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The importance of being earnest essay
Importance of being earnest ap essay
The importance of being earnest essay
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The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedic play, bringing humor to readers through sarcastic and witty words, ironic situations, and foolish ideals. Jack, best friend of Algernon, guardian to Cecily, and respected man of Hertfordshire, is surrounded by humorous situations and people. Jack himself creates a comical situation through his scapegoat, Ernest, who has a lady in love with him. Oscar Wilde fabricated the classic and very humorous play, The Importance of Being Earnest, through cucumber sandwiches and an engagement, a man with a double life, and a naive girl who has fallen in love with an imaginary man. At the very beginning of the play, as he is preparing for Lady Bracknell’s visit to his home, Jack remembers the significance of having cucumber sandwiches as he entertains the snobbish lady along with his long time best friend, Algernon Moncrieff. When Lady Bracknell arrives, there are no sandwiches presented. The two men, who ate the sandwiches, are consumed with worry over Lady Bracknell’s reaction to the absent sandwiches. The seemingly trivial sandwich situation takes predominance over the real problem: Lady Bracknell’s daughter, Gwendolen, and Jack’s …show more content…
However, unknown to his hometown friends, Jack lives a crazy double life through a man named Ernest from London. Jack and Gwendolen Fairfax are very much in love with each other, but Gwendolen knows Jack by his other personality, Ernest. Gwendolen’s “... ideal has always been to love someone of the name Ernest,” (Wilde 1458) so Jack is faced with a serious dilemma. Eventually Jack, who does not known his birth name because he was adopted as a baby after being found in a handbag, discovers his christened father’s name really was Ernest. The couple became engaged and the play leaves the readers with a optimistic resolution for the two after all of the humorous
...her. Jack and Algernon seem similar and some cases are, but there are some differences that make the play humorous and climatic. Jack, even though he portrays it turns out to be immoral and hypocritical and Algernon turns out to be immoral and honest. One of the moral paradoxes that “The Importance of Being Earnest” seems to express is the idea that the perfectly moral man is the man who professes to be immoral, who speaks truly by virtue of the fact that he admits to being essentially a liar. Both Jack and Algernon want to be “Ernest” but in truth, it is a pun on the word. The women love the name because they think the men are earnest! The main conflict in the play is hypocrisy, and whole notion of Jack and Algernon going against the normal conventions of being a hypocrite. Algernon’s ideologies about marriage, food, women and love are what bring humor to the play.
Jack’s persona ‘Earnest’ has been described by Miss Prism as “irretrievably weak and vacillating” (701.35). Not only that, but Jack uses his persona of Earnest to make it seem like Jack adheres to notions of duty, honor and respectability all the while getting into mischief in London as his fake brother Ernest. Jack has shown that he will even lie to his loved ones his persona in order to get away with misbehaving and be seen as upright and moral. Later into the play Jack and his double life collide when the woman he loves starts to love his alter ego Earnest, although Ernest was an escape Jack used for his personal life but when his personal life and his real life collide he has to embrace his deception to get the life that he truly
Upon Gwendolyn’s acceptance of his proposal, the problems with different social affairs began to unravel. Gwendolyn says “I am told and my ideal has always been to love someone with the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.” (Wilde, 622) In fact, Ernest's love for Gwendolyn seems rather arbitrary while Gwendolyn indirectly admits that she loves Ernest only for his name.
The Importance of Being Earnest, a trivial Comedy is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on February 14 1895, it is a comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious identities to escape demanding social obligations. Throughout the play,
As John Drinkwater states in his critique of the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest really forms a class in English drama by itself.” Some may attempt to classify into a specific category, but the reality is that its unparalleled style is like no other. The play brilliantly utilizes farcical humor as a primary tool to fuel the plot. One example of this takes place when Gwendolen, the love interest of Jack, declares that her “ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest.” Jack puts himself in a position that coincidentally leads to his name being Ernest in the city. A large portion of the plot carries on due to this coincidence. In fact, most of the story is brought about due to farcical situations rather than character development. This style of writing generates unrealistic situations such that - as Arthur Ransome explains in his criticism - “the plot has been lightened till it can fly with the wings of the dialogue.” There is never a time in the play that should is taken really seriously. Even when Jack informs Miss Prism, the governess, that his brother, Ernest, “dies,” Miss Prism replies with the witty statement, “What a lesson for him! I hope he will profit by it.” The fact that a character’s death is a joke and has almost no real impact on the characters exemplifies the light nature of the play. The overall style of the play assists one of the play’s
The Importance of Being Earnest, a farcical satire written by Oscar Wilde in 1895, is a play that aims to point out the absurdity and hypocrisy of Victorian culture while, of course, making the audience laugh. It achieves this goal thanks to an assortment of bizarre yet dynamic characters. Easily the most intriguing of these characters is Algernon Moncrieff, a wealthy, narcissistic socialite who is friends with the main protagonist, Jack Worthing. Algernon makes the play much more entertaining with his witty dialogue and unique views on life and society, but what makes him the most interesting character of all is his role in the play from a literary analysis perspective. Algernon fits the description of the “dandy” archetype that is common
(…) I pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest” (p. 912). This ridiculous requirement causes the reader to realize that the characters’ strange concept of a functional relationship and the simplified view of love is somehow a social norm in that period. Another evidence of a foolish behavior is when Gwendolen and Cecily first meet. Wilde problematizes a social norm that corresponds to women’s behavior which is that women are known to change their minds. Once Gwendolen meets Cecily she immediately says “Something tells me that we are going to be great friends. I like you already more than I can say” (p. 913). After a short conversation and realizing that they are both engaged to Ernest Worthing, instead of being furious at the man who, as they thought, had proposed to both of them, they argue about whose right it is to marry the liar. Then, ironically, Gwendolen says “From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful” (p. 916). The reader recognizes both humor and hopelessness in the situation. This
As the central character of the play, Jack initially appears to be a sincere individual but is soon proven to be otherwise. His first line in the play explains his true motivation for escaping his country home for the excitement of the city: “ Oh pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?” (14). So, despite his proper outward appearance, Jack is at heart a hedonist and also...
