A Streetcar Named Desire: the Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde’s play entitled “The Importance of Being Earnest” illustrates the concept of dual personality, fantasy, love, and lies. Jack, Algernon, Gwendolyn, and Cecily all live in lies. They are manipulated by their fantasies and desire for perfect relationship and love. Jack, the protagonist in the play, is the root of lies because of his imaginary brother named Earnest. Algernon uses the name to win Cecily, while Gwendolyn and Cecily are both fascinated by this name because it expresses strength and perfection of manhood. Due to their search and desire to have Earnest, the male and female characters escape from the reality. Therefore, Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest portrays a gender doubled

In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors

One of the most famous quotes from Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest is in the final act where Gwendolen and Cecily are discussing what they should do with Jack and Algernon. She claims that, “in matter of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing” (III, 19). This is the epitome of the story because it truly encompasses Wilde’s thoughts on Victorian life and society. Throughout the play, there are numerous instances where you can see that majority, if not all of, the characters believe this ideal of style of substance. This commentary on the Victorian Era and the extremities of controlling behaviors and personalities can also be related to today’s culture and the representation of humans on different social media platforms.

It is a well known phenomenon that many authors' lives are reflected through a character in their work. In Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, the double life, or double identity, can be seen as the central metaphor in the play, epitomized in Algernon's creation of "Bunbury" or "Bunburying". As this term is the only fictitious word employed throughout the text, it is crucial to critically analyze not only its use and implications, but more importantly, the character who coins the term; Algernon Moncrieff. In addition, it is also significant to note the marked differences between Algernon and Jack's perceptions of the notion of bunburying, as it further develops Algernon's character within the text. But perhaps the single most

It was highly moral for a man to have a family and to be current in marriage; it boosts up his image and role in society. A man, who has been out of marriage for too long, is seen as idle. Wilde presents two characters, Algernon and Jack, who have a dispute whether marriage is silly or not. It suggests that not every Victorian man were keen on the idea of marriage. In the Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde displays a

Oscar Wilde's, "The Importance of Being Earnest" revolves around the dichotomy of the true definition of honesty versus the victorian definition of honesty. It is apparent that Wilde's opinion is that true honesty is expressed through being genuine to one's self as opposed to putting on a front as is important in victorian ideals. In this work, Wilde uses humor to off-set the seriousness of the theme of the story. One who has studied this work can also clearly see that Wilde is using sarcasm to say things that would not have been accepted by society if they were said bluntly. For example he exemplifies in a very sarcastic manner the hypocracy that victorian society represents by the very fact that they pretend to uphold honesty above all

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes people in the Victorian Era for believing that their ideal romantic fantasies are pragmatic and attainable in reality. The play’s utilization of comedy of manners, through satire, aims criticism at the higher classes of society. Wilde shows that even though upper class citizens have a lavish lifestyle it does not mean that they can also obtain a romance that is as equally extravagant. Wilde’s usage of comedic tools, such as hyperboles and ironic concepts, emphasizes how people’s expectations and high standards can often jumble, as well as lead them astray, from the actuality of romance and how it is flawed rather than flawless, and that no one will always get the fairytale ending they

Morality and Foolery In times where earnestness is priority, foolery ensues to escape societal pressure and morality takes a back seat. Oscars Wilde’s play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ highlighted this fact with satire. In the Victorian Age of London, outward appearance of seriousness, respect, and societal conformity are of the utmost importance. Citizens of this age were expected to uphold those standards, even above their own happiness and health.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, the intimate conversation between Algernon and Cecily at Jack’s country estate foreshadows the upcoming comical collision and most significantly, paves the way for the unravelling of deceptions as the characters discover their true identities. The dialogue also captures Algernon’s deceptive appearance in the name of “Ernest”, his genuine love for Cecily and her irresistible desires. In this scene, Wilde satirizes how it seems compulsory for the aristocracy to adhere to the rigidity of the moral duties that organized the society and that the hypocritical aristocracy is driven to pursue their authentic desires by any means. Through this, Wilde exposes the superficiality of the aristocracy as they indulge in

In the country everyone knows him as Jack, but, in the city, everyone knows Jack as ‘Earnest.’ Algernon, Jack’s best friend, becomes suspicious of Jack and soon discovers that his long-time friend has been living a secret

Throughout the nineteenth century, both men and women realized the importance of moralism, hypocrisy, and earnesty. However, the prominent characteristic of guilt constantly over-consumed the average mindset. Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” uses Algernon, Gwendolen, and Jack to display the true importance of ‘earnestness’ through morals and hypocrisy. Through the use of moralism, Wilde is able to display the differentiation between the good and evil within society through his character Algernon. Within seconds of the play opening, Wilde’s use of Algernon portrays a sense of his own morals.

In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, two gentlemen exemplify the result of dishonesty and hypocrisy. Set in Victorian England, the two bachelors, Algernon and Jack, fight over which one of them will take the name Ernest in order to win their own girl. Wilde circumvents conventionalism and employs superior satirical strategy to not only teach the importance of being earnest, a characteristic held dear by Victorian society, but he also chastises his world for the hypocrisy between man and woman and between upper and lower classes.

Perhaps, one of the greatest takeaways is that the upper class in the play walks away from their numerous lies and games of deceit with no consequence. Nor do they seem to show remorse or regret for the lies they’ve told. Both Algernon and Jack get the girls they dream of, because the luxuries and financial status of the elite usually provide them with what they want. Instead of suffering the normal consequences of deceit, Wilde uses simple self-centeredness as Jack’s escape by way of Gwendolyn’s instantaneous verdict that Jack probably lied about his name as an excuse to see her in town more often. In the play, lies become another trivial issue while being manipulated successfully to achieve happiness for oneself. Coupled with vanity and conceit, the attitude of the elite in The Importance of Being Earnest imitates the attitudes of the vain Victorian aristocracy during Wilde’s

The Importance of Being Earnest appears to be a conventional 19th century farce. False identities, prohibited engagements, domineering mothers, lost children are typical of almost every farce. However, this is only on the surface in Wilde's play. His parody works at two levels- on the one hand he ridicules the manners of the high society and on the other he satirises the human condition in general. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest assume false identities in order to achieve their goals but do not interfere with the others' lives. The double life led by Algernon, Jack, and Cecily (through her diary) is simply another means by which they liberate

Arguably, The Importance of Being Earnest revolves around intricate character development that addresses the issue of double identities and false facades in Victorian England. Residing in Hertfordshire, Jack Worthing constitutes the play’s principal protagonist and is acknowledged for his respectable conduct and righteous ethics. Through acquisition of extensive estates and admission as a Justice of the peace, Jack establishes an honorable reputation for himself. However, because of the limitations imposed upon Jack due to his perceived dignified persona, he occasionally escapes to London where he fulfills and capitulates to unscrupulous indulgences. Moreover, it is revealed that Jack leads a dubious double life posing as his unrestrained and amoral “useful younger brother of the name Ernest” as an excuse to visit “as often as [Jack ] likes” (Wilde, 88). A figment of his imagination, “Ernest” comes to symbolize Jack’s need to evade the irrational constraints of Victorian society while maintaining an aura of respectability.