Man and Superman Essay Questions

What is the meaning of Shaw's "Life Force"? How does it affect the characters of the play?

"Life Force" is Shaw's term for the power manifested in the Nietzschean übermensch, or "superman." It is an invisible, mysterious energy that causes people to seek out new knowledge and spiritual growth, even at a cost to their material comfort or social status. With the help of the life-force, people both become better themselves and make the world a better and fairer place. The life-force also pushes people to reproduce and create successively improved new generations of people.

In this play, both Ann and Tanner represent the life-force in various ways. Tanner seeks out opportunities to grow, improve himself, and better the world around him, driven by the life force. Ann seeks out the opportunity to marry and have children, thus carrying the life force forward into a new generation. For this reason, the two of them are brought together in the end, even against Tanner's preferences— the life-force, in his case, overrides his conscious decision.

Comment on the distinctive tone and point of view of the stage directions in Man and Superman. Discuss the effect of these directions on the play as a whole.

The stage directions in this particular play are luxuriously descriptive and have a distinctly sarcastic tone, in contrast to the more utilitarian approach used by most playwrights. The directions are stuffed with figurative language and exciting images, all contributing to this descriptive, lush tone. In fact, these directions take up an enormous amount of space on the page relative to the play's dialogue, making the experience of reading the play almost closer to that of reading a novel rather than a typical play. This means that watching the play is an entirely different experience from reading it, since audiences see the stage directions followed onstage but do not read them. As a result, readers of the play (including the actors and directors who use the script) develop a feeling of personal intimacy with the narrator of the stage directions, viewing this narrator as a gossipy but wise ally amidst the play's wacky characters.

How do the characters in Man and Superman experience nontraditional manifestations of romantic love?

Three different romantic pairings shape the plot of Man and Superman: Ann and Octavius, Ann and Tanner, and Violet and Hector Malone, Jr. Violet and Hector's relationship is closest to a traditional love story. They are mutually attracted to one another, decide to marry and have a child, and do so. In spite of this, Shaw approaches their relationship in a relatively mocking manner, particularly because Malone's ideas of love and romance are in fact so full of cliches. Shaw instead emphasizes the rewards to be found in less-traditional romances. One such nontraditional romance is that of Ann and Octavius. Their love is entirely one-sided, but this does not make it any less real or important. In fact, as Ann herself points out, the unrequited nature of their love is essential to it, since Octavius's romantic personality thrives on disappointment. Ann and Tanner, too, have a nontraditional love. In spite of their mutual attraction, Tanner dislikes Ann and Ann disapproves of Tanner. The thing that unites them is in some ways stronger than love—they are brought together by the "Life Force," making their marriage stronger, if more complex, than a standard romantic comedy pairing.

Describe this play's use of dramatic irony. Where does it appear and how does it function?

Dramatic irony is a device in which the audience becomes aware of information before certain characters become aware of it. For example, the audience learns that Violet and Hector Malone, Jr. are married before Violet breaks this news to any other characters. Furthermore, because of an early scene in which Tanner and Ann speak alone to one another, the audience knows about their flirtatious relationship before Octavius discovers it. One effect of this dramatic irony is the way in which it lets audiences see how certain characters delude themselves or live in denial. For instance, knowing that Ann does not love Octavius, the audience is able to better observe how Octavius deludes himself, hoping that Ann secretly loves him. This play's dramatic irony also gives readers a feeling of closeness with the omniscient narrator—the ironic, quippy voice of the stage directions.

Discuss the characters of Mrs. Whitefield and Hector Malone, Sr. How do these parental figures attempt to control and influence their children, and why do they fail?

Mrs. Whitefield and Hector Malone, Sr., are strikingly different at first glance. Whitefield is timid and mousy, with a tendency to exaggerate her own powerlessness in order to gain sympathy. Malone, on the other hand, strikes a powerful if unappealing figure with his business suit and stubborn-looking face. However, both are deeply powerless in a sense, and determined to influence their children in order to feel more in-control. Mrs. Whitefield cannot actually control Ann, but tries to gain a feeling of power by gossiping about her daughter ad asking others, such as Octavius, to validate her feelings of frustration. Malone, who finds meaning only in material wealth, tries to gain a feeling of fulfillment by having his son marry an aristocrat's daughter. Because both of these parents try to control their children obliquely rather than communicate with them directly or understand them, the children rebel, giving the parents even less control than they had to begin with.