Here is the question that I would like each of you to respond to:
Compare and contrast The Importance of Being Earnest to another major work (book, play, movie) with a similar theme. Be sure to identify the theme you feel the two works share, and compare and contrast the ways in which the two works explore the theme.
Tips:
1. Make sure you start by establishing the theme you will be discussing. A theme must be a complete sentence (so you can't say that "A theme in Earnest is marriage", but you could say "A theme in Earnest is the fallacy of marriage").
2. Make sure you clearly identify which book, play, or movie you are comparing Earnest to. If it's an obscure choice, give a brief summary of this work.
3. What do these two works share? How do they each explore the theme?
Have fun!
Ms. Scher
A theme in "The Importance of Being Earnest" is how rushed some people are when it comes to marriage. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, (the thing won't let me underline it) Janie is rushed into her first two marriages. In "Earnest", both Gwendolen and Cecily rush into getting married and are sort of shallow about it, since they both "pity any poor woman whose husband is not called Ernest" (Wilde 33). Although Janie was forced into her first marriage, making it worse, she also married Joe Starks, not even knowing him for six months. She married him because he adored her, not for love, which is not a reason to be married. Also, financial and social security is important in these marriages. Jack is interviewed by Lady Bracknell in order to have permission to marry Gwendolen, whereas Cecily has her background checked to see if she is suitable for Algernon. Janie, on the other hand was married to Logan in order to have financial stability in her life. Both pieces of literature explore this theme by showing how eager some are to be married, no matter what the reason is. Although it seems like they love each other in "Earnest", later on, it may seem like Joe and Janie's marriage, where the "love" they have for each other, but over time, they would just put on a show that is "delightful to watch" (9), but nothing more. In conclusion, rushing into marriages and marrying for the wrong reasons foreshadows the consequences, since their relationships are short and don‘t "give [them] the opportunity of finding out each other's characteristics before marriage" (48). The marriages are doomed to failure, since they marry almost on impulse and don’t know each other well enough to know if they are truly compatible with each other.
ReplyDelete^ I hope is okay.. I don't like being first! D;
Jasmine, this is a great start! Thanks for providing the first response. I hope to hear from others soon. Remember--you can choose any book, movie or play. It does not have to be from AP English Lit.
ReplyDeletenot exactly a theme, but it definitely makes sense. :P
ReplyDeleteA theme in “The Importance of Bing Earnest” is the consequences of stolen identities. Another play that shares the same theme is “Twelfth Night” by none other than the famous William Shakespeare. Both authors of their respective plays utilize the humor and confusion of mistaken identity to form the main storyline, and conflict of their works. In “Earnest” two men, Algernon and Jack, have alter egos that they use to avoid the unwanted parts of their lives, and pursue true love. In “Twelfth Night”, Viola disguises herself as a man in order to get to her true love, but in doing so, creates much confusion on who really loves who. In addition, both plays have climaxes that involve many unnecessary arguments and cat fights. In “Earnest” the theme is explored by the untruthfulness of the two men, and how they managed to acquire love. “Twelfth Night” is quite similar in that the theme is explored through the consequences of hiding one’s identity. However, some differences were that Algernon and Jack deliberately had a second person that was non-existent, while Viola dressed up as a young page, and looked like her twin brother (who she thought was dead) in order to get within the vicinity of her lover, Duke Orsino. Both of these plays show how the characters “Bunbury” situations when the going gets rough, and only go for love. They also show how being truthful about oneself is a very important moral that everyone should follow. For in both comedies, if any of the name-switching characters had just come out and told the truth, many complications and arguments may have been avoided, and Viola, Algernon, and Jack would have still been able to marry their true loves.
no one else yet? everyone's gonna wait until the last minute? shame shame... you'd feel better if you got it out of the way.. :P
ReplyDeleteI KNOW! I was checking almost every day, because I was waiting for somebody to troll on my response. xD
ReplyDeletemine is on the making. Don't worry Mrs. Scher!
ReplyDeleteCome on, everybody! I'm stranded in New Jersey due to the blizzard and could use some interesting blog posts. Enlighten me!
ReplyDeletejasmine: so was I XP
ReplyDeleteMs.Scher: Read mine!
DID EVERYONE FORGET ABOUT THIS? We go back to school on Monday.. It's Friday. What's going on? D;
ReplyDeleteprocrastinators. and we're just anxious. haha
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh.. It's already 2011.. Is everyone going to do it on Monday night or something?
ReplyDeleteYou guys have crossed the Rubicon.. D;
ReplyDeleteGood point, Jasmine :).
ReplyDeleteHi. So, I am currently writing my response, and I will post it later. Sorry for the delay. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI can't edit my post! :(
ReplyDeleteA theme in "The Importance of Being Earnest" is becoming lovestruck at first sight or mention of the person. A play that shares a similar theme is "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. This theme is shown in Algernon and Cecily, and Romeo and Juliet. Algernon becomes infatuated with Cecily when he hears about her from Jack. Romeo first sees Juliet at the Capulet Ball, then becomes lovestruck. Algernon and Romeo share the same quality of becoming falling in love with someone when they have no prior knowledge that person. This leads to the idea that marriage is rushed when people are young, which is evident in Algernon and Romeo, who are both young men. Cecily admits that she and Algernon are engaged to be married, even though she does not know that Algernon is not who she thinks he is. Juliet accepts Romeo's proposal. This shows that both sides of the relationships fall in love blindly, leading to consequences. These are the revelation of Algernon not being Earnest, and the demise of Romeo and Juliet. In both plays, the idea of being lovestruck blinds the characters from seeing the consequences of their intended actions.
ReplyDeleteA theme in “The Importance of being Earnest” is the affects love has on the security of false identities. A comparative work for this theme is the movie “Catch Me if You Can”, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fruitful con artist in the later 1900’s named Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. He successfully impersonates a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor, while evading the law. However, while disguised he falls for someone and the relationship leads to weaknesses in his “identities” that could help the FBI locate him.
ReplyDeleteBoth “Earnest” and “Catch me” have characters with well thought out alter egos. “Earnest” has Algernon with his ‘friend’ Bunbury, and Jack with his ‘brother’ Ernest. While “Catch Me” has Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. and his multiple business- inspired personas. In both works there is also a love interest for each leading character. In “Earnest” Gwendolen is unaware that the man she is engaged to, is in fact the false identity of Jack Worthing, and her ignorance to the fact causes unease for Jack because she is insistent to marrying a man named “Ernest”. Jack shows his alarm at her insistency, in the line: “But you don’t really mean to say that you couldn’t love me if my name wasn’t Ernest?” (Wilde, 10). Again in “Earnest”, Algernon uses the false identity “Ernest” as well, in order to meet and propose to Cecily. In “Catch Me”, while Frank is disguised as a doctor, he falls in love with the nurse, Brenda, and also proposes to her.
