Bunburying In The Importance Of Being Ernest
Oscar Wilde, author of the play The Importance of Being Earnest, once said “man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Wilde understands that everyone has their own way of hiding the truth about who they truly are and everyone has their own way of how they portray that side of themselves. In The Importance of Being Earnest, many characters use the technique of bunburying to hide their true selves and escape from reality. Proper etiquette is something everyone strives for in social situations. Algernon uses bunburying to keep a good image on his reputation with his family and friends. Algernon uses his made up friend to politely decline a dinner offer that he was not interested in
…show more content…
Whether it’s causing more drama or to have a place to relax and let loose, having the opportunity to be someone else for a little bit without any consequences seems appealing and it was to both Jack and Cecily. Jack used his creation of Ernest to have a relationship with Gwendolen. Gwendolen asked Jack if him creating Ernest ‘was in order that [he] might have an opportunity of coming up to town to see [her] as often as possible” (44) and Jack couldn’t deny it. However, Cecily’s approach was different. The form of bunburying she used was creating scenarios in her head and writing them in her diary. She recalls “that [she] was forced to write your letters for [Algernon]. [She] wrote always three times a week, and sometimes oftener” (32), while we know she was writing these letters to add an entertainment aspect to her life. Social masks can add to many dimensions of a person life and make their life seem more interesting than it actually is. Oscar Wilde use of bunburying shows the resemblance to many social masks in today’s society. While today’s techniques aren’t often as dramatic as having a second identity or making up a person, people will go to extremes to hide their true selves. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest use bunburying to keep up their good appearances, to escape from reality, and to add some drama to their life. Now whether this is morally right is a whole different
Whether it’s causing more drama or to have a place to relax and let loose, having the opportunity to be someone else for a little bit without any consequences seems appealing and it was to both Jack and Cecily. Jack used his creation of Ernest to have a relationship with Gwendolen. Gwendolen asked Jack if him creating Ernest ‘was in order that [he] might have an opportunity of coming up to town to see [her] as often as possible” (44) and Jack couldn’t deny it. However, Cecily’s approach was different. The form of bunburying she used was creating scenarios in her head and writing them in her diary. She recalls “that [she] was forced to write your letters for [Algernon]. [She] wrote always three times a week, and sometimes oftener” (32), while we know she was writing these letters to add an entertainment aspect to her life. Social masks can add to many dimensions of a person life and make their life seem more interesting than it actually is. Oscar Wilde use of bunburying shows the resemblance to many social masks in today’s society. While today’s techniques aren’t often as dramatic as having a second identity or making up a person, people will go to extremes to hide their true selves. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest use bunburying to keep up their good appearances, to escape from reality, and to add some drama to their life. Now whether this is morally right is a whole different