In Emile Habiby’s The Secret Life of Saeed: the Pessoptimist and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest the idea that names actually mean what they say saves these two works from becoming tragedies because it gives The Importance of Being Earnest a comedic plot, the names in The Secret Life of Saeed: the Pessoptimist represent present options for Saeed, and the characters in both works live in a world that does not reject the notion that names have meaning. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest, particularly Gwendolyn and Cecily, believe in the notion that one’s name indicates one’s characteristics. While he is under the guise of Ernest, Jack confesses his feelings to Gwendolyn and she comments that her “ideal has always …show more content…
Saeed encounters two important women in his life: Yuaad and Baqiyya. The name of Saeed’s first love, Yuaad, “means ‘will return’” (Habiby, 165). The name Baqiyya “means ‘the one who remains’” (Habiby, 167). While these names describe certain qualities of these characters they also represent two options for Saeed: returning to the homeland or staying. Another important name is the name of Saeed and Baqiyya’s son, Walaa, “which means loyal” (Habiby, 97). The decision to either return to the homeland or stay is a conflicting choice for Saeed, but these two names represent hopeful options as well. Even though Saeed is in a situation that makes him feel helpless, he still has the ability to make these choices. Both Yuaad and Baqiyya are something he can turn to during the chaos of war. Even when Baqiyya and Walaa are attacked, they do not die. The option to stay and the ability to remain loyal to the homeland do not leave Saeed, even when they seem out of reach. The same applies to Saeed’s option to return. When Yuaad is taken away she promises that she will come back. Even when Yuaad is gone, the promise of her return remains with …show more content…
In reality one’s name does not necessarily mean anything. However in both of these works the idea that a name means what it says is not merely an idea; it is actually true for the characters in these worlds. After the lengths Jack goes through to become Ernest, he discovers that his name really “is Ernest after all” (Wilde, 343). If Jack had not made that discovery he would have been forced to deal with the fact that names are utterly meaningless and that they do not necessarily dictate the characteristics of a person. Instead he receives his happy ending and he is able to marry Gwendolyn. The characters go on continuing to believe that the name Ernest gives one some sort of special value. The characters in The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist demonstrate the qualities of their names as well. Yuaad ultimately “returned to [Saeed] as she had been, the same girl” demonstrating that she really is the one who will return (Habiby, 137). Baqiyya literally is the one who remains and Walaa also demonstrates the meaning of his name when he “[takes] arms up in rebellion against the state” (Habiby, 106). The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist would have a more dismal setting if Yuaad, Baqiyya, and Walaa did not represent the qualities of their names. It would mean that these ideas of returning to the homeland, remaining, and loyalty
Amir’s broken relationship with his father also impacts his relationship with Hassan. Hosseini’s resentful diction demonstrates how Amir perceives the interaction between Hassan and his father, using words such as “sympathy,” “earn,” and “affection” (113). Hosseini uses these words to accentuate the contrast between Hassan and Amir’s relationships with Amir’s
Algernon acts sort of narcissistic by living the “dream life”. I would say he is narcissistic because he spends all of his money on his extravagant lifestyle and by buying the best clothes; this causes him to go into debt and the bill collectors are always after him. He decides to make a fake friend named Bunbury to escape from the tax collectors and the city.
The dramatic ironies in “The Importance of Being Earnest” add to the humor of the play. At the very start of the play, the readers only have limited information about the characters. When Jack visits Algernon in his house, the readers are taken along not knowing any knowledge of the events beforehand. They learn along with Algernon that Jack has a make believe brother whose name is Ernest, and Jack uses Ernest in order to get out of many situations as well as an excuse to not be a proper gentleman at times. Algernon learns that Jack’s real name is not Ernest, but that it is really Jack. However, the readers are given the privilege of knowing Jack’s true name from the very beginning. Then Algernon confesses to his “bunburying,” which is essentially the fact that he has a made up friend who is ill in order that Algernon can use him as an excuse to free himself from unpleasant social scenes. The action continues when Jack becomes engaged to Gwendolen under the false pretenses of the name Ernest. Skipping forward, Algernon visits Jack’s niece, Cecily, at Jack’s house in the countryside. Here is one of the first instances of dramatic ironies. Algernon introduces himself to Cecily as Ernest, Jack’s younger wild brother. The readers know that he is not, and that Ernest is made up in the first place. This creates humor due to the suspension it builds. The reader anticipates when Cecily will find out the truth, and how it will affect her. The plot thickens when Jack announces to Canon Chasuble that his brother Ernest is dead, while at the same time Algernon is pretending to be Ernest at Jack’s home. Once again this creates suspension because the reader has
The Importance of Being Earnest is about a man named Jack Worthing who works several jobs in his town servicing other people. For many years, Jack has pretended to have a brother named Ernest who is supposedly off living a life on the edge on the pursuit of happiness, while managing to get into constant trouble. What Jack’s community doesn’t know, is that Ernest is just a made up person whom Jack uses as an excuse to leave work anytime he wants and to visit his lover Gwendolen. In the beginning, no one else knows that Ernest is actually Jack’s secret identity, until later in the play when Jack meets Algernon, who becomes
At birth everyone is given a name by their parents. Your name is part of your identity and how you are addressed and recognized by the world. The different verities among the population created other names given to different races. These names are offensive, demeaning and are only used to refer to a person in a disrespectful manner. They can also cause a segregation among a nations people, these names are forced upon people weather they are rich or poor, old or young, male or female and are used to describe the same race of people. In the class reading "What 's in a Name? “by Henry Louis Gates he reminisces about a personal experience of his that he had with his father. In the story he describes his father was a hard worker and, because of this he was in high financial standings and, he was well respected and given privileges that at the time was rare for people of his race but he was still black and his name, his individual identity was not important instead he was given a racial identity, this is the only thing he was known as, this type of negative recognition is something many black Americans can relate to. One’s race is a predominant part of our identity and is what causes discrimination.
