaw\u2019s presentation of men and women as it challenges or conforms to dramaturgical conventions of gender at the turn of the 20th century as well as today.<\/li>\r\n \t
  12. Who is Mrs. Baines, and what key announcement does she make?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    Essay or Discussion Topics<\/h1>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Look up the term psychomachia<\/i> in a good reference source such as your favourite glossary or handbook of literary terms. Is Major Barbara<\/i> structured as a kind of psychomachia? If so, whose soul is being fought over? Who are the angelic and diabolical characters or tempters?<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. In what way is Undershaft a \u201cGrand Inquisitor<\/a>\u201d figure?<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Compare characters and situations from The Importance of Being Earnest<\/i> and Major Barbara<\/i>. How might Lady Bracknell be seen as a source character for Lady Britomart?<\/li>\r\n \t
    4. One critic suggests that in addition to the Spenserean allusion, Britomart\u2019s name also suggests \u201cBritish Market.\u201d\u00a0 Refute or support with evidence.<\/li>\r\n \t
    5. Why does Shaw name Undershaft\u2019s business partner Lazarus? Be sure to read Chapter 16 from the Gospel of Luke as a starting point.<\/li>\r\n \t
    6. Discuss Charles \u201cCholly\u201d Lomax as comic character.<\/li>\r\n \t
    7. What typical characteristics of a utopia do you find in the depiction of the community of Perivale St. Andrews in Act III?<\/li>\r\n \t
    8. Discuss any particularly useful changes to the play in Gabriel Pascal\u2019s 1941 film version of Major Barbara<\/i>. Note that Shaw helped write the film script and published his screen version in 1946.<\/li>\r\n \t
    9. Explore the use of music in the play.<\/li>\r\n \t
    10. Discuss Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle (1845-1921) as the source for Lady Britomart.<\/li>\r\n \t
    11. Discuss Gilbert Murray as Shaw\u2019s source for Adolphus Cusins.<\/li>\r\n \t
    12. Discuss the various comic techniques, especially characterization, that Shaw uses to keep his audience involved in the action of the play.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      Resources<\/h1>\r\n