Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest Essay

In The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde revealed that animalistic traits can tint a character’s intellectual attributes. All of the characters possess an overwhelming desire which seems to diminish their morality. Wilde uses Jack Worthing’s animalistic behaviors to reveal that his animal self is damaging his intellectual self. The play is presented to show that the characters retain an exaggerated pleasure with food, which shows their pleasures in inanimate objects. Every character in the play is drawn into lustful relationships, thus mutilating their psychological self. By embracing their animalistic traits the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest begin to blemish their intellectual character which inhibits their overall

Gwendolyn and Cecily act as friends until they learn that they are supposedly engaged to the same person. Then they learn neither of them are engaged to anybody named Ernest, and are friends again. In act three, we discover Jacks history, including that he is Algernon's elder brother. In the end, despite several lies, arguments, and much turmoil, everybody gets married.

During her German lesson with Mrs. Prism, Cecily states that, “I keep a diary in order to enter the wonderful secrets of my life” (Wilde 24) Although Cecily never takes another name, she bunburies in her own mind and flees from her overcontrolled life through her diary. After Algernon comes to Jack’s house pretending to be Earnest and proposes to Cecily, Cecily reveals that they “have been engaged for the last three months” (Wilde 35). She then reads to him parts of her diary to confirm the engagement. Cecily makes herself believe in the engagement so that she can lead a more interesting life. She is tired of her daily routine and her German lessons with Miss. Prism. Additionally, when Algernon tells Cecily that he did not write any letters to her, Cecily replies, “I was forced to write your letters for you” (Wilde 36). Cecily writes these love letters from Algie in an attempt to further break free from the boring, trapped lifestyle of a young heiress. Through these letters, she is able to deceive herself and Algernon into believing that they are in a true relationship.

Wilde attacks social behavior with the continuation of speeches by his characters that are the opposite of their actions. While Cecily and Gwendolen agree to keep a dignified silence, Gwendolen actually states that they will not be the first ones to speak to the men. In the very next line she says, "Mr. Worthing, I have something very particular to ask you." Wilde seems to be saying that

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

Throughout much of the play and especially the beginning, Wilde satirizes the setting in which both the characters as well as his audience live in. This satirization specifically requires that the audience be thoughtful whenever Wilde makes a joke, resulting in the thoughtful laughter which makes a true comedy. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is set during the late 20th century in Britain, a time period known as the Victorian Era, in which the British Empire was at its absolute peak. The dominance of Britain in world affairs resulted in a sense of

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

Cecily and Gwendolen were perfectly happy to become attached to something that appears to be true and real rather than taking a closer look to expose the genuine nature of Jack and Algernon proves that the two young women were more attached to the name of both men, and did not consider their actions and words to verify them not being earnest – exposing both women as superficial. Algernon’s occupation with his outer appearance and Lady Bracknell’s need to look good in the eyes of others proves them both to be superficially committed to their external manifestations. It is possible that Wilde was revealing what the upper class life resulted in, and that as one rises higher in status one loses themselves, becoming preoccupied with what others want and what others think, forgetting one’s true

Gwendolen and Cecily are both fixated on the name Ernest because the superficial society surrounding them unconsciously causes them to gravitate towards men that they believe have earnest dispositions. Gwendolen asserts her fondness of the name Ernest declaring, “my ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence” (Wilde 980). Cecily also admires the name Ernest and makes a statement almost identical to Gwendolen’s when she admits, “it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest. There is something in that

Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest (.1993.) is an enlightening epitome of social class in the Victorian era. The satire is driven by the frivolous behaviour, superficial lives and artificial norms within the Victorian aristocracy. Incorporating his own opinion into the play, Wilde continually attacked and mocked their hypocrisy, views on marriage, and their mannerisms. Throughout the play, Wilde used an abundant range of literary techniques to reinforce his opinion. Irony, paradox and hyperboles, as well as witty epigrams and aphorisms were used astutely and were ubiquitous throughout the play. This contributed to the satirical style and tone of the text, and enabled Wilde to effectively communicate his critical perspective on social class in Victorian England.

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.

Later, when Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen enter, two more ideas of marriage are brought to the forefront. Lady Bracknell portrays the aristocratic Victorian view of marriage but to a more extreme extent. According to Ziegenfuss, marriage in the Victorian era was not romanticized or fairytale-like. Love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. Engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, with rules and guidelines (Ziegenfuss). This is blatantly obvious when Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to see if he’s fit to marry Gwendolen. She attacks Jack with questions about family, fortune, and even place of residency and his answers need be appropriate for a union between the two families. (Kupske, Souza, 122). Even when Algernon wants to marry Cecily, Lady Bracknell voices, “I think some preliminary inquiry on my part would not be out place.” (Wilde, 46). Gwendolen, however, has the same view of marriage as Jack but, still has strong ideals about social protocol. This is seen when Jack tries to propose, she replies, “Of course I will darling…I am afraid you have had very little experience in how to propose!” (Wilde, 11)

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

Jack and Algernon start their friendship with deception and lies. In the beginning of the play, they are alone in the morning-room and the lies, between the two friends, is are brought to the table. They have both been great friends for some time now. Jack visits with Algernon in the city where he goes by the name “Ernest”. He feels that going by a different name will let him live and experience a different lifestyle. When visiting with Algernon, Jack has become very interested in Gwendolen. Jack is expressing his love for Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, and tells how he wishes to marry her. Before Algernon gives his consent, he wants to know who Cecily is. Cecily is the name engraved on the cigarette

Jack’s creation of a fictional brother Ernest gives audience an impression that he is a hypocritical person who ignores the consequences of being dishonest. Only when his desire to marry Gwendolen is threatened does he learn that he cannot escape from responsibility or “come up to town as often as [he] like[s]” (Act 1, p.8). Suffering from the dilemma, his hidden sincerity and kindness are discovered. This makes him become a rounder character. As a consequence, the rest of the plot will be affected and advanced by his unique traits and