Oliver Parker’s 2002 film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is a light-hearted and humorous film that's centered around romantic ideals, but unfortunately it conceals Wilde’s messages and deviates from essential comic elements. This is displayed through many character representations, the lacking of contextual jokes, the sub-plot becomes prominent between Dr Chasuble and Miss Prism, the addition of music and the way the dialogue remains true to the play, but has lost meaning and essence in the film.
Jack’s acquaintance, Algernon Moncrieff, establishes that Jack’s brother does not actually exist, and his thoughts are reaffirmed when he finds a cigarette case. He asks “This cigarette case is a present from someone with the name Cecily, and you said you didn't know any one of that name.” Jack stutters “Well, if you want to know, Cecily happens to be my aunt.” (Wilde 4). Jack’s reasoning has become so tainted that his animalism seems to counterpoint his intellectual character.
Oscar Wildes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’’ is believed by many to be his most genius work and certainly has withstood the test of time. The play is set in London during the 1890’s in which time frame aristocracy and upper class held the majority of the countries wealth. Many of the comical aspects question the morals of the upper class in which he satirises throughout the play. One method of this, for instance is through one of the main protagonist, Algernon Moncrieff. Algernon is an upper class individual who is oblivious to the world around him in such an exaggerated manner that it makes his character comically adjusted for Wildes own views. Many aspects of the time period are made a mockery through puns and witty remarks from the main protagonists, most if not all are portrayed in a sense that makes them undoubtedly a laughing stock. Wildes methods are not discrete; nor are they obvious, many of the comical comments made are by none other than the protagonists themselves. This furthermore enforces the corrupted morals of the time periods prestigious upper class by showing their sheer inability to acknowledge hypocrisy. For example, in act one; Algernon states “ Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.” This is especially amusing as Algernon believes that the lower class have a duty to set an example when in reality the matter of fact was quite the contrary. Algernon states that he believes the lower class are lacking in morals, he being arguably one of the most morally distorted characters Wilde created makes the double standards more prominent.
Some say the best lies stem from a little truth, but sometimes, the best truths stem from a little lie. In the comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, (The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002), Oscar Wilde weaves a tale of humorous irony and satire. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff go to extreme lengths, even pretending to be completely different people in order to wed the women they love. Oscar Wilde incorporates irony to convey the means in which lies can lead to altered perspectives of a person, realizations of identity, and changed relationships.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a stinging indictment of the upper class British society of the time. The ingenious play mocks the concepts of aristocracy and love in Edwardian society, and addresses the notion of treating all important matters of life with genuine and earnest triviality. Much of the subtle and cleverly attributed criticism found in The Importance of Being Earnest is directed toward the excessively superficial upper class which Lady Bracknell, in particular, distinctly represents. Lady Bracknell is the ideal personification of a typical Edwardian aristocratic woman who is obsessed with high culture and proper manners. Lady Bracknell’s assessment of Jack’s worthiness as a suitor for Gwendolen is based on a ludicrous collection of social beliefs which include senseless wisdoms as “a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing” and “a man should always have an occupation” (i.e. smoking).
Wilde’s didactic satire delves deep into the problems of society, highlighting to the audience all the flaws of human beings and their social obligations while keeping it light-hearted and enjoyable for audiences. The author’s mockery and satire of society, as seen in his play, is most likely stemmed from his lack of acceptance and frustration at the society he believes to be ‘proper’. Readers today laugh at the situations portrayed because they are satirical and humourous, but they also question the motives behind the character “Earnest” because they see that “earnest”, meaning seriousness or sincerity, is the one thing the characters most certainly do not portray. However, towards the end of the play, when all has come out, Jack states that “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest” (Wilde 2000, p.358), which may in fact be the most blatantly satirical line of the play, and a great summation of the lies the play relied on. This explores Wilde’s use of double entendre as Jack lives a double life, alongside the use of an elaborate p...
The Importance of Being Earnest is regarded as one of the most successful plays written by Oscar Wilde, a great 19th century playwright. Oscar Wilde deals with something unique about his contemporary age in this drama. It addresses Victorian social issues, French theatre, farce, social drama and melodrama. All these factors influenced the structure of the play in a large scale. This play is basically a Victorian satirical drama showcasing the social, political, economic and religious structural changes that affected 18th century England. It was the time when British Empire had captured most part of the world including Oscar Wilde’s homeland, Ireland. The aristocrats of England had become dominant over the middle and poor class people and Wilde wrote plays with the motivation to encourage people to think against the English aristocracy and artificiality.