The main idea of “My Name” was to specify that the narrator name was a huge burden on her, which she does not seem to like or want to be defined by. The text tells us that the effect of words can be a burden on individual, which leaves the lasting effect of negativity and drought. Sandra Cisneros purpose on writing “My Name” was to indicate how big of an impact a person's name can have on their reflection of the who they are and who they are bound to be, in others words a name is more than a word given to you the people who named you. This brings up issues mainly identity and sense of reassurance. The background of this excerpt is from the book The House on Mango Street (1984) by Sandra Cisneros. The story is organized in short paragraphs, which made the story much more effective by keeping it simple, but providing as much as information regarding identity, culture, and doubt. The tone of this story in very negative, because the narrator Esperanza is
Wilde uses Gwendolen’s and Cecily’s obviously superficial affection towards each other to again accentuate and criticize the importance that the Victorian’s placed on an individual’s name. The practice of naming others as a means to display one’s own dominance is satirized by the irony in the argument between the two young ladies. The audience detects that they are undoubtedly fighting over Ernest as well as superiority, but their true feelings are ironically hidden (rather poorly) under fake earnestness. Garland states that, “both women attempt to define the existence of their opponent through rapidly shifting expression of Identity” (272), and cause a quiet fire in the atmosphere of the scene. Since their fight is so indirect and blatantly petty, Wilde is able to comically criticize females of victorian society that are represented by Gwendolen and Cecily.
One thing that Jack and Algernon have in common is that they both have these false faces. Algernon’s alter ego Bunbury is a version of himself used in the country but he uses Ernest to marry Cecily. The story deals with Ernest, this immorally imaginary man that both Cecily and Gwendolyn become engaged to, it exemplifies the irony within the name. Most of the irony comes from this character. One of Wilde's satiric targets is romantic and sentimental love, which he ridicules by having the women fall in love with a man because of his name rather than more personal attributes. Gwendolyn said “No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces
Even the names of the characters are symbolic. It seems that the usage of names is the author's favorite way to identify how much power one character has over another. Celie is unable to call Mr.<em>_</em><em>_ by his first name and lacks any power over him . The power of names is most vividly described in the relationships of Harpo and Squeak. As long as Squeak is called so, she is powerless to defend herself. Celie notices that Squeak is much like herself in actions and obeying. However, after being raped, Squeak points to Harpo that her name is Mary Agnes and demanding to be called so she asserts herself as an independent person demanding respect .
The play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde is set in England during the late 19th century during the rule of Queen Victoria and features two bachelors, Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing, and their struggle to impress the women they want to marry while remaining their true selves. Wilde presents the theme of superficiality through the approach to names in the play and the importance of appearances. (or looks? Gwen and Cecily fight plus dandy).
insinuates the importance of being honest and truthful, while playing on the male name, Ernest. The pun in the title is a case in point. The earnest/Ernest joke strikes at the very heart of Victorian notions of respectability and duty. Gwendolen wants to marry a man called Ernest, and she doesn’t care whether the man actually possesses the qualities that comprise earnestness. She is, after all, quick to forgive Jack’s deception. In embodying a man who is initially neither
A name is not just what you’re called, it is who you are. It is what you stand for and ultimately defines you as a person. Growing up, I used to think my name did not fit me and that nothing that my name stood for had anything to do with me. Now that I am older, I understand the real meaning of my name and how the traits that are connected with my name relate to the person that I have become and continue to develop into. My name represents who I am and who I plan to be.
A person’s name and position in society are significantly important for the upper class, due to the fact that if one were to marry into the family, a key member of the family would judge the person by their social class and the family name they carry to see if they are worthy to being a part of their lineage. In the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a person's social class is highly admired. The main characters are high in society and are falsely appearing to live up to great expectations. In Oscar Wilde’s play, the theme of the social class is extensively explored through the characters, although they are living double-lives.
People with normal names live a privileged life. If your first name is something like James or Emma and your last name is something like Jones or Williams then you have no idea what it’s like to have a name that is unusual or “original.” However, the main characters from the novels The Outsiders and The Wednesday Wars know this feeling too well. Imagine having the name Ponyboy Curtis, or Holling Hoodhood because you could definitely have some trouble fitting in being called by a name like that. The Wednesday Wars is about a 13 year old boy growing up in Long Island during the late 1960’s living through all the politics and opinions in the year but also dealing with small middle schooler problems like having to wear tights in a play and getting bullied by the “big kids”. The outsiders is about a 14 year old boy growing up in Tesla, Oklahoma also during the late 1960’s. However, in this story the kid doesn’t talk about politics at all, instead he talks about his life struggles and real problems like the death of his parents, living a poor life where his two big brothers have to work jobs and not go to school to support them, and his brotherhood with the boys in their gang called the greasers. However, these two boys, despite having very different upbringings definitely have a few things in common, starting with their unique names.
Do names really define a human being? I believe a person should be original, however that does not mean having a unique name. In my opinion, names are useful to acknowledge a person not label them. The above quote by William Shakespeare is symbolic to my beliefs. The poem’s meaning is a rose smells as sweet even if it was called any other name. That is conclusive to my thoughts because the rose is sweet from being a flower not because of it’s name. Your name doesn’t characterize you, but you personalize your name to fit your traits.