The Importance of Being Earnest was one of Wilde’s Victorian melodramas. There are plenty elements of satire, intellectual travesty, a comic take on Victorian manners and an appealing superficial-ness that makes it a light comedy. Behind this charade of humor though lie deeper, more serious undertones. The play is a take at the extreme hypocrisy and cloying moralism’s that were distinct marks of the Victorian era. In Act I of The Important of Being Earnest, the term and concept of ‘Bunbury’ is first introduced when Algernon accuses Jack of “being a confirmed and secret Bunburyist’. After some prodding and explaining, Jack manages to evoke the meaning of Bunburying. Bunburying could be defined, according to Algernon, as the creation of an elaborate alibi or deception that could work as a cover for misbehavior while maintaining the image of adhering to the highest social standards. In simpler words, Algernon invented a fictitious friend called Bunbury, who resided in the countryside and was apparently very ill. Whenever Algy needed to weasel out of a social obligation he had no intentions of meeting, he would use Bunbury’s failing health as an excuse. Bunbury was a means of escaping into the countryside from the throes and woes of the city for Algernon. In the specific case Algernon used to explain ‘Bunburying’, he mentioned how he was invited to yet another dinner at his Aunt Augusta’s house, and he did not have the will to go through more than one family encounter in the week. To escape that, Bunbury was going to be terribly sick again. Bunbury, according to Algernon, was no trivial deception. It was more intricate than that. There were rules involved, which could not be explained because the conversation was cut short by the a... ... middle of paper ... ...g her. When the Gwendolen questions Jack, it turns out to be a close-ended question, since she explicitly asks him if he created a fake brother simply to meet her. Jack simply agreed, though the truth may have been far from that. His reasons to have a second identity as Ernest could be for a number of reasons, but Gwendolen “crushed” these doubts in her mind. In fact, by the end of it, Algernon, who was possibly the biggest advocate of Bunburyism out there, killed Bunbury off. His deception was harmless, not dragging those close to him into the picture. The same could not be said for Jack. This is the more clever and serious undertone to this otherwise superficial comedy. The Victorian era was marked with hypocrisy, and people regularly lived dual lives. Fiction and reality were heavily twisted together, and many a times, people lost the fine line between the two.
...ore powerful or provides greater status. Bundy had detailed hero fantasies which eventually turned into sexual possession. Dr. Carlisle also stated that "Bundy’s criteria for determining right or wrong gradually changed over time. What was wrong for him as a child may have been acceptable as an early teen and then desirable when he was in his late teens."
Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both seems like carelessness.(Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest) This disagreement leads to further complications in the next two acts. Dramatic irony is portrayed in the second act. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows more than the character does. For example, we, the readers, know that Algernon is using the name Earnest to impress his cousin Cecily.
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.
If bunburying or bunbury did not happen in the movie The Importance of Being Earnest a significant amount of the major event in the film would not have happened. If both Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff did not bunbury about being Earnest, they would not have fallen in love, and neither one would have gotten married. If Jack had not bunburied he would not have found out he was the baby in the black bag, he was Algernon's old brother, Lady Augusta Bracknell was his aunt, and his real name was, in fact, Earnest. When thinking of a similar event that someone had bunbury and the ending result was favorably on the good side, The Parent Trap came to mind. In the movie The Parent Trap two preteen girl meet at a summer camp. They come to find
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...
In the play, Wilde uses Algernon’s relationship with food to criticize the repression of desires during the Victorian era. Food also played a large role in Victorian society as a symbol of status and repression of urges. Upper-class Victorians were careful not to eat too much to show their self-restraint (“Victorian”). Similarly, eating plays a large role in the book and could symbolize “appetites and emotions that it is not respectable or polite to air openly” (Laws). Algernon’s chief vice appears in his overindulgence in food. Algernon’s preoccupation with food appears many times in the play and he often appears to be “[e]ating as usual,” according to Jack (1.296). At the beginning of the play, Algernon orders cucumber sandwiches for Lady
Two adolescent women who incorrectly consider the men’s names to be Ernest, and who are passionate about the men for this very reason think highly of both Jack and Algernon. In relating the story of mix-ups and mistaken identities, the ideals and manners of the Victorian society are satirized in a comedy where the characters "treat all the trivial things of life seriously and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality"(Wilde, Oscar). Oscar Wilde’s amusing scenes often take their source in societal satire and unconventional (Baselga 15). All the way through his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes education, women, and morality.
