Shaw involves society at large in the prostitution business by exposing the underlying socio-economic conditions that serve to exploit the poor and make them viable “immoral” professions like prostitution. options for lower-class women to escape the cycle of poverty. Additionally, the capitalist economic system allows people of a higher social class to benefit (mostly monetarily) from the prostitution trade, as they appear to control the lower social classes who engage in prostitution, while maintaining a facade of respectability . Furthermore, Shaw implicates society as a whole by showing that its perception of prostitution is wrong and is simply based on the prejudices of the upper social classes against prostitution and stereotypes of the working class. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shaw engages society as a whole by showing how the capitalist economic system provides the underlying conditions for and perpetuates prostitution. In order to take advantage of the working class, the upper echelons of society tend to exploit lower class workers. Shaw clearly highlights the exploitation of the working class through the characterization of Mrs. Warren as a representative voice of the working class, and structurally through Mrs. Warren's confrontation with Vivie. Ms. Warren justifies prostitution by stating, “Do you think I was raised like you? able to choose my own way of life? Do you think I did what I did because I liked it, or because I thought it was right, or that I wouldn't have preferred to go to college and be a woman if I 'had the chance?'. Shaw's use of diction here is extremely effective because the repetition of the words "choose" and "chance" serves to emphasize the fact that the prostitutes are simply being forced into prostitution, because Since the word "choose" implies that one can choose something from two or more alternatives, the fact that Mrs. Warren had no choice shows that lower class women have no alternatives other than prostitution to escape from the cycle of poverty. Unlike those of a higher social class, women from the lower classes are not able to pursue higher education due to their financial constraints and, as a result, they are exploited by the upper classes because. their lack of education prevented them from pursuing their own ambitions in life. Additionally, through the many rhetorical questions Mrs. Warren asked Vivie, we can see that Mrs. Warren is furious at society's perception that prostitutes are immoral. for not only has society contributed to the factors underlying prostitution, but it judges all prostitutes by a common standard, as immoral, although prostitutes were forced into prostitution due to their circumstances. Society itself (through the capitalist economic system) has denied lower class women many opportunities to improve their socio-economic status, causing many working class women to resort to prostitution in order not to only to improve their socio-economic status, but also to be free from the exploitation of the upper class. Therefore, Shaw uses the character of Mrs. Warren to highlight the irony of society's prejudice against prostitutes, as they themselves are the cause of the underlying conditions of prostitution.The exploitation of lower-class women by the upper classes is evident in the treatment of lower-class blue-collar workers. . Ms. Warren's half-sisters are blue-collar, lower-class representatives. They are described as “poor, honest, and hungry creatures.” Shaw's use of diction is extremely effective here as the word "starved" literally implies that the blue collar workers were starving. This shows the poor working conditions faced by blue-collar workers and the fact that they cannot even meet their basic needs. We can also interpret the word “hungry” metaphorically. Since blue-collar workers were unable to meet their basic needs, we can infer that they were deprived of a sustainable wage, like a starving person is deprived of food. The heartbreaking image of women working hard and on the verge of death serves to highlight the cruelty of the upper classes who put profit ahead of the well-being of their workers. Likewise, the word “creatures” shows that lower class workers have been dehumanized by the upper echelons of society and have been completely subordinated to the upper classes. Therefore, this serves to accentuate the mistreatment of lower class workers, with their superiors viewing them as subhuman and therefore refusing to provide them with basic human necessities. Thus, the capitalist economy is responsible for creating the factors underlying prostitution, as the upper classes exploit the lower classes for monetary gain and, as a result, pay their workers poverty wages for increase their profits, which then causes lower class workers to become trapped. the cycle of poverty. Furthermore, the fact that "honest" and "hardworking" blue-collar workers have not been able to raise their socio-economic status and find themselves at the mercy of their superiors, shows that these "moral" and honest jobs are detrimental to the well-being of be workers. -collars, even if they were considered socially acceptable. Therefore, women from the lower classes were afraid of being seen as immoral by society and had no choice but to pursue these working-class professions. Therefore, society is involved in the prostitution business because women who want to escape the cycle of poverty have no means of doing so due to the capitalist economic system and must resort to prostitution. Additionally, Shaw involves all parts of society in prostitution. showing how the privileged classes benefit in different ways from prostitution while maintaining a facade of respectability. Crofts, a member of the upper echelon of society, states that "If you decide to choose your knowledge according to moral principles, you had better leave this country, unless you want to exclude yourself from all decent society." This is the justification Crofts gives to Vivie for the way he makes his living, by operating brothels. He responds that the majority of the country's upper class acquired their wealth through morally dubious means. The irony here is that "decent" society is morally corrupt and that the only people likely to apply Vivie's morality are those who suffer in the lowest ranks of society, such as lower class women who choose to engage in blue collar jobs, it is evident that “honest” and “hardworking” blue collar workers were unable to improve their financial situation and were under the complete control of their superiors.that these moral occupations are detrimental to the well-being of workers, even if they were