Characterization of Andrew Undershaft in Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara

Abstract

Characterization is a compelling way that enables authors to express their views and convey their messages indirectly through the characters they create as well as the way they create them. This paper presents a stylistic analysis of the characterization of Andrew Undershaft in Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara from a cognitive approach. The study attempts to examine how Shaw voices his view about morality, religion, and power, and the conflict that might arise among these if one has to choose one over the other(s), as represented by the main character, Andrew Undershaft, a wealthy manufacturer of weapons, who symbolizes the power emanating from the possession of both money and arms, and the titular Barbara, who symbolizes the religious power represented in a religious organization, the Salvation Army. The aim of the study is to show how Bernard Shaw’s characterization of the protagonist succeeds in voicing his own opinions as to true morality. The study also aims to examine how the reader’s impression is gradually formed about the character in question. The theoretical framework for the study is based on Culpeper’s cognitive model of characterization in play texts, and employs the tools of categorization, impression formation, the explicit cues of self-presentation and other-presentation, the implicit cues of a character's company and setting, the authorial cue of stage directions, and the speech act theory. The study concludes that through his vivid portrayal of the protagonist and the reader’s gradually formed impression about him, Shaw adroitly succeeds in conveying his vision.