Augusta Elton Character

The gulf between the upper class and its servants is explored in the scenes with Merriman and Prism. When Lady Bracknell unexpectedly shows up at Jack's, Merriman coughs discretely to warn the couples of her arrival. One can only imagine his humorous thoughts as he watches the wealthy tiptoe around each other and argue about what should be important. When Lady Bracknell hears the description of Prism and recognizes her as their former nanny, she calls for Miss Prism by shouting "Prism!" without using a title in front of her name. Imperiously, Lady Bracknell divides the servant from the lady of the manor. Wilde's audience would recognize this behavior on the part of the servants and the upper class. The stuffy class distinctions defined the society in which they lived.

With striking similarity in both appearance and personality, it seems that Amory has “inherited from his mother every trait, except the stray inexpressible few, that made him worthwhile” (3). Fitzgerald is pointing out the meaningless of the trappings of the upper class. Although Amory and Beatrice are rich and beautiful, these traits do not make them worthwhile. It is the characteristics that Amory develops on his own, without Beatrice’s influence, that redeem him.

Even though she is married to Tom, his wealth is not enough to satisfy her. When she sees the shirts she is sad because Tom does not have the luxury of owning such a large collection of clothing. She is blinded by wealth and always seeks more than she has. She cannot fully appreciate what she has because her dream is to always have more, and she will only be happy once she has the best, an unattainable goal that is there to tantalize.

At the end of the story, the grandmother only pleads for her life and never for her son Bailey or his family. “You wouldn’t shoot a lady, would you?” (O’Connor 192).The mother never showed no remorse of her son’s death even after the other two men came back with Bailey’s shirt and then took his wife and daughter. She never pleaded for the men to stop and spare their lives. The daughter June Starr selfish characters are observed when she believes her way of living is right by stating to Red Sammy’s wife “I wouldn’t live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks! (O’Connor 189). For a very young girl she carried an arrogant attitude that was never fixed by her parents.

Miss Prism also represents the dichotomy and somewhat relates to Cecily. In the fact that she acts in the manner a respectable victorian woman should, she is secretly (or so she thinks, though it is apparent to others) buring with passion for Rev. Chasuble. While around him she acts mannerly and as if she has no intrest in

An illustration of this is when Helen describes Myra as having a “rotten-sweetish smell as of bad fruit.” Also, when Helen asks what she will become when she is older, she looks very confused and says, “I will help my mother, and work in the shop.” Helen replies to this by saying that she will become an airplane hostess. While Helen’s family does not have less money than Myra’s, she seems to have some issues when she says she is the only student in the classroom who, “carried a lunch pail and ate peanut-butter sandwiches in the high, bare, mustard-colored cloakroom…” She feels she is in danger because it could be somethings that separates her from the better off and popular children in the class. With this considered, if either of them had families with money like a classmate named Gladys Healey, they would not have differences they could bond

Next, Foster brilliantly introduces the character of Cecil Vyse, a “medieval'; and high standing Englishman who, while is an acceptable suitor, really only sees Lucy as another pretty possession by his side. Cecil’s most important function ironically enough, is to serve as a “mirror'; for Lucy. For by seeing his snobbish and downright crude mannerisms, Lucy receives a likely image of what she herself could become if she were to marry Cecil for convention and not for passion. Becoming disgusted with Cecil’s behavior, she breaks off her engagement with him, yet still cannot distinguish whether she is doing it because of his crude and snobbish nature or because of her love for George, which she has still yet to admit.

Obsessed with her “unluckiness,” she neglects her children who are constantly exposed to the cold, emptiness of their mother’s heart. She is unable to love anything but the money she cannot attain. Her oldest child, Paul, forced to deal with this bitter treatment the longest, becomes obsessed with money as well, but as an attempt to win the interest of his mother. “Absorbed, taking no heed of other people, he went about with a sort of stealth, seeking inwardly for luck” (Lawrence 483). He rides into a trance on his rocking horse until he is killed by this urgency to find a winner. He wants to be “lucky” so badly. He wants to be the best, something his mother and father believed they could never be. He needs the money so that his house will stop screaming and his mother will love him.

