"THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" (OSCAR WILDE).   Term Paper ID:21366 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Theme of appearance vs. reality in characters & relationships of comic play.... More...

4 Pages / 900 Words 4 sources, 10 Citations, MLA Format $16.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Theme of appearance vs. reality in characters & relationships of comic play. Paper Introduction: Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest has a title that is a play on words embodying the dichotomy in the play between reality and illusion, a dichotomy embodied as well in the main character of John Worthing, It is important for Jack to be earnest, meaning honest and aboveboard as well as open and sincere, and it is also important for him to be named "Ernest" because the woman he loves, Gwendolen, would prefer that this were so and fervently believes it to be so. Yet, in order to be named "Ernest" he has to fail at being earnest, since his name is not Ernest at all. He has been manipulating appearances and reality for some time, and he is soon to be caught in his own deceptions. The course of his travails actually leads him to a point where he can be both Ernest and earnest in reality, thus making an honest man of his in spite of himself. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The reason why Jack created Ernest in the fist place was so he couldget away from his home in the country on the excuse of getting Ernest outof a scrape, and he was Ernest in town so he could loosen up, as it were,from the rectitude he presented in the country. Jack does not manipulate reality to be viciousor to do much more than get away from the confines of life in the country.In the end, he finds that his reality is such as to give him everything hewants, and he no longer has to manipulate reality at all except to thedegree necessary to exist in this skewed society, a society where familyconnections are everything except money, which is also important. This is a world that does not exist, with peoplewho operate on their own logic. Gwendolen's aunt, Lady Bracknell, cannot accept a young man withno known relatives: I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, before the season is quite over (9 ). To say that Jack is manipulating reality is to say that he ismanipulating his own reality, for the play does not deal in what we wouldcall objective reality. For the most part, Jack's life is much like his beginnings--he isfound through no effort of his own, just as he behave most of the time as asheep, allowing Gwendolen to pursue him and even listening to her tell himhow to propose to her. It does not thrill. Until he has something to hold over Lady Bracknell,he is primarily acted upon by events. He is boxed in by his own manipulation of reality so that he isa reactor rather than an actor in his own life. John Worthing first gets himself into trouble when he is talking tohis friend Algernon, who believes Jack's name is Ernest but who discoversthat this is not so when he sees the name "Ernest" engraved on Jack'scigarette case: Well, my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country, and the cigarette case was given to me in the country (893).This explanation does not suffice, so Jack has to tell Algy about hisdouble life. Of greater importance is John's deception with regard to Gwendolen.He has manipulated reality with her as well, for she believes that his nameis Ernest. In the society of this play, great emphasis is placed on certainfactors which are in actuality more illusion than reality. Lady Bracknellis much concerned with family, with accepted style, and with socialacceptances that are based on ideas of what reality should be and not onwhat reality actually is. In Donald Hall (ed.), To Read Literature, 889-932. In this sense, his entirelife is an appearance rather than a reality until he learns through aseries of coincidences at the end of the play who he really is--he isAlgy's older brother--and what his name is--his name really is Ernest. In truth, Jack seems everybit as upright in town, while it is Algernon who appears to be theunconventional one until he comes to the country and "reforms" upon meetingand falling in love with Gwendolen. Reality for Jack is always something of ablur because he has no idea who he really is. . It produces absolutely no vibrations. He has opted for domestic life, changedby his experience, an experience that can be attributed to themanipulations set in motion by Jack even if Jack had little to do with theexperiences in a more direct way. The problems of both are compounded as Cecily andGwendolen compare notes, believing they are after the same man, the elusiveand indeed non-existent Ernest who has been created for them by Worthing. . His manipulation ofreality proves to be more real than the life he was leading. The Importance of Being Earnest. The course of histravails actually leads him to a point where he can be both Ernest andearnest in reality, thus making an honest man of his in spite of himself. Yet, in order to benamed "Ernest" he has to fail at being earnest, since his name is notErnest at all. Hekeeps up the deception as best he can because he cannot admit his owndeception. In so doing, he inadvertently gives Algy an idea for becomingErnest in order to meet Cecily. He reacts to Gwendolen andto the thought that she will find out, but he takes no action to doanything to correct the situation except to try to keep his secret. As noted, he is more acted uponthan taking action himself, and for most of the play he merely acquiescesas Algernon takes over the job of manipulating reality by his use ofWorthing's own story. Algernon comes to the countrypretending to be Ernest, and there is little he can do but go along. He has been manipulating appearances and reality for sometime, and he is soon to be caught in his own deceptions. In the last act of the play, he killsoff his imaginary friend Bunbury, the person he claims to be helping out ofscrapes when he wants to get away. Work CitedWilde, Oscar. Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest has a title thatis a play on words embodying the dichotomy in the play between reality andillusion, a dichotomy embodied as well in the main character of JohnWorthing, It is important for Jack to be earnest, meaning honest andaboveboard as well as open and sincere, and it is also important for himto be named "Ernest" because the woman he loves, Gwendolen, would preferthat this were so and fervently believes it to be so. (897).Of course, this is not the primary obstacle standing between Jack andGwendolen, for that would be the fact that he has no idea who his parentswere because he was found in a handbag in the cloakroom at VictoriaStation. Atthe end of the play, the appearance and the reality have become one so thatthe story Jack has been telling is suddenly true. When asked if she could love him if his name were not Ernestbut were Jack, she replies that she could not: No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. Having set the entire play in motionwith his manipulation of reality, Worthing really does not manipulate thatreality to any great degree thereafter. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.----------------------- 4 Ultimately, he is able to take control in the final act because ofCecil's fortune, since Lady Bracknell would see her as an eligible catchfor her penniless nephew, Algernon. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.