As both works continue in their stories, the truths behind their identities begin to entangle with their relationships. In “Earnest” the truth behind both Algernon’s and Jack’s personas are forced to be revealed to their fiancés’, and up until the point of honesty, the girls feel both betrayed and confused. In “Catch Me”, due to the engagement the FBI is able to find Frank, but he convinces Brenda to love him despite his dishonesty up until that point. However, she is bought by the FBI to betray him in return and he is forced to invent a new persona and leave his love behind. Both works show that when one spends too long living a double life, it becomes difficult to easily live one’s true life, and that the consequences could be severe. Severe in the sense of lost love for the characters in “Earnest” and severe on the terms of arrest in “Catch Me”.
A theme in “The Importance of Being Earnest” is how some people rush into marriages for personal gain. In the movie “The Proposal”, Margaret rushes into marriage with Andrew without any real relationship between the two. In “Earnest”, Gwendolen and Cecily, rush into marriages not only because they love Algernon and Jack, but because the two men were raised differently in society. Between the four of them Algernon “has nothing but his debts to depend upon” (Wilde 47) and Jack, as a baby, is found “in the cloak- room” (14) shows how the two men were raised. Since birth, Gwendolen and Cecily are brought up well throughout their entire life. Intrigued by the lifestyle Algernon and Jack had, pushed Gwendolen and Cecily to rush into marriage to get out of their “ordinary decencies of family life” (14).Marrying someone, who is out of there league, gives Gwendolen and Cecily a chance to gain a different life by their marriage because they were brought up differently than their partners. In “The Proposal”, Margaret rushes into marriage to save herself from being deported to Canada and from losing her job in New York. Gaining from the rushed marriage would be safety from deportation and lose of her job, despite of the consequences of the marriage. The theme is being explored by “Earnest” and “The Proposal” by showing how people are yearning to be married to gain something beneficial from that marriage. However, a difference between the two works is that in “The Proposal”, Margaret was forced into the rushed marriage to save her job. On the other hand in “Earnest”, Both Gwendolen and Cecily choose to rush into their marriages, even though Lady Bracknell must approve it or not. In general, there are some people who have to or choose to rush into marriages to protect or gain something valuable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Alwin says about the Twelfth Night. Multiple personalities (I think that's more like the mental issue but I couldnt think of another phrase) seems to be an important theme. The story line reminds me of "The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Although Jack doesnt turn into Ernest, he uses him as a coverup to do what he wants. Jack also decides to kill off his identity as Ernest just as Mr.Hyde decides to become less reliant on being Dr.Jekyll.
ReplyDeleteAlso the difference in class and gender roles resembles the situation is "The Great Gatsby." Lady Blackwell refuses to let her daughter marry Jack because of the way that he was found as a baby. In the openning of the play Agernon talks down to Jack because he's not blood related to Lady Blackwell. Like in The Great Gatsby East Eggers, like Tom and Daisy, feel that they're better than the other status'/classes. Cecily and Gwendolen's quick willingness to forgive their fiances is just like Daisy's willingness to forgive Tom. Cheating and lying are some of the worst things that can happen in a relationship and these ladies are able to put it past them. This shows that Wilde is trying to show that women of this time are weak and able to be manipulated. Im not sure if this is a theme but it kind of stuck out to me. I guess the theme would be power determined by status and female manipulation.
In Act III a main theme is manipulation in marriage. Jack won't allow Algernon to marry Cecily, who Lady Bracknell approves of due to her funds, unless Lady Blackwell allows him to marry Gwendolen. Like in "Nector in a Sieve" Rukmanis family is manipulated by society to marry off their daughter to someone older who isn't really able to constantly provide for his family.
I don't know what to tie this in with, but there is definately a lot of irony in the play. Especially since Jack ends up being Algernon's brother and his birthname is actually Ernest. Well, I hope this might help some of you guys out some way.
by the way, this is Genesis.
ReplyDeleteA theme in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is the negative consequences of living a double life. This theme is also apparent in the television series and movie “Hannah Montana” because the main character, Miley Cyrus, struggles with living a double life as a famous pop star, Hannah Montana, and as Miley Cyrus, a normal teenager in high school.
ReplyDeleteIn “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Algernon and Jack lives a double life as a way find love and avoid unwanted hardships in their lives. Earnest creates a friend named Bunbury while Jack creates a brother named Earnest. This is problematic because Algernon decides to be Jack's brother, Earnest, to meet his love, Cecily. He shows up at Jack's house claiming to be Earnest and proposes to Cecily. Cecily accepts but is unaware that the guy who she is engaged to is actually Algernon and not Earnest. At the same time, Jack is engaged to Gwendolen, who thinks she's also married to Earnest. Due to the double life that Algernon and Jack creates for themselves, they cause a confusion with Cecily and Gwendolen. Before Gwendolen is aware that Cecily is also engaged to Earnest, she “like[s] you [Cecily] more than I can say” (Wilde 34) but her impression soon changes to feeling that Cecily was “false and deceitful” (38). Of course they find out that there has been a mistake and they weren't engaged to the same person in the end. However, because of the double life that Algernon and Jack created for themselves, they almost caused neither of them to get married. Their actions also caused a commotion with Cecily and Gwendolen having negative thoughts towards each other after having such great first impressions of each other because they thought that they were engaged to the same guy.
“Hannah Montana” is similar to two characters, Algernon and Jack, in “Earnest” because Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus lives a double life as a celebrity and a normal teen. Her double life is a hassle for her because she is unable to trust many people with her secret, cannot hang out with her friends as much as she'd like and overall, it causes problems with her relationship with others because she is unable to tell them the truth. Since she is unable to tell all her friends about her double life, she often loses friends because they she cannot tell them what she is doing that may be more important than hanging out with them. This causes Miley to want to expose the truth that she's actually pop star, Hannah Montana. However, she contemplates on telling the world the truth because if she does, she wouldn't be a normal teenager anymore. Miley Cyrus, Algernon, and Jack are similar since all three of them are living a double life. Their double life causes similar consequences with problems in their relationship with others. Algernon and Jack caused commotion between Cecily and Gwendolen and Miley Cyrus causes confusion between her friends. In conclusion, “The Importance of being Earnest” and the television series/movie “Hannah Montana” both have a theme of the negative consequences of living a double life.
