Major Barbara is one of the most beloved plays by Nobel laureate George Bernard Shaw. The story explores the life of an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, committed to helping the poor as a Major in the Salvation Army in London. For several years, Barbara and her siblings have been distant from their father, Andrew Undershaft. But things take a turn when he reappears in their life as a wealthy and successful ammunition maker.
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Major Barbara is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in the Salvation Army in London. For many years, Barbara and her siblings have been estranged from their father, Andrew Undershaft, who now reappears as a rich and successful munitions maker. Undershaft, the father, gives money to the Salvation Army, which offends Major Barbara, who does not want to be connected to his "tainted" wealth. However, the father argues that poverty is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady income than Major Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and soup.
Major Barbara. Bernard Shaw. Major Barbara is a three act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. An Officer of The Salvation Army, Major Barbara Undershaft, becomes disillusioned when her Christian denomination accepts money from an armaments manufacturer (her father) and a whisky distiller. She eventually decides that bringing a message of salvation to people who have plenty will be more fulfilling and genuine than converting the starving in return for bread. Although Barbara initially regards the Salvation Army's acceptance of Undershaft's money as hypocrisy, Shaw did not intend that it should be thought so by the audience. Shaw wrote a preface for the play's publication, in which he derided the idea that charities should only take money from "morally pure" sources. He points out that donations can always be used for good, whatever their provenance, and he quotes a Salvation Army officer, "they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God's."
Major Barbara is a three-act play that premiered at the Court Theatre in 1905, and was subsequently published in 1907. It portrays idealist Barbara Undershaft, a Major in the Salvation Army, and her encounter with her long-estranged father who has made his fortune as a "dealer of death" in the munitions industry. Barbara doesn't wish to be associated with her father's ill-gotten wealth, but can't prevent him from donating to the Salvation Army and eventually converting her family to his capitalist views on how best to help the poor. In the preface, Shaw addresses his critics and explicates his actual attitudes towards the Salvation Army, versus the attitudes and fates portrayed by his characters and responded to by the critics. He continues on to discuss the issues of wealth and poverty, religion and science, and how they all fit into his views of society. Major Barbara is one of the most controversial of Shaw's work and was greeted with decidedly mixed reviews, yet it endures as one of his most famous plays.
When a Salvation Army officer learns that her father, a wealthy armaments manufacturer, has donated lots of money to her organization, she resigns in disgust but eventually sees the truth of her father's reasoning that social iniquity derives from poverty; it is only through accumulating wealth and power that people can help each other.
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Preface to Major Barbara: First Aid to Critics" by Bernard Shaw. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
Major Barbara is a three-act play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in the Salvation Army in London. For many years Barbara and her siblings have been estranged from their father, Andrew Undershaft, who now reappears as a rich and successful munitions maker. Undershaft, the father, gives money to the Salvation Army, which offends Major Barbara, who does not want to be connected to his "tainted" wealth. However, the father argues that poverty is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady income than Major Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and soup. This 1905 play was written before society had fully experienced the vast human cost exacted by industrially produced weapons in modern warfare, as would subsequently be the case in World Wars I and II.
A comprehensive study guide offering in-depth explanation, essay, and test prep for George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara, considered a literary classic due to the novel’s religious themes contradicting the religious ideas of the time period. As an early nineteenth century play, Major Barbara provides political commentary on the matter of whether it is morally right or wrong to obtain something that is used for a good cause from death and destruction. Moreover, it encourages conversation among students about whether a charitable act maintains its value even when its roots were immoral. This Bright Notes Study Guide explores the context and history of Shaw’s classic work, helping students to thoroughly explore the reasons it has stood the literary test of time. Each Bright Notes Study Guide contains: - Introductions to the Author and the Work - Character Summaries - Plot Guides - Section and Chapter Overviews - Test Essay and Study Q&As The Bright Notes Study Guide series offers an in-depth tour of more than 275 classic works of literature, exploring characters, critical commentary, historical background, plots, and themes. This set of study guides encourages readers to dig deeper in their understanding by including essay questions and answers as well as topics for further research.
