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What is the relationship between the names “Doolittle, Higgins” and their social status? - Pygmalion

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
What is the relationship between the names “Doolittle, Higgins” and their social status? What do they stand for?
Names are just names or do they stand for anything in our life? As far as we know from our society or just with the help of our background knowledge, yes they do have a meaning or at least they stand for something or just symbolize something according to some. There are names that are used among rich people, and those used by religious people, and those used by regular people, and those used by intellectual people and so on. In Pygmalion, I want to focus on only two families, which are Doolittle and Higgins. I haven’t looked anywhere but it sounded like to me that “Doolittle” is with a bit difference like “too little”. That was an interesting foundation maybe but I wasn’t very sure about it. Because it sounds a bit out of our aim here, I thought first. Now I see, when I search for the name “Higgins” in dictionaries, name dictionaries. From blurtit.com what I saw amazed me: Higgins means literally “fire”, “gangsta” each of which are according to anonymous sources. “Fire” is what we call something is in pace and move, it never stops and when it finds a way it just goes for it and attacks. If we look at Mr. Higgins personality in the play, it is not surprising that he is named after a name meaning “fire”. Whenever he finds an opportunity he just uses it and says and acts however he likes just like a fire would. I have found yet another definition for “Higgins”. From irelandseye.com, Higgins is “another family name with ancient royal connections”. It also means “knowledge” and “skill”. It is not very surprising for all of us that Higgins is used purposely for Mr. Higgins’ family.

Doolittle, is just an interesting name. It is, I am not going to argue, used on purpose in this play. The family of Doolittle are just we expect them to be. But the name used for them is just a bit harsh maybe because to me it sounds like “too little”. They are that small, tiny family with very low income when compared to Higgins. It is so obvious to us they are part of a lower status. Through the end of the play, Mr. Doolittle gets rich. So what about his name then? I say, did he properly become rich just like a normal higher class member or just like a common poor person would? So, the name used for them is just quite ok to show us what they really are in their society and how they are still seen by others.
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APPENDIX:

(1) Higgins: gangsta, toys, Higgins is basically a Gaelic origin and it literally means fire. (1)

(2) Higgins is another family name with ancient royal connections. This name is an anglicisation of O hUigin, from uiginn, meaning Viking. The word also means knowledge, skill or ingenuity. (2) The original hold er of the name was a grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a High King of Tara. There is also a later English derivation too; Higgins as an English name comes from the medieval name Higgin, which was a diminutive of Hicke, a pet name given to anyone called Richard. In medieval Ireland, the Higgins were a sept, or clan, of the southern Ui Neills, who settled in Connacht, especially around Co. Sligo.

The most famous holder of the name was Bernardo O'Higgins (1778-1842), the first president of Chile and the founder of the Chilean Navy. The main street in Santiago is called Avenida O'Higgins in honour of the man who gave Chile its independence from Spain. O'Higgins was the son of Ambrosio O'Higgins, who came from a poor rural background near Summerhill in Co. Meath.

Resources:

1. http://www.blurtit.com/q965297.html
2. http://www.irelandseye.com/irish/traditional/names/family/higgins.shtm

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