Very interesting, ladies. Thanks for your posts.
ReplyDeleteGenesis--the end of your post reminds me that the end of the play seems like an example of Deus Ex Machina. Did it seem a little overly convenient that Miss Prism showed up and helped everyone discover that jack's real name was Ernest?
A theme in The Importance of Being Earnest is the hypocrisy of the upper class about morality. A play that shares this theme is The Pickwick Papers, a novel by Charles Dickens. It details the adventures of a group of four aristocratic men, lead by Mr. Pickwick, as they journey around Victorian England and record their findings. In “Earnest”, Algernon says, “Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?” (Wilde, 2). Despite the righteous, and “holier-than-thou” attitude towards the poor by the main characters in the novel, they seem to recognize that their morals are set by the lower classes, so there is not much to be proud of by being upper class, and to do so is somewhat hypocritic. Similarly, in The Pickwick Papers, most members of the British aristocracy are portrayed as snobby and immoral, while the lower classes generally display a larger sense of morality and goodwill towards others. In addition, both books portray the upper class as dishonest people. In “Earnest”, Jack and Algernon lie to their fiancées about their identities so that they will seem like better potential husbands. Although their lies can be seen as motivated by love, they are still deceiving people for personal gain. Algernon also lies to Lady Bracknell to avoid having dinner with her, he says, “my friend Bunbury is ill again...he is a dreadful invalid.” (9). Similarly in the Pickwick papers, many Victorian aristocrats are portrayed as swindlers who attempt to cheat the “Pickwickians” our of their money when they pose as members of the lower class for various reasons. The quixotic Mr. Pickwick often is taken in by these schemes, as he is determined to see the best in everyone. In both novels, those who are lying for personal gain have a sense of entitlement and superiority towards the lower classes while in fact they are dishonest and not as righteous as they think of themselves as. This demonstrates the inherent hypocrisy of the British aristocracy, and although they like to think of themselves as righteous defenders of morality, they are prone to the same dishonesty and lack of morality that the rest of humanity suffers from
ReplyDeleteMs. Scher this is Kelvin and i just wanted to know if we are allowed to use only books plays or movies or could we also use like tv shows and etc
ReplyDeleteA theme in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" is how some people can't/don't want to live out their true identities in order to have the best of both worlds. A movie that shares this theme would be "She's the Man." As we all know this movie is based on a girl (Viola) who plays the role of a guy (her brother Sebastian) in order to play soccer and in the process she's able to get closer to another boy(Duke) whom she has a crush on, hense; best of both worlds. Being that "She's the Man" is based on Twelfth Night, the conflict in the two worlds of the same character create the main storyline as Alwin stated earlier. In the "Importance of Being Earnest", Algernon an Earnest create a form of 'alter egos' to allow them both to do as they please without having it connected with their names what so ever.Just as in "She's the Man", Viola makes herself into a different person in order to do what she trully wants to do without any consequences to her.
ReplyDeleteAlthough both "She's the Man" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" have characters that play 2 seperate roles, better known as 'BunBurys' in "Earnest, they definitely do not follow the same storyline or goal."She's the Man" is the story of a girl disguising herself as a man to play soccer and IN THE PROCESS she falls for Duke. While "The Importance of Being Earnest" has to do with men creating different people to "mess around" with other women and live a completely different life from their real one. Earnest and Algernon have already fallen in love with specific women who know their true identities, not their made up personalities. All in all, people change who they really are and give false identities in order to fufill their own selfish desires.
Desuchan420: James Cheung (suffering from Flash Card anxiety)
ReplyDeleteGoing with Vincent's idea, a theme in The Importance of being Earnest is romantic love at the first sight of a person. This is also present in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie. The book takes place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 1950s where two boys (the Narrator and Luo) are taken to a remote village to be reeducated, where they are immediately captivated by a local seamstress. In Act II of "Earnest", Algernon speaks to Cecily whom they met only for a "brief space of time" about her "wonderful and incomparable beauty", (Wilde 31). Similarly in "Balzac", Luo immediately falls in love and decides to reeducate the Little Seamstress to make her a "better woman". Algernon and Luo bear the similarity of being being lovestruck by a woman whom they never known in their lives. Although there are obstacles among their Golden Fleeces (Algernon passing his name as "Ernest" to captivate Cecily and Luo using Western forbidden books to educate the Seamstress), these characters would go to great lengths to do whatever they can to love their respective woman.
The works do contrast by their endings. In Act III of "Earnest", Algernon and Cecily now become an official couple after Lady Bracknell gives her consent (47). Unfortunately in Balzac, the Seamstress leaves to the city without saying anything to Luo before leaving. Algernon's sudden proposal of love towards Cecily without knowing almost anything about her can be a sign of good luck when they succeed of becoming a happy couple while Luo tries his very best to educate the Seamstress with literature until she suddenly leaves after leaving enough knowledge. Therefore, first sight love can be entirely a gamble that people would take to be with someone with love, with either satisfactory or heart-breaking results.
Apparantly mine was too large so i have to post it twice
ReplyDeleteA theme in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is the importance of security in a marriage. A novel that has a similar this theme to this play is “The Great Gatsby”. This theme is shown through Lady Bracknell in “Earnest” and through the relationship of Tom and Daisy in “Gatsby”.
ReplyDeleteIn “Earnest”, Lady Bracknell stresses the importance of social status and wealth when she interviews Cecily about her position in society and deciding whether she thinks they are successful enough to marry for her nephew Algernon. During the interview, Algernon states that he does not care about Cecily’s “social possibilities” (Wilde 47) and just wants to get married with her right away. However, Lady Bracknell responds by saying, “Never speak disrespectfully about society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that” ( 47). Also, being the one who gets the last saying of the marriage, it shows the author’s intent to stress the essence of the security of wealth in a marriage and how money plays a huge role in marriages. Also, with her being a huge role in the play, it shows how society values love over marriage, in which love is the most important element in a marriage.
