Oscar Wilde Disobedience

Human beings possess several virtues that differentiate them from other creatures and can use them in ways that represent their perceptions of social order. Surprisingly, Oscar Wilde believes that disobedience is an original virtue of every human and that it is responsible for progress and development. While Wilde’s claim is not entirely accurate, it is largely valid as evidenced by the recent events across the world, including the US, that have led to positive outcomes in spite of being termed and perceived as acts of disobedience.

Disobedience is an important force in our society and helps bring about necessary social progress because it will lead to superior lives for its citizens. Oscar Wilde believed that through disobedience there is man’s original virtue. He asserts that civil disobedience promotes social progress. I agree with Wilde's belief because looking throughout centuries, society has shown a variety of situations with the act of practicing disobedience,and have achieved their goal.

Obedience is a trait that is taught in schools, cherished by parents, and respected by society. Disobedience, on the other hand, is frowned upon and generally discouraged in society. Many argue that this trait has adverse effects on society. Oscar Wilde, a prominent play writer during the 1890’s, argues that disobedience is a valuable trait that has changed the world. Although many do not see disobedience as a virtue, Wilde does. Wilde’s statement is valid because disobedience is a rare, yet remarkable characteristic that is essential in improving the world.

“We should be men first, and subjects afterward.” – (Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience). In Thoreau’s essay, Civil Disobedience, he is making an argument for why people should fight against unjust laws. More specifically, laws that individuals feel are unjust against their own morals and independence. Thoreau also alludes to the idea that if a person does not think for themselves, then they should just allow the government to take over completely. I believe that Thoreau presents an effective argument for civil disobedience through his words of the government, the American people, and his own experiences.

Oscar Wilde claims that disobedience is man’s original virtue. There is clearly truth to that statement. Our history is an example; we wouldn’t have made any progress; if our ancestors hadn’t been disobedience. The colonist’s were some of the first to be disobedience; hence, the Boston Tea Party. Martin Luther King Jr. “nonviolent civil disobedience”. Rosa Parks refused to obey the bus driver. These are some examples that disobedience is a valuable human trait.

Oscar Wilde is an author known for his use of mixing comedy into witty remarks, talking about relationships, making the reader question things about life and also using gothic writing styles that differ than any other writers during his time. He also shows us how his characters in his writings act to tells us about his childhood.

Many people now refuse to drink the Kool-Aid offered to them by those in positions of power, choosing instead to operate on their own terms, based on their own personal values. Political protest has undergone a modern resurgence since Donald Trump’s inauguration: millions of Americans feel a renewed conviction to purposefully and defiantly exercise their rights of speech, press, and assembly before those rights get taken away. It has become a trend to speak one’s mind, to stand up to authority, and to highlight injustice while fighting for justice. People are no longer able to content themselves with blind complacency or calculated amiability. In many ways, this reflects the ideals of the Transcendentalist movement, which arose in the United States in the mid-1800s and promoted individuality and self-reliance. Although cynics may argue that civil disobedience is just the newest fad for conformists to flock to, transcendentalists––namely, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau––would celebrate the rise of heartfelt disobedience against American society and government, as it portends a future in which free thought is the norm rather than exception.

even hang, males for acts of “gross indecency” between them, the Marquis presented passages from Wilde’s works, love letters, and testimonies from prostitutes Wilde had hired, as evidence of Wilde’s homosexuality. He was then arrested for “sodomy,” tried, and sentenced to prison with hard labor for two years. Many close friends abandoned Wilde, his books and plays went out of business, and belongings of his auctioned off at low prices. The press covered the situation gleefully and profited off of ridiculing him while preserving the Marquis’ reputation. During his imprisonment, his wife and children moved and changed their family name. Wilde lost a significant amount of weight and found himself abandoned and alone. He was not accustomed to

Wilde had an impact on literature. There are so many things that influence the artwork of Oscar

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16th, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland to Sir William Wilde, an oto-ophtalmologic surgeon and Jane Wilde, a poet who wrote under the pen name “Speranza.” He was the second of three children and as a child his mother would read her poetry to him and his brother, instilling in him his initial love of poetry. In 1871 Wilde left home with a royal scholarship to read classics at Trinity College, Dublin where he shared a room with his older brother Willie. There he would meet his “first and best teacher” J.P. Mahaffy. In 1874 Wilde won a demyship to Magdalene College, Oxford. While at Oxford he joined

Oscar Wilde was born on October 16th, 1854, at 21 Westland Rowe, Dublin, Ireland which is the now home of the Oscar Wilde Centre and Trinity College. He was best known for the play, The Importance of Being Earnest. He was the second of three children to his parents Sir William Wilde and Jane Wilde. Until the age of 9, Oscar was educated at home He learned French and German from maids and servants that they had working for them in their house. After he was homeschooled, he attended Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, a very prestigious school. He gained a passion for the Greek and Roman studies while he was a student there. He then went on to study at Trinity College, Dublin (1871 to 1874) where he was awarded the Royal School

Unfortunately, history is riddled with anecdotes about talented and brilliant individuals who are ostracized, jailed, or worse for being labeled homosexual. Oscar Wilde is another prominent figure persecuted for his sexuality. This type of discrimination was not unique to the world of the arts. Alan Turing, brilliant computer scientist and inventor of the Enigma machine that decoded German transmissions and was instrumental in the Allied victory in World War II, was also jailed for “indecent acts.” He died shortly after being released; some suspect he committed suicide.

The famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde is perhaps best known for his individualistic ideas about art and life as well as for his homosexuality, which was not only frowned upon in Victorian society, but illegal. Despite this however, Wilde was influenced heavily by the inescapable pressure from society to conform. He revelled in being a part of the Victorian upper class, which had strict rules, whether spoken or unspoken, to dictate the behaviour of everyone in high society. The four comedic plays that centred on satirizing this very society earned Wilde most of his fame, especially The Importance of Being Earnest, an amusing story focusing on pretending to be someone else for the sake of both reputation and pleasure. After his harsh 2-year imprisonment

middle classes at that time. When he was old enough he was sent to the

What does it mean to be a critic? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a true definition of criticism would be “the scholarly investigation of literary or historical texts to determine their origin or intended form” and yet this seems to be a too analytical approach to literary criticism, a genre which generally requires you to question, at the very least, your initial, emotional engagement to a text. In the extracts from Longinus and Wilde, there is evidence that the purpose of criticism is more than just an investigation, Wilde refers to it as a beauty of “new creation” and Longinus shows his admiration for what he calls “elevated language”. Thus, is criticism instead an art? Wilde is an aesthete and an ardent lover of ‘the