Bunburying In Lord Of The Flies

Jack Worthing lived a double life where his alter ego was Ernest Worthing. This alter identity lived in the city and acted as a gentleman to impress a young lady named Gwendolen. Jack’s true identity resided in the country caring for Cecily. Cecily believed that Ernest was Jack’s troubled brother, therefore it was comprehensible that Jack would leave the country suddenly to go to the city to visit his brother. Jack’s double life had remained secret until Algernon discovered a cigarette case with Jack’s name on it, forcing Jack to reveal that his name is “Ernest in town and Jack in the country, and the cigarette case was given to [him] in the country” (Wilde 12). The alter identity developed by Jack was merely a dream. The dreamer archetype allows dreamers to

Jack illustrates the purpose of deception by using Earnest to escape his role of Cecily’s warden. When Algernon finds Jack’s cigarette case, he is shocked to find the name Jack graven inside. Jack attempts to explain by saying, “[M]y name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country” (Wilde Act I). As Jack, he has to be a responsible adult and take care of his niece Cecily but as Ernest he is able to live the wild life of a young bachelor. By pretending to be Ernest in town, Jack is freed from the restrictions of being a caretaker, yet he still fulfills the duties of one as he resides in the country. While explaining why he has two identities to Algernon, Jack states that being a guardian does not “conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness” (Wilde Act I). Jack has to take care of Cecily, be responsible for her, and set rules and guidelines for her to follow. In his role of guardian, he finds himself unable to have fun, so he creates an irresponsible, carefree

Within the witty arguments, secrets, and comedy that is evident between the lines found in the play, there is a deeper message that can be discovered in the very first words. Oscar Wilde wrote the play The Importance of Being Earnest, which evolves it's plot around it's very title. Let's start with the word earnest, for it is the center piece of the title. For someone to be earnest, they would be very serious and driven to a certain goal. Have an unwavering confidence. Jack's make believe brother who goes by the name Earnest supposedly lives a lavishing life. Which is filled with many earthly pleasures. Jack often pretends to rescue is brother in order to escape and live the made up pleasurable life. However, after visiting his friend Algernon, Jack begins to trip over his lies and ends up spilling about his fictional brother. Algernon takes the information, and pursues the life of Earnest. However, this action deeply angers Jack. Wilde uses this character of “Earnest” as someone who is confident, driven, and in constant perusal of happiness. When both men put on the mask of Earnest, they are playing a different part, becoming a different person. Wilde uses constant witty conversations

I then changed the “I don’t always,” meme to “I don’t always go bunburying, but when I do Aunt Augusta is having a dinner party.” This shows immorality in Algernon, he lies to his own family to miss a dinner just because it will feel awkward for him. On pages 6-9, Algernon talks about Mr. Bunbury to Jack and Lady Bracknell. Jack advises him to be honest and go to dinner party, while Lady Bracknell seems aware of his scheme but allows it to continue. Algernon tries to escape his aunt that night by saying Mr. Bunbury is sick, but will try to make sure he is better by the dinner party. It is immoral to lie to anyone, but to lie to your family is worse. It also shows how despite everyone knowing that he is out bunburying and not taking care of his supposedly sick friend. These issues highlighted have become issues in today’s society.

Algernon Moncreiff on the other hand, lied to get to the coutnry so he could find something more genuine as opposed to the false honesty of the city. Again, one sees the same dichotomy as one would see in Jack. Alge lied to get to Cecily, his true love, which again is genuine. Cecily Cardew has a dichotomous personality as well. On the outside, Cecily appears to be innotcent and very victorian like, which represents the victorian dewfinitionof honesty. However, if one dug a little deeper, they would see that Cecily is much like a female version of a dandy. She has wicked thoughts, which represent her genuine, truly honest self.

One becomes aware of both lies from Jack and Algernon when they choose to change their names back and forth from person to person and use those names as excuses for that situation. For example, when Algernon speaks to Jack about their alias’s, they both form the conclusion that the names they use helps them out through any situation:

They are presented to within a high class of society, with a lack of consideration or care for the lower classes. Both are bored by their high society lives and “stiff” lunches/meetings that they must attend, so have created alter egos which they use to have fun in a different place. Algernon has invented a sick friend called Bunbury, who he sometimes must spend long lengths of time “looking after”, and when in the country, Jack becomes Ernest.