The theme is also shown in the novel “The Great Gatsby”, through the relationship of Daisy and Tom. In the novel, Daisy marries Tom for his wealth even though she does not love him. Daisy is unhappy with her relationship as she constantly complains about Tom’s affairs and nothing doing anything about it, as well as the lack of attention that she gives to her child. When she is given the chance to leave Tom for Gatsby, who is the one she truly loves, she begins to doubt her decision of leaving Tom for Gatsby when Tom tells her that Gatsby became rich through illegal bootlegging. In the end, she ends up choosing Tom and this shows the importance of security in a marriage, as Daisy ends up choosing Tom and his money, over Gatsby and their love for one another. Therefore, this shows that security has more value than love when it comes to marriage.
ReplyDeleteEven though, the play “Earnest” and the novel “Gatsby” is showing the importance of security and how security is being valued more than love in a marriage, this type of marriage foreshadows a failed marriage. When Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby, she is also choosing to stay unhappy for the rest of her life. This shows failure in a marriage, as marriage is suppose to be full of love and happiness. This also foreshadows Algernon and Cecily, as well as Jack and Gwendolen’s marriage as well in “Earnest”. Although they say they “love” each other, Gwendolen and Cecily both does not want to marry them if their names are not Ernest. They are not choosing to get married for love, but for their own dreams of marrying someone with that name, in which turns out that their names are Ernest. Although Lady Bracknell approves of their marriages, they are only bound due to the security of their wealth, as well as Cecily and Gwendolen’s dream of marrying a man named Earnest. This foreshadows an unsuccessful marriage, as they are not marrying each other for love.
A theme found in “The Importance of Being Earnest” is that to some people, love is often measured by wealth and status. Likewise, in “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Nanny tells Janie that Logan is a perfect match for her because he can support her. He is able to give her what she needs as well as offer her more. In “The Importance of Being Ernest,” when Lady Bracknell questions Jack about his history, she is dismayed because his past is blank. She is not pleased with the fact that he doesn’t know where he came from. She feels like with Jack, Gwendolen will not benefit from anything.
ReplyDeleteAfter Lady Bracknell learns more about Jack, she forbids her daughter from marrying him. She feels as though because he has nothing valuable or extravagant in his well being or past to offer her daughter, she cannot marry him. Prosperity and assets are the first thing questioned in both cases. Nanny wants Janie in good hands. She doesn’t want her to live a life that she will suffer from. With the same idea, Lady Bracknell disapproves of Jack’s family background which causes her to forbid Gwendolen from having a relationship with Jack. In both situations, it is shown that the origin of a person makes a huge impact on ones decision.
With that said, love in other words, has become of materials worth. It has now become based on what a person can give instead of the feeling they can bring. In the two scenarios, nothing but what can be presented is taken in consideration. In other words, it is what the approval has become based on.
ReplyDeleteA theme in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" is that people rush into marriage for superficial reasons like economical status, and family background. This kind of belief is also seen in the "Titanic". This movie is about a young girl being engaged to a rich man but falling in love to a poor lower class boy that her snobby mother doesn't approve of because he isn't rich and because he won't be able to satisfy the needs of her daughter along with her own. In the "Titanic", Rose falls in love with Jack, but is already engaged and knows that if her mother finds out that she's seeing him, she will be in trouble and might ruin her chance to be married to a rich young man. In "The Importance of Being Earnest", Lady Bracknell doesn't want Gwendolen or Algernon Moncrieff to marry someone that doesn't have a good economic status, or have a good family background, so when she finds out that Jack Worthing doesn't know who his family is since he was abandoned by his family, she prohibits Gwendolen from marrying him. In both "The Importance of Being Earnest", and the "Titanic", economic status, and family background are two important factors for a couple to get engaged.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA theme in “The Importance of Being Earnest” is that wealth doesn’t define love. A movie that has this particular similar theme is “Leap Year” (2010).
ReplyDeleteLeap Year is romantic comedy about a girl called Anna that has a fiancé in Ireland for a business trip. Following Irish tradition, for the woman proposes to the man first, the girl ends up going to Ireland but gets lost. A man that owns a pub in Ireland that is being foreclosed helps Anna because she is willing to pay. During Anna’s quest to find her fiancé, the man and Anna end up falling for each other. When Anna finally succeeds in finding her fiancé, the fiancé proposes to her and they get engaged; but, Anna notices that she wasn’t happy with all this wealth around her if she didn’t have the one she loved. Anna went back to Ireland and proposes to the pub owner; even though she wouldn’t have the riches she would have had if she stayed with her fiancé.
In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Gwendolen falls in love with Jack in a short period of time, just as Anna and the pub owner in Leap Year. Not being able to know a person’s background in such a short period of time doesn’t make the individuals in the relationship look for materialist purposes in a relationship. Gwendolen’s mother and the Anna’s father both feel the need to have security for their children, meaning wealth. Both Gwendolen and Anna defy their parents because they felt that love wasn’t measured in money but by the character of the one they love. Both Gwendolen and Anna choose who they want to love but in different ways. Gwendolen loves Jack but she wouldn’t marry him unless his name was Earnest, thus making Jack Christianize himself as Earnest. Anna already has a fiancé but meets someone new, so she has a choice of choosing either the pub owner or her rich fiancé. Both women chose not according to wealth but because of their own personal feelings they had towards an individual.
Yup.... 3:30 in the morning...
A theme in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” is how people design alternate identities to acquire their true intentions but get caught up in a web of lies and lose themselves in the process. The movie “White Chicks” consist on the same theme. The movie demonstrates two brothers, Marcus and Kevin Copeland, who are FBI agents that disguises themselves as mega-rich princesses, Tiffany and Brittany Wilson, who are targeted by a serial kidnapper. Sure enough their charades come to a halt as their lies unravel at a fashion show. At the end, their captain and the wife of Marcus Copeland find out that the brothers identities were used as a disguise to capture a criminal which was their intentions from the start but lost the balance of their personal life and becoming absorbed into the world of the high society lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThe similarity between the movie “White Chicks” and the play “The importance of Being Earnest” is how the two characters Jack and Algernon create an additional identity to sustain their relationships with their lovers, just as Kevin and Marcus Copeland use another identity in order to keep their jobs. In the process they lose the balance between their true self and their masqueraded identity, as they get absorbed in their lies, so they confess who they really are, just like when Jack and Algernon spill the truth about the identity Ernest which wasn’t really who they were, “…Are you called Algernon?... I cannot deny it” (Wilde, 39), “Is your name really John(aka Jack)…it has been John for years” (39). They used their false identity to be accepted in the surroundings they were in in order to achieve their true intentions. Another example would be the charades Kevin and Marcus caused to be accepted by high society with their false identity. Same as Jack and Algernon when they used the identity of Ernest to capture their lovers with, “…Mr. Ernest and I are engaged to be married”(Gwendolen, 36), “…you must be under misconception. Ernest proposed to me exactly ten minutes ago,(Cecily, 36).Overall, by exposing who they were, it opened their eyes to the real reason as to why they created or disguise themselves with the false identity, it was for Jack and Algernon to find real love and for Kevin and Marcus the difficulty of balancing high society and their true self while capturing their criminal but also finding their own true love at the end of it all.