considered socially acceptable. The majority of working class women choose to enter the blue-collar job market because they are afraid of being judged immoral by society, as this would have certain social implications. The irony of Croft's statement is not lost on Vivie, who begins to question the double standards that the upper classes apply towards prostitutes, to the extent that these supposedly respectable members of society have achieved their wealth through immoral means. use money from prostitution to maintain their lifestyle, even if it is not intentional. Vivie's scholarship to study at Newham was sponsored by Croft's brother, who ran a factory that paid its female workers starvation wages. Although not directly stated, when Croft's asks Vivie how these orphaned workers could financially support themselves, it is implied that these women turned to prostitution in order to meet their basic needs as it there were no other employment opportunities available to them. Thus, the workers at Croft's brother's business are primarily made up of prostitutes, because without the money they had earned through prostitution, they would likely have starved to death and would have been unable to work at that business. Therefore, Vivie herself is involved in the prostitution industry as her purse has come at the expense of the prostitutes working in Croft's brother's business. She had indirectly benefited from the prostitution industry which she had completely ignored and deemed immoral. As Vivie is representative of upper class women, we can see that upper class women are "just as bad" as those directly involved in the prostitution industry and this proves that the upper echelons of society benefit indirectly of the prostitution industry. However, the privileged classes are not judged as immoral because they manage to hide their involvement in the prostitution industry. Crofts himself states that the "class of people" to whom he would introduce Vivie would not "forget themselves so far as to discuss my affairs." Through Shaw's use of diction, it is evident that the "class of people" that Crofts is referring to are the upper classes of society. The fact that they do not "forget each other" implies that the majority of the upper classes of society are directly involved in the prostitution industry. The words "forget themselves" imply that the upper classes of society would not question Croft's business endeavors, for fear of revealing that they too are profiting from the prostitution industry and therefore losing their facade of respectability. This not only serves to highlight the hypocrisy of the upper classes of society, who belittle prostitutes while profiting from the prostitution industry, but also shows that the upper classes of society are covering up their questionable involvement in the prostitution industry in order to preserve their identity. reputation in society. Plus, the company “doesn’t ask any awkward questions.” Shaw's use of diction through the words "don't ask" shows that society does not even suspect that the supposedly respectable upper classes are involved in such an immoral industry, as they sincerely believe that the upper classes are morally superior. This further allows the privileged classes to maintain their facade of respectabilitywhile society does not even suspect that they are involved in these immoral activities. This way, they can openly condemn the prostitution industry without facing repercussions. Therefore, Shaw involves every part of society in prostitution by showing how the upper classes benefit in many ways from prostitution while maintaining a facade of respectability. Finally, Shaw implicates society as a whole by showing that its perception of prostitutes is wrong and based on the prejudices and stereotypes of the privileged classes towards the working class. This is seen through Vivive's characterization. Vivie is essentially an upper-class woman who has pursued higher education and therefore finds many viable employment options that would grant her the socioeconomic status she deserves. So, unlike Mrs. Warren, Vivie has many job prospects and is not limited to manual jobs. We can therefore assume that Vivie's initial view of prostitution is that of the upper classes of society. Vivie rejects Mrs. Warren's argument that her situation forced her to turn to prostitution, but Vivie rejects this "excuse" stating that "people always blame their circumstances for who they are." I don't believe in circumstances. The people who succeed in this world are those who get up and look for the circumstances they want and, if they can't find them, create them. " This explains Vivie's naive view on prostitution, as she believes that one's circumstances do not matter and that even in unfortunate circumstances, members of the lower classes can still pursue their dreams without being involved in prostitution. She assumes that blue-collar workers are unable to succeed simply because they are unambitious or lazy. However, she does not realize that lower-class women do not have the same opportunities as her because. , due to their lack of higher education, they are exploited by the upper classes However, her opinion changes after Mrs. Warren describes her struggle to survive in contrast to the privileges given to Vivie. Vivie's reasoning was that of many people in the upper echelons of society and was seen as a sort of justification for discrimination against prostitutes. Since the upper classes have not experienced what being a lower class woman entails, they do not understand the limitations that lower class women face in terms of their career prospects. employment and, therefore, they assume that these women choosing to become prostitutes and choosing to "sell" their bodies instead of making a living from a normal office job makes them immoral because they lack self-respect . Society then considers prostitution to be immoral, because during the Victorian era, society viewed the upper classes as the embodiment of moral standards and, as the upper classes were prejudiced against these so-called immoral prostitutes, society l 'was also. Shaw highlights the absurdity of society's perception of prostitutes through the characterization of Mrs. Warren. Here, Ms. Warren is speaking for the prostitutes and so we can assume that most prostitutes have this opinion of themselves. Mrs. Warren believes that prostitution is not immoral but that the prostitutes' new independence gives them self-respect. Mrs. Warren asks Vivie, “And what is a woman worth?” what is life worth? without self-respect!" Through the use of exclamation points, Shaw emphasizes Mrs. Warren's indignation.