He uses the term “earnest” in order to expose this hypocrisy and the certain falsities that are paradoxically encouraged and despised by Victorians. Algernon and Jack see through to this hypocrisy; which is why they invent fictional selves in order to escape the silly and stifling weight of gentile society. Ultimately, what Wilde is trying to say is that an individual’s definition of decency is not necessarily decency. This exchange occurs in the play: Lady Bracknell says to Jack, “My nephew, you seem to be displaying signs of triviality,” and Jack responds to Lady Bracknell, “On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.” Wilde is satirizing the impossible standard that Victorians have placed upon themselves. Here, Jack is being honest and Lady Bracknell is simply following the rubric of aristocracy. What Lady Bracknell considers trivial in Jack is closer to true earnestness than her put-upon sense of

The characters in this play are definitely delivered to the reader as stock characters. Algernon is the ‘dandy’ of the play. He is educated, fashionable, and misogynistic toward the likes of conventional male duties. Jack, also a dandy, is much like Algernon. He is also well educated, rich, and a bit eccentric. His views are parallel with Algernon’s. This adds to the notion that Wilde’s idea that society bears the faults rather than the individuals.

Jack Worthing is a great man that lives double lives. Where he lives in the country known as jack, and has an estate that houses his granddaughter cecily. And in the city of london being known as ernest. He is in love with his best friends, algernon, cousin and plans to eventually make her his wife.

While defining the term “Bunburyist,” Algernon comments to Jack that, “If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health [. . .] I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s to-night” (Wilde 9). Bunbury, Algernon’s fake sick friend, allows him to be himself and enjoy time with his friends instead of entertaining his aunt. Algernon tells Jack that he created Bunbury to “be able to go down into the country whenever [he] choose[s]” (Wilde 9). Being of his high standing, Algernon was expected to stay in the city with his aunt as well as go to balls, dinner parties and other events on the social calendar; however, having a sick friend with a perpetual sickness allows him to go to the country, pretend to be Earnest, and eventually meet his future wife Cecily. When Jack tries to get Algy to leave Hertfordshire by asserting that his “duty as a gentleman” was calling him back to town, Algy responds with, “My duty as a gentleman has never interfered with my pleasures” (Wilde 33) Because of his fake friend Bunbury, Algernon is able to evade the obligations of being a gentleman. He can enjoy life and have fun without offending his aunt or

By stating that he did not know anyone by the name of Cecily, Jack initiates his own debacle. He has to clarify that Cecily is actual his ward. Nonetheless, Jack bears no anguish to dissembling to his closest companion. Jack’s morality has been impaired by his lies and it implies that his animalistic qualities control him. Yet, he falls in love and he must tell Gwendolen, his sweetheart, of his morally wrong character. In order to do so Jack has to disclose that Ernest was not in fact his real name but a mere alias created to cover up his dastardly ways. He can think of no other way than to “kill” his brother. Wilde shows how Jack’s urbane nature begins to be marred by his animalism since he was willing to kill a man, fictional or not. Ensuing in the play Jack is speaking with Algernon and he begins to ponder on how to commit the murder. He states “My poor brother Ernest is carried off suddenly in Paris, by a severe chill. That gets rid of him” (Wilde 16). Though fictional, Jack’s murder of Ernest still seems to carry the same implications further into the book. This murder eventually skews his reputation once his lies become known. Wilde proves how Jack’s lies soon catch up to him and flaw his esteemed moral persona. Later in the play Algernon sets off on a trip to Jack’s country estate and claims he is Ernest Worthing. Later when Jack arrives Cecily informs her caretaker that his brother Ernest is in his room. Jack replies

Wilde's characters live in a world in which order is constantly vanishing and they scorn stability and simplicity. "The truth", as Algy says, "is rarely pure and never simple."(13) Algy and Jack fulfil their wishes by the means of lying. They are impostors who use false identities in order to free themselves from the hypocrisy of the convention. Their tricks simply serve them as a way to achieve their moral freedom.

Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff are both high-class protagonists in society but are lying about their lives to preserve their reputations. “You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town . . . I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury . . . ” (Wilde 1498). Ernest is Jack’s fictional brother, who always gets into mischief and uses him an excuse to go into town. Likewise, Algernon uses Bunbury, his fictitious and ill friend, to allow him to go to the country. These characters enable these gentlemen to retreat from their social obligations. Missing an essential reception to aid their “brother” or “friend,” gives the appearance that they are caring men, which is an admirable trait among the rich, but they are not. The name “Bunbury” is an interesting name

“Until he seeks to marry Gwendolen, Jack has used Ernest as an escape from real life, but Gwendolen”s fixation on the name Ernest obligates Jack to embrace his deception in order to pursue the real life he desires” (Analysis). Jack Worthing has managed to always get whatever he wanted in life. Unfortunately, this time “Jack must scramble to reconcile these two worlds, (Ernest / Jack Worthing), he has created for himself and to ultimately receive his full desires by asking Gwendolen Farifax for her hand in marriage, and to finally understand himself.” (Plot Overview) But first he must confess to Gwendolen his real name, Jack Worthing and not Ernest. Unfortunately, for Jack, Gwendolen’s only wants to marry Ernest Worthing, not the man, but the name “Ernest.” In her eyes the name represents “Inspires absolute confidence”. (Importance)