A theme in "The Importance of Being Ernest" is the concept and societal position of marriage, a theme shared by the 1938 film "Holiday". The movie Holiday tells the story of a man named Johnny Case (played by Cary Grant) and his accent up the social latter, up to his engagement to Julia Seton (Doris Nolan), a member of the society’s elite upper class. Case is torn between marrying Julia, thus completing his journey to the top of American society, or living his life freely as he would like to do.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of marriage in both "The Importance of Being Ernest" and "Holiday" is one of a conceptual nature and one woven into the customs of upper class society.
Both "The Importance of Being Ernest" and "Holiday" share a common focus on society’s role in marriage. Prevalent in both works is the involvement of an upper class guardian and their ultimate decision in matters concerning the marriage of their daughter. Though this is by no means uncommon, it is the questions that each guardian finds critical to the acceptance of the prospective husband that bring unify the theme of the two works. In each work, the guardians inquire as to the financial stature and family backgrounds of the men they interrogate. In particular, the family backgrounds of each man are portrayed as a most critical factor in their ultimate acceptance. So much so that both men are urged to lie to secure their engagement, "I would strongly advise you...aquire some relations" (Wilde 15) as Lady Bracknell asserts in "The Importance of Being Ernest".. This highlights the upper class emphasis on societal position in marriage as well as the great regard towards how others in the upper class might view the marriage. The recurring phenomenon in both pieces comes to embellish marriage as a high held concept, not one of choice between two individuals. Marriage comes to be a process and whether entailing lists, as in Wilde’s work, or large formal parties, as in "Holiday", its conceptual nature comes to tie it in to society and further remove it from an individual level. Each work explores this conceptual nature of marriage by emphasizing the separation of the upper class from those below it and by focusing on many formalities regarding marriage.
A theme in the play “The Importance of being Earnest” is that marriage is not taken into full consideration, and often rushed, but not for love, rather for materialistic ideas. This theme is also present in the novel, “Nectar in a Sieve.” In the book, “Nectar In A Sieve,” Rukmani’s parents are the primary decision to who she can marry. Their decision relies mostly on who can better support Ruku not spiritually, but financially. With this, “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Nectar in A Sieve” both share this same theme because like in “Nectar in A sieve,” the guardians of Cecily and Gwendolen, are the only factor of the decision of whether who they should marry. Since Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest” ask background information of Cecily, such as her social status, just like how Ruku’s parents look at the background of men to who Ruku should marry. Both guardians do this to make sure that the person they are marrying is able to support them later on in the future. Also, they don’t desire to know the who the person is inside, and whether both parties would love each other, but only desire to know who the best match is to support their family economically. With this, marriage is not decided upon love, but rather decided for materialistic ideas. Since materialism is the major decision of whether one should marry someone or not, just shows how morality of marriage is corrupted since love is not the major factor.
ReplyDeleteOne theme of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is the importance of integrity. one such novel that has a similar theme is FOR ONE MORE DAY, by Mitch Albom, which is the story of a man who loses his integrity to a life of regret and disappointment.
ReplyDeleteboth stories have a character who despairs over their lost past. the main character of FOR ONE MORE DAY, Charley, is abandoned as a child by his father, a divorce child, while Jack laments over his misfortune of his lost parents and christian name, a foster child. both characters are subject to a past that greatly influences their character and actions. they grow up with an absence of role models to base themselves upon. both characters also mean to change themselves to suit their own agendas. Charley grows up hoping to emulate a father who isn't there, and does this through a taking up of the father's favorite sport: baseball. Jack hopes to mend his past as well by secretly christening himself for his fiance and ridding himself of his imaginary "brother". both central characters are meant by the author to attempt an impossible mending of their past.
however, there are slight differences in the overall theme meant by the writer. Charley lives a life of lies but falls into a downward spiral due to those actions. Jack on the other hand, only succeeds due to his lies. despite the difficulties both characters grow over time, but in different directions. one becoming increasingly corrupted, the other actually gaining what he wished for; Jack eventually discovers who his parents are, as well as his given name. this is due to the writer's intent. FOR ONE MORE DAY is meant as a tragedy, while THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is a comedy. both stories explore the consequences of missing integrity and gaining it.
sorry to do it now, scher. took me forever to find a good book to read for my theme. XD maybe thinking up a theme then findin the book... nahhh i like it this way! and hey, how come my google thingy only says CJ? my whole thing is CJnavalta. uhhh... i'm carlos! hi ms scher!
Kelvin Chan
ReplyDeleteThe theme in "The Importance of Beign Earnest" is the consequences of a secret identity. This theme has a similar theme to the movie "From Paris with Love". The movie is about James an assistant to an American Ambassador. James is forced to team up with Charlie an American Spy to hunt down terrorists and also prevent a possible terrorist attack. James also finds out that his girlfriend Caroline is a spy also working for terrorist. Charlie is the one that proves it by finding a bunch of wired bugs in James apartment but what convinced him was the ring that Caroline gave James had a frequency that responded to a stereo. That meant that Caroline was tracking James. This sends them into a chase with a confused and disgruntled boyfriend along side a spy against a betraying girlfriend where he questions her true identity.
Comparing Jack and Algernon to Caroline where all three of them have different identities. Caroline created a seperate identity in order to spy on an assistant to an American Ambassador in order to find out plans about a summit meeting. Just like Algernon and Jack created seperate indentities in pursuit of love. There is this scene in "From Paris with Love" when James invites Charlie to his apartment for dinner with Caroline and her friend. At the beginning of dinner it seemed alright but then Charlie finds some "bugs" in James apartment and also finds out about a secret word that Caroline says after a phone call. Then Charlie shoots Caroline's friend in the head and reveals that Caroline is a terrorist a gunfight goes off. That scene can be compared to the scene when Jack says that Ernest is now dead but then Algernon(Mr. Ernest's luggage....His luggage?) shows up as Ernest and this confusion goes on until they both have to reveal the truth. Even though at the end they both got their girls and Caroline gets shot in the head it still shows the importance of truth and moral and consequences of lies
Hi everybody,
ReplyDeleteWow, you've come back to life! If any of you ever start a band, you should name it The Procrastinators.