In order to fully comprehend the significance of dishonesty throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, it is important to understand just how strict the Victorian

Blanche was a school teacher in Mississippi, but when she got fired for having intimate relationships with underaged boys, she moved in with her sister. Her sister, Stella is married to Stanley, who abuses her and yet she still does not leave him. Stella and Stanley have a toxic relationship, where they both have a mutual dislike for each other, but because of societal norms at the time, were unable to leave each other. Both female characters are victims to Stanley’s abuse and hurt ego. I personally do not like any of the characters, I do not get a good “feel” about them. They are all hurt in one way or another and do not know the correct way to express themselves. However, these character do remind me of how the society in third world countries expect families to be. In third world countries, men are the head of the households, and any women living under the roof is expected to follow their orders.

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” a satirical play written by Oscar Wilde, discusses a vast variety of criticisms regarding the late Victorian societal period. In this comedic drama, focusing on and analyzing certain minor characters leads to a more effective interpretation of the messages attempting to be portrayed to the audience. For example, through the persona of Lady Bracknell, Wilde effectively mocks the concept of marriage for social status rather than love. Additionally, interpreting the roles of the lower class servants allows the readers to internalize the desperate need for social reform that the author felt at the time period. Finally, the entire concept of Bunburyism, or masquerading as an alternate persona, satirizes the hypocrisy of the Victorian Era.

In all of the excitement of the toilet trick that Skeeter played on her, bridge clubs, and Junior League committee, Hilly wouldn’t have expected this book to come out. Hilly read the book and “told everybody the book’s not even about Jackson.” (Stockett, 492) because of what her previous maid, Minny, had added about the Terrible Awful. The Terrible Awful was a nasty trick that Minny played on Hilly to make Hilly suffer from all the things that she made Minny suffer from. Hilly didn’t want anyone to know about what Minny did to her, so she used her influence on others to make them think the book had nothing to do about Jackson so she wouldn’t be embarrassed. Her powerful figure was deteriorating behind that strong face of hers. If Hilly’s secrets were exposed, her whole reputation would be lost and people would shun her the way she told everyone to shun the people that she didn’t like. Not only for the first time in her life did Hilly start to realize she wasn’t as powerful as she thought, but she couldn’t do anything about getting people into trouble if she didn’t wanted to be exposed. She shunned Celia Foote because she’s a “tacky girl” (Stockett, 7), but Minny told her the Terrible Awful story so Hilly was forced to turn herself around so Celia would not reveal her as “Two-Slice Hilly” (Stockett, 402). Aibileen, a maid of one of Hilly’s friends, finally let Hilly know that if she did go to jail for writing the book,

In the film, the character Jeffries, is middle class and has different respects for Lisa and Stella, both ladies’ gender influencing on the way he communicates with them. Jeffries character portrays a casual person who doesn't car much for money or wealth, but thrives on adventure, qualities which can be linked to the director himself. He is content and comfortable with the way he lives and happy working in a job that he loves, but not currently as he is “trapped” in his leg cast. Some of the characters don't have this luxury as him but rather a job that is solely provide them with money, like Miss Lonely Heart. Jeffries is disparaging of the wealthy, which is targeted to Lisa on many occasions, and believes that they live in a world with not

Lady Bracknell’s character represents the “New Woman” and clearly Algernon has to overcome any obstacle to please her. Lane, as the servant, a lower class citizen, acknowledges the hierarchy and aids Algernon in response. Wilde also wrote the scene where Algernon eats the entire plate of cucumber sandwiches as a sign of rebellion against the supreme woman figure. Algernon feared the consequences, and as a result concealed the truth. The cucumber sandwiches symbolize the need to be accepted within society and its commodities. Wilde devises the cucumber sandwich discussion to provide insight regarding the power shift from men to women at this time.

Such as, Marriage, class discrimination, manners and sincerity. Those themes are presented with the Lady Bracknell’s help. Wilde has created, with Augusta Bracknell, a memorable instrument of his satiric wit, questioning all he sees in Victorian upper-class society. With her power and weakness shown, she, as an upper class lady, connects and presents the themes in the play.