The Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde And 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.

    Disobedience has proven to be necessary throughout humanity’s history, for it has brought us freedom, progress, and experience. Throughout these past centuries,  humans have rebelled against social norms and their political oppressors to obtain the freedom and equality we enjoy nowadays, leading to the idea that disobedience and rebellion are important aspects in society. This in turn has also instilled in others the idea that disobedience isn’t proper, but rather detrimental to society, forgetting that rebellions and protests also fall under this category. This, however, doesn’t change the fact that disobedience in the past has actually helped humanity, as seen during the American Revolution

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.

The author exemplifies the ways that disobedience helps the society and its contribution to furthering the human race but notes on the fact that blind obedience may eventually account for the end of civilization.

In 1891, Irish author Oscar Wilde observed,” Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience and through rebellion. Sometimes negatives bring positives.

“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.

The life of the Victorian people was a time in which people were prude because of their repression. Many of the people of that time had a lot of pent-up emotions, there was a time and a place for something and it solemn did any good for anyone, depending on your class you had to have a curtain way of carrying yourself, many of which was not the must enjoyable of ways and lacked some fun that many need in their life. This forced many to split their Public life from the Private one. Written in the Victorian Era, the works of The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson ,and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley displays how

This quote sparks interest due to disobedience often containing a negative connotation. However, in this quote disobedience is honorable, and to be called disobedient is a compliment. According to Wilde, disobedience is beneficial and without it social progress could not be made. Without disobedience, society is unable to change or improve from past mistakes. Without rebellion or disobedience, what will promote people to act on their injustices? Rebellion and disobedience are beneficial in promoting social progress. Through it, citizens are able to bring issues and injustices they want acknowledged to the forefront. Through these ways, they try to make the world a better place for everyone and to bring people to the realization as to why the issues that they face are at fault and that they should be restored.

Disobedience is a necessary human trait needed to rebel against unjust authority, to see unfairness in a society that prefers one type of person, and to do the right thing in the face of the law. Irish author, Oscar Wilde, wrote in 1891 that disobedience is a valuable human trait that’s necessary to progress, which is a sentiment that holds true to this day.

Disobedience, in today’s culture, is inherently generalized to be something negative. However, there are times when disobedience is not just wrong, but desperately needed. Disobedience is the main cause of both social and political change. Thus Oscar Wilde’s claim that disobedience is a valuable human and that it prompts social progress - is most certainly correct and examples of it can be seen in both the American Revolution and the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In these two examples we see that there is a right time to disobey as well as a right reason.

An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Newton’s first law of motion identifies what is needed to produce change. Oscar Wilde shared similar observations when he said, “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.” Both Newton and Wilde recognized how force was essential in order to successfully achieve change. Although Wilde was an influential leader in the late 1800s, his ideas are still applicable to today’s world just like Newton’s laws of motion. The force of disobedience and rebellion has followed Wilde’s claim by historically altering the world and continuing to serve as a powerful platform for change.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, premiered in London in 1895 when Wilde was in the peak of his career. During this time of the Victorian Era, society was very moral and chaste, at least on the surface. There was a very specific code of behavior that governed almost everything, but focused mainly on the topic of marriage. This affected Wilde first-hand as he was married to a woman but also involved with men which was forbidden at the time. Using the themes of dualism and marriage, Wilde is trying to show the audience the ridiculous nature of Victorian society. Through the reoccurring theme of dualism, Oscar Wilde uses sizable amounts of satire to not only mock the trivial Victorian society, but more specifically to ridicule

As the curtains open, the audience sees a ‘luxurious and artistically furnished’ room of Algernon’s flat located in Half-Moon Street in London. The room takes up the entire stage. During the initial scene of the play, Algernon’s servant, Lane, is present in the room. Lane is ‘arranging afternoon tea on the table’. Sound from a piano can be heard in the adjoining room. The adjoining room is offstage; when the music stop, Algernon, the owner of the flat and the man playing the piano, ‘enters’ the stage. Knowing that Algernon is wealthy and of the ‘upper-class’, evident by the facts that he has a servant and owns a piano, several assumptions can be made of the setting. It is confirmed by the phrase “Algernon: (Inspects them. Takes two, and sits down on the sofa)” that the room has a sofa set; Algernon sits on the sofa after receiving the salver from Lane. There might be fancy lamps, teapoys and plants placed around the room. Additionally, numerous showpieces, most of which must be historical, might be present to represent Algernon’s ‘upper-class’ stature. The window must be open to let the bright sunlight enter the room. An intricate rug might cover the wooden floors. Books, paintings, and other decorative objects might be present to give the audience a sense of Algernon’s economic well-being.

An example of literature that reflects the queer phenomenon publically is presented in Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Besides the scenes where Algernon is shown eating muffins and cucumbers, to represent his inability to make a decision between men and women, there is an underlying theme of secrets and things that are kept hidden. The concept of bunburying was used as a coping method to deal with the pressure of societal standards. In order to save face and not look bad, lying is preferable, during this time morality was placed below social standards. In contrast to people hiding their preferred sexuality or gayness, they hide it and stay in the closet. Similarly with Algernon and Jack, they hide themselves because society has placed a standard that they can’t follow. An example of this can be found in “Angels in America”, concerning the Mormon couple, he is gay yet he hides it from the world. Because that is not accepted and he fears the reactions, so he does his best to fit into society by getting married. Algernon and Jack maintain their lies by bunburying and they avoid social responsibilities.