I am enjoying your responses (and am learning about books and movies I have not seen). It seems like many of you noticed themes around marriage, personae, and social class. We will talk more about these on Tuesday. Please don't forget to complete your microessays by Tuesday.
Sorry if you had trouble getting your post up, or if your name comes up strangely (like Carlos--hi Carlos).
The importance of being earnest resembles to iron man one (ending) and two (beginning) in having related topics. The theme shared between iron man and the importance of being earnest is that there are effects in having an alternate identity.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the two characters Jack and Algernon had good intentions with creating an identity “Earnest”, they both suffered the faith of their trickery by suffering the consequences of the built up lies. The main point of earnest was a way to “flirt”(2) with women for Jack and Algernon but they use Earnest in a way that conflicts with the twos individual intent. From the movie Iron Man Tony Stark also creates an alternate identity as Iron Man to sort of become a hero. The two situations connect because the main point of these identities is that they are ways or opportunities to get what the creators want. In The Importance of Being Earnest Jack and Algernon benefit from the action they committed by gaining women whom they end up marrying. Tony stark also gains from creating his identity by making his fathers legacy continue. This shows that the two methods benefited their creators in a positive way and they also were useful creations.
Although meant for good iron man was created for Tony Stark as a weapon and defense but from the movie some people consider Iron Man as a weapon only which can be replicated. This shows that there is a downfall to this alternate identity because the people from the movie wanted to get iron man from Tony. Likewise in The Importance of Being Earnest both men reveal their identities which is a “painful position”(40) for Jack. From this action both men suffer from it by seeing that the women were furious because “a gross deception”(39) has happened to them. This indicates that although there are positives in another personality bad consequences are bound to happen. Therefore the effect of an alternate identity is a reoccurring topic both expressed in Iron Man and Earnest.
I definately agree that the ending is an example of Deux Es Machina because at first no one is willing to fully accept him because of his lies and then out of nowhere Miss Prism comes and confirms that he's actually been telling the truth the entire time. So even though Jack/Ernest isnt a completely reliable person, no one really cares because Miss Prism came and saved the day.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Pagan
ReplyDeleteA theme in “The Importance of Being Earnest” is how people will go to great lengths to acquire the person they love. A novel that shares a similar theme is Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.”
In “The Importance of Being Earnest” Jack deceives Gwendolen by telling her that his name is really Earnest, and not Jack. Jack deceives Gwendolen because when he asks “But supposing it was something else? Do you mean to say you couldn’t love me?” (Wilde 10) she chuckles. In addition to this, she states “it does not thrill” and “it produces no vibrations whatsoever” (11). At the risk of being caught and not loved he hides his country name away from her and makes her keep believing his name is Earnest. In the novel “The Great Gatsby” Gatsby lies numerous times to his friend Nick in order to achieve his American Dream; Daisy. In addition to Gatsby being untruthful, he lies and takes the blame for killing Mrs. Wilson when he knows Daisy was the perpetrator. In both novels the characters are deceitful and lie to keep the people they love.
In “The Importance of Being Earnest” the theme is developed through the accounts of Jack and Algernon both becoming infatuated at first site while in “The Great Gatsby” the theme is developed through turning a blind eye to the truth. In “The Importance of Being Earnest” Algernon just meets Cecily and states he’s already in love with her. At first I believe he was just adding to the sardonic tone of the book to ‘piss off’ Jack, but it turns out to be infatuation and not false (wrote in first person. Sorry.). Ironically, Algernon discovers Cecily will only love him too if his name is Earnest, so he decides to keep lying also to secure his “love.” However, in “The Great Gatsby” Gatsby turns a blind eye to Daisy have a child with Tom, marrying him, and just overall being with him because he doesn’t like the thought of it. He pushes it all away to convince himself that Daisy never loved Tom even if she was with him for some years.
*Side Note* I think “The Importance of Earnest” was hilarious. I wouldn’t mind reading more plays like it! Oh, and I apologize for being so late. >.< No excuses.
A theme in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" is that major relationships such as love can be shallow and based on trivial properties. A work that shares this theme is the movie “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, in which Matt Damon plays a lower class young man struggling to make a living in New York City. He would usually be ignored by most members of the upper class but one day he borrows a princeton jacket and because of this a businessman approaches him and offers him a job. Using deceptive tactics such as these he is able to climb the social ladder based on false, trivial things. In both of these works the protagonist is able to acquire relationships based on trivial things such as a coat or a name.
ReplyDeleteBoth “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” share how relationships can be built up from trivial characteristics. “Earnest” brings out this theme when Jack falls in love with Gwendolen, but she only likes him because “[his] name is Earnest”(Wilde 10). Also, when Algernon proposes to Cecily she immediately accepts, but once again, only accepts due to his supposed name. Cecily pities any woman whose husband “is not called Earnest”(33). Both of these events demonstrate how something as serious as marriage can be based on such a trivial property, like one's name. This is similar to how Matt Damon is treated in “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. Matt starts out as a lower class common person, but through the use of a borrowed jacket and other status symbols he climbs the social ladder and lives a fake life based on trivial lies. This is similar because it shows how one can get far through the use of one simple lie.
However, there are a few differences in the theme in both works. In the play, both Jack's and Gwendolen's dishonesty about their names benefit them throughout the book. In the end of the play everything works itself out they both get to be together with the women that they love. Jack also discovers that his birth name is really “Ernest”(54). His success is due to his lie. This is different from the movie in which Matt builds up his lie throughout his life and gets pretty high on the social ladder, but in the end he is found out and exposed. These two works' themes demonstrate different views on the long term effects of relationships based on trivial properties.
