銀貓的漫遊天地

 My Fair Lady

 Summary:

 Eliza was a flower-seller at the market. On a rainy day, she met Freddy Eynsford-Hell by being knocked over by him. Freddy looked down on her then. At the same time, she met Professor Henry Higgins because of her strong London accent. Higgins said that in six months, he could make Eliza go to the Embassy Ball, and nobody could guess where she was from. Eliza was interested. The next day, she went and found Higgins for learning how to speak wonderful English. The professor didn’t want her as a student at first, but he approved after he had a bet with Colonel Pickering, a man who also studied accents. Since that day, Eliza practiced day and night, time after time. It was really hard for her to speak without her accent. As a result, when she pronounced a whole sentence perfectly, all of them were on cloud nine. Higgins made a decision to take her to the horse race. Freddy met her again, and because she looked so beautiful, he was in love with her at first sight. But, Eliza was so excited that her London accent came out. She continued practicing, and this time, she acted as a real lady on the Embassy Ball. However, Eliza was not happy. She thought that she had to leave, and she did. But finally she came back. Higgins and Eliza, were already a part of each other’s life.

Impressive Sentences:

1. Most of all he wanted to laugh loudly, to run to her. Instead, he sat back in the chair again, pushed his hat down over his eyes and very softly said,’ Eliza, where are my slippers?‘
2. ‘She’s gone,’ he said, almost to himself. ’What can I do?’
3. ‘Nothing more to worry about. I’d like to be dead,’ Eliza said quietly. ‘I heard you say ”Thank God it’s all finished!” What do I do now? Where do I go?’
4. Freddy couldn’t take eyes off her. He was immediately, hopelessly in love with her.

Afterthought:

In the whole story, I like Eliza the most. I respect her, too. She had not only courage but also the mind to change her life, First, it’s brave of her to choose to find Higgins to learn speaking good English instead of being an ordinary flower-seller. I think I can do the same as Eliza did. I’m not afraid of changing my life, though I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. Changes make improvements. If there are no changes, or we are always fearful of adventuring, then we’ll be like snails, staying safe in shells but never learning how blue the sky is outside.

Second, it’s resolute of her to practice the boring pronunciation again and again. If I were her, I might go crazy. I couldn’t bear doing the same thing hundreds of time, especially a flat thing. What supported Eliza must be the dream of becoming a real lady. To be a real lady, she clearly knew that she had to practice as hard as she could, or she would fail and be a flower-seller at the market forever. She clearly knew that, so she was willing to learn, even though Higgins treated her rudely. I should learn from her attitude, if I am truly eager to reach my dream.

Last, its good for her to have her own opinion. Whether she was a lady or not, people were trying to affect her. But she kept her mind away from them, in order not to be influenced. She had her own way. I think that it’s good to listen to what people think about us, but the more important thing is not being a doll, being controlled and having no ideas about what we ourselves are doing.

Eliza was a special girl, quite different from other women at that time. It is no wonder that Freddy and Higgins were both in love with her. After making so many efforts, it was sure that she would get something back.

Questions for Discussion:

1. Why do people think of accent as an important thing?
2. Why was Higgins always so rude to Eliza though he loved her?