by George Bernard Shaw, Dan H. Laurence
I feel rather dumb after reading this book. As I am still unable to understand what Shaw really wanted to tell or whatever little bit I have understood was that he wanted to tell?? Or was there something more?? As much as I liked his writing some how it was very hard to relate or agree with Shaw’s ...
I feel like the genius of the play's ideas merits more than 2 stars; HOWEVER, this wasn't an enjoyable read. Far from it. From hopelessly trying to decipher the writing style Shaw uses to portray the dialect of the poor to struggling to determine what exactly Shaw was recommending, I found it diffic...
Shaw addresses issues of economic practicality in conflict with moral idealism. Barbara needs money to run her Christian mission and is offered it by the biggest arms manufacturer in England, but is money just money or is it tainted by its source.
Here's what I remember about this play, some thirty years after reading it: Major Barbara is a pacifist and is dedicated to helping the lives of the worst-off members of her society. Her father, an arms manufacturer, is also dedicated to helping the lives of members of his society, and uses both enl...
At this remove Major Barbara is somewhat conflated with Sister Sarah from Guys and Dolls. I was very struck at the time by the idea that someone could be involved in a bad business (arms manufacture) and could do much good for one's employees, etc. Now I'm more of the opinion that the ends don't jus...
I last read this play as a teenager, and I don't remember it as well as I would ideally wish. I recall the moral as being, roughly, that the Christian world-view was entirely compatible with the ethos of the military-industrial complex. Can that really be right? Maybe there was some level of irony I...
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