-Alex Tsang
A major theme in “The Importance Of Being Earnest” is what may result in life, in this case, marriage, for those who are not earnest. Director Kim Hae-Gon’s movie “The Fate” is an entirely different piece of work, but however shares very similar themes. In “Earnest,” Algernon Moncrieff uses the term “Bunburyism” to venture anywhere for as long as he desires, while Jack Worthing creates a brother named “Earnest” in order to go to London whenever he desires. Wilde in the beginning of this play, exemplifies Jack and Algernon’s behavior as insincerity instead of earnestness. The star character U-min in “The Fate” attempts a very risky mission along with his three close friends Cheol Jung, Do-wan, and Yeong-hwan, to start a brand new, clean life, but however, puts their life in danger. Cheol Jung, in the middle of their mission, deceives them all, becomes a backstabber, and as a result, left U-min to take the fall, serving time in prison. The similarity between both the novel and movie is the outcome of being sincere and the consequences that follow if that sincerity is broken. Wilde sets up coincidental scenes for both Jack’s desired marriage for Gwendolen, and Algernon’s for Cecily, while in the process, follows with a revealed truth of neither of them being Ernest, but however ends happily. The ending is ironic because everything is set into place in this frivolous play. The issue in “The Fate” is a different story however since it is dealt with gangs. U-min is released, and confronts Cheol Jung, who is now rich and powerful in the gang world. Cheol Jung in the end, meets his fate, gets murdered because his friends have always had his back, but losing them and getting deeply involved with gang business led to his demise. “Earnest” would be an example of realization of what sincerity is, while “The Fate” is more of a resulted non-sincere consequence.
ReplyDeleteSorry, mine's kind of short.
ReplyDeleteA major theme of The Importance of Being Earnest is the criticism of the aristocrats view on marriage, which is used to increase or protect their wealth and social status. This is similar to a theme of another book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, where Janie’s marriage with Logan is also based on wealth/land and not true infatuation. In the former, before considering the allowing of her daughter to marry Jack, Lady Bracknell asks questions such as “What is your income?” (Wilde 13), signifying how she is most concerned with wealth when it comes to her daughter’s marriage. This can be compared with Janie’s marriage with Logan, which is organized by her grandmother in order to provide Janie with financial security. Although she believes that Janie will eventually learn to love Logan, she never does, resulting in her escaping with Joe Starks. By comparing the two works, it can be inferred that the use of marriage for financial gain is not exclusive to the members of any specific class, as Gwendolen and Janie belong to two very distinct social classes. However, there are also major differences between the two. While Janie is pushed by her grandma and the community to marry, Gwendolen feels an authentic attraction towards Jack. In both instances, members of their family seem to have the final say, and choose to prioritize benefits over love. The authors of both literary works may have used marriage to criticize the values of their respective cultures.
:P
ReplyDeleteOne of the themes in "The Importance of Being Earnest" is the importance of truth in your actions. A movie that shares a similar theme is Ratatouille. A pixar animated film (2007) about a rat who is "dying to become a chef" and meets Linguini, a boy who is hired as an escuelerie in the kitchen of a famous restaurant Gusteau's, located in France. When they meet, they decide to let Remy do all the cooking and Linguini gets hired as a chef, is tutored by the only woman chef in the kitchen, and falls in love.
ReplyDeleteSome of the main characters in "Earnest" and the main characters in Ratatouille have in common the fact that they are pretending to be someone they are not. Linguini, from Ratatouille, pretends to be an exceptional cook, when in fact, it is actually Remy, who is controlling his body and cooking for him from inside Linguinis toque. Likewise, Algernon from "Earnest" pretends to be Jacks brother, Ernest, while Jack goes by two names: "Ernest in town and Jack in the country..." (Wilde 5). These characters are the same because they are both hiding something from everyone else. Linguini conveys himself as an exceptional cook, when he really can't do anything, while Jack has "invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest: (6) and Algernon has "invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury" (6). Although Linguini is being dishonest about being a great cook, there is still good intentions in his actions because he is helping Remy fulfill his dream of becoming a chef. However, in "Earnest", Algernon and Jack have created "ill people" in order to go elsewhere when they are in situations they don't want to be in. In addition, when Jack doesn't tell Gwendolen, his love interest, that his name isn't Ernest and is Jack, he is dishonest because he doesn't want to be rejected after she says that "I pity any woman who is married to a man called John" (11). Algernon is in the same situation when he lets Cecily think that he is "[her] cousin Ernest" (24) and Cecily also says that she "[pities] any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest" (33). Therefore, even though in both pieces the main characters show falsehood, in "Earnest", it is mostly for shallow reasons, while in Ratatouille, it is for fulfillment and recognition.
In the end, Linguini and Remy are willing to tell the truth to Anton Ego, a food critic, who has asked to see the chef behind his meal that evening. Differently, Jack is "forced to speak the truth" (40) to Gwendolen and Cecily. Although the truth may have caused these characters to face the consequences, Linguini ends up with his own restaurant because he found out that his father was actually Gusteau, Remy is still able to cook in Linguinis new restaurant, Jack is able to find that his name is indeed Ernest, and who his family, and Jack/Ernest, Algernon, and Linguini all get the girl.. :D
This is Austin.
ReplyDelete@Jasmine: “…Waiting for somebody to troll on my response”= Calling me out?! :P Just kidding.
@Steven: By choosing a Korean movie you just earned +24 cool points from me. Woooo
Jokes aside..
A theme in “The Importance of Being Earnest” is the fallacy of the trivial and shallow ideology exhibited in those who place too much importance on wealth and status. This can be directly connected to how the play satirizes the life of Victorian Age aristocracy in Britain, and their reverence of earnestness as a crucial societal value. By having his characters place so much importance on trivial things meant to display such earnestness, Wilde portrays just how foolish and narrow-minded he believed the typical Victorian aristocrat to be. For example, in Act 1 Algernon goes on and on about the various rules of conduct that he believes one must follow, and that those who neglect to follow them are foolish. He looks down on his servant and the “lower orders” (Wilde 2) in general as having “absolutely no sense of moral responsibility” (2), and uses his status to qualify him to judge others based on ideals that he himself doesn’t even follow. One such contradiction that he makes is when he says that "one has to be serious about something if one is to have any amusement in life” (40), but goes on to reprimand Jack for “being serious about everything” (40). By imposing his judgment on others while failing to look past his own vanity, he exemplifies the Victorian lifestyle. Another part of the play that adds to the triviality of their ideology is when Cecily states that without the name ‘Ernest’, she would not be able to love Algernon completely, which represents the aristocrats’ nitpickiness regarding marriage, though satirized to be somewhat exaggerated. Through this style of satirical humor, Wilde is able to develop this kind of lifestyle as foolish and ludicrous; a complete fallacy that is fragile and bound to take away from one’s morality and sensitivity.