The The surprising thing is that they both understand each other! In addition, both Jack and Algernon have made false statements. Jack has "invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest" Algernon has "invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunberry. According to Jack, his name is not suitable for both the town and the country. The. Algenon and Jack, therefore, live as they please, through.
In Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon is a shallow man with no principles and no conscience.
In Act III, it highlights the contrast of a person’s life, Bunbury, to an inanimate object, suggesting that Miss Prisms lost black bag and the discovery of that bag, is more important than being ‘dead’. This is not an unusal reference in comparison to all other themes, analogies and metaphors discussed in The Importance of Being Earnest, but it is another hidden reference that adds to the quantity, which makes it a questionable and curious point due to this scene being part of the closing Act, which demonstrates it large importance to
Jack Worthing calls himself “Ernest” instead when he is in London because his “brother” that he came up with is full of mischief and misbehavior, so Jack is able to escape to London and misbehave on account of his brother. Therefore helping Jack to have a double life. Algernon invented an invalid friend named “Bunbury” because it was his way of coping and trying to escape with his social obligations in reality Lady Brackwell sees that the problem between Jack and Gwendolen marrying is the fact that he did not have a close family to raise him. She feels if he establishes a family and creates a relationship with them, he can resolve the problem.
In The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde I believe lies is what connects everything because every single character has a reason but the reason varies between characters and then for the lies to lies on top of other lies to protect their original lies. Every lie has a reason but the reason varies between characters. Algernon and Jack both create people that aren't real and use those people to their highest advantage, this is called bunburyism. Algernon is very good at lying, so good he lives a double life. He uses an imaginary friend, Bunbury, to get out of boring interaction with people and commitments. He also created Bunbury to give his life some more excitement. As he says, “Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury… A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.” Algernon’s doubt about getting married is shown here. The fact that he thinks Bunbury will be useful for lying and getting out of things for a husband or wife shows that he does not have any faith or commitment to a person or believe that anyone does
The play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is full of irony. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, the protagonists in the play, get themselves into a complicated situation called Bunburyism (as Algernon refers to it). They pretend to be someone that they are not to escape their daily lives. They lie to the women they admire and eventually the truth is unveiled.
Oscar Wilde begins with a joke in the title that is not only a piece of frivolity. It concerns the problem of recognising and defining human identity. The use of earnest and Earnest is a pun, which makes the title not only more comic, but also leads to a paradox. The farce in The Importance of Being Earnest consists in the trifle that it is important not only to be earnest by nature but to have the name Earnest too. Jack realizes "the vital Importance of Being Earnest"(53) not till the end of the play. Algernon calls the act of not being earnest Bunburying which gives the plot a moral significance. Bunburying means inventing a fictitious character by which one can escape the frustrating social norms. Algernon says to Jack:
The pun on the word "Earnest" suggests two things; it stands for the name but also refers to honesty and integrity. It is also known as a `one joke' or a play on words. Though the name is spelt as "Ernest" the reader still recognizes the double meaning of the title. Two of the main characters, Jack and Algernon, strive to be "Ernest" and "Earnest" in the play, yet they both deceive others to escape lives which they grow tired of. They both hope to marry the girls that they love, yet they are starting the relationships base on false pretence and lies. It is ironic that they both call themselves "Ernest," a name that suggests honesty and sincerity, yet they both create stories to escape something or the other. Jack creates a brother called "Ernest" in the city that he uses as a `scape goat' to leave his prim and proper, respectable country life, whereas Algernon creates a friend by the name of "Bunbury" to escape his aunt's high class society parties. He shows his lack of interest in such social events when he tells Jack,