A work that shares this theme is the novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. It is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, and his ideological and ethical transformation from a stingy, abrasive miser to a man of kindness, compassion, and generosity. He accomplishes this after being confronted by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who teach him the error of his ways and what tragedies will become of him when he passes away. Scrooge, who was once too cheap to even buy a lump of coal for his clerk, now freely gives away his belongings in the spirit of Christmas. I feel like this exemplifies the theme stated earlier, because Scrooge’s single-mindedness on his finances causes him to lose sight of his humanity and compassion, instead shaping a shallow personality that gives no kindness and rejects all kindness as well. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him that if he continues to be blinded by the trivialities of wealth, he will die alone and would be robbed of everything he had spent his hollow life accumulating. This supports the fallacy of such a way of life, and that no matter how much you build on your wealth and fame, without human understanding and emotion to fill it, it is doomed to crumble.
ReplyDeleteWait shoot! Mrs. Scher, ignore that last post.. I used 'you' and 'I' D:
ReplyDeleteLet me fix it and I'll post it again. I posted it as a guest so I'm not sure how to delete it..
A work that shares this theme is the novella “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. It is the tale of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, and his ideological and ethical transformation from a stingy, abrasive miser to a man of kindness, compassion, and generosity. He accomplishes this after being confronted by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who teach him the error of his ways and what tragedies will become of him when he passes away. Scrooge, who was once too cheap to even buy a lump of coal for his clerk, now freely gives away his belongings in the spirit of Christmas. This exemplifies the theme stated earlier, because Scrooge’s single-mindedness on his finances causes him to lose sight of his humanity and compassion, instead shaping a shallow personality that gives no kindness and rejects all kindness as well. The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come shows him that if he continues to be blinded by the trivialities of wealth, he will die alone and would be robbed of everything he had spent his hollow life accumulating. This supports the fallacy of such a way of life, and that no matter how much one builds on his/her wealth and fame, without human understanding and emotion to fill it, it is doomed to crumble.
ReplyDeleteThere we go! Just ignore the last copy of it pleasee
ReplyDeletehaha austin, you would know it's a korean movie. Why don't you just delete your last one then.
ReplyDelete@Steven: He said he doesn't know how to.
ReplyDelete@Austin: Yeah, I was actually calling you out, because I know you would.
@Steven: Yeah.. Like Jasmine said, I posted the first two on a temporary thing, so I dunno how to remove them. :(
ReplyDelete@Jasmine: Not always.. :D
Has Matthew been notified about the Sunday Midnight deadline?
ReplyDeleteAn occurring theme in Oscar Wilde’s play, “The Importance Being Earnest” is love at first sight can be interrupted by the greed of others. This is similar to one of the major themes of the best-selling novel and acclaimed movie The Notebook which is the base of the great love story. Resembling the play, the main character Noah is hit with love at first sight upon the first meeting of Allie, just as Jack’s first encounter with Gwendolen and Algernon’s first encounter with Cecily. Noah and Allie spent days getting closer to each other as their love blossoms fully toward the end of the summer , but ever since Noah’s first sight with Allie he knew she was the one he truly loved. On the contrast, both Jack and Algernon immediately pledged their love and request for marriage to Gwendolen and Cecily once they first met. Their decisions show that they rush into love and marriage even though they have only known each other for a short time.
ReplyDeleteIn both works, the parents or guardians/older advisors are an interruption to the love of each couple. Allie comes from a wealthy family while Noah comes from a lower class. This class difference affects Allie and Noah relationship when Noah is questioned by Allie’s parents who quickly separate the two and insist that he is not right for her. Similarly, the situation on the wishes of guardians towards their children is shown when Lady Bracknell questions both Jack (Wilde 12) and Cecily (49) of background information and most importantly how economically stable they are. After interviewing Jack, Lady Bracknell decides that her daughter Gwendolen should not marry Jack prior to her wishes. Both Allie’s parents and Lady Brackwell are concerned of their children’s financial and upper class stability upon marriage. Thus, they share an overwhelming desire for their children to be married based on their expectations for they believe it would be best. They merely don’t accept the love between the two because of their aspiration for their children. As time passes, a change in social class of both Noah and Jack changes the parents’ view of the situation. Toward the end of the play, Jack finds out that he is Algernon’s brother and his real name is Ernest (53) which automatically makes him of the wealthy class. Noah, on the other hand becomes wealthier as time goes by upon owning a house which claims to be worth a large sum of money that all the rich folk offer on buying from him. This lets their relationship continue without any interruptions. True love can be affected by the desires of parents and tear relationships apart. Although, The Notebook stretches the passionate love story throughout time while “The Importance Of Being Ernest” is a short comedic play, they both share the theme of love at first sight affects their relationship because of class order and influence of others, but yet as fate comes into play the couples- Noah and Allie, Jack/Ernest and Gwendolen and Algernon and Cecily end up happily together in love.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA theme within "The Importance Of Being Earnest" is that of maintaining social status. When discussing the prospect of Jack and Gwendolen marrying, an issue is that she would be "to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel" (Wilde 15). This touches upon a quite heavy issue inherent within aristocracy, and that is "marrying beneath" one of their social status. Such a response to Jack's supposed origins at the time easily shows how widely accepted the belief was at the time, and it's almost contemptible the manner in which Lady Bracknell chose to uphold them. Though it is a more modern view, the idea that an engagement could be absolved after the two participants had agreed to it merely because of a lack of parentage is easily pretentious and shallow. What further makes this somewhat frustrating is how Lady Bracknell casually mentions that "every luxury that money could buy" (53) was given to Jack after his identity is revealed. The fact that she makes note of materialistic items as one of the first items on her agenda after his parentage is shown is quite abhorrent. Rather, the importance of wealth and not lowering your social status is highlighted here, and seems to be entirely lacking in depth.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to this, the play "Othello", written by William Shakespeare takes a quite different view at marriage. In the play, two people of radically different background and ethnicity choose to marry each other, despite how others would view it. The bride, Desdemona, is the daughter of a Venetian senator, while the husband, Othello, is a general in the army. In the scenario, the act of Desdemona marrying into a lower class, despite the opposition of her father, is an easy indicator as to Shakespeare's idea on the issue. That is, unlike "The Importance Of Being Earnest", the two main characters chose to move forward with the marriage, disapproval or no. This manner of action is not entirely unheard of, eloping being something that leaps to mind, but it is a view that is much more easily accepted by a modern reader. Not merely that, though, but Othello is a moor, or of African descent, whereas Desdemona is European in ancestry. The disregard of social class shown here reveal Shakespeare's ability to criticize or mock the rigidity of class and race in determining a potential spouse. Such an outlook is quite laudable, and entirely valid in viewpoint.
ReplyDelete