Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance Of Being Ernest'
Dillon Ho
Professor Mushik
English 1C
30 May 2018
An Interpretation of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest allows the reader to question the value of morals and whether they are significant or not. His work may be argued to be “quite useless” to some, but may be impactful to others. In this sense, it may be both meaningful as a piece of art and entertainment. The “moral” of the play, if anything, suggests that one in fact can be rewarded by being less than earnest and presents itself at the end of the play when Jack’s unhonesty is met with a happy ending. Wilde presents us with an ironic play that leaves us with an opposite lesson that none of the characters benefit from propriety and implies there is little importance …show more content…
The deep level that Wilde goes through to map out an ambiguous story that has meanings on multiple levels relates to the openness that a work of art can provide. Value of the word Earnest begins to lose meaning as Jack lies about his name and even so does not act in that way. Algernon said, “You have invented a very useful young brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.” (Act I, pg. 1607) The young brother named Ernest refers to how Jack introduces himself as Ernest to everyone and doesn’t tell them his real name. Throughout the play Jack gets away with this and it can be realized that Wilde’s work goes beyond the level of entertainment. Furthermore, Jack tells Algernon, “It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression.” (Act I, pg. 1607) It’s ironic for him to say it is vulgar to be someone you are not because he lies about his identity. Looking at the interaction between the two men and taking a closer look at Jack, Wilde’s play reaches into the zone of moral question. A play for simple joy and entertainment would likely only incorporate positive motifs and conclude with a happy ending, but The
Professor Mushik
English 1C
30 May 2018
An Interpretation of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest allows the reader to question the value of morals and whether they are significant or not. His work may be argued to be “quite useless” to some, but may be impactful to others. In this sense, it may be both meaningful as a piece of art and entertainment. The “moral” of the play, if anything, suggests that one in fact can be rewarded by being less than earnest and presents itself at the end of the play when Jack’s unhonesty is met with a happy ending. Wilde presents us with an ironic play that leaves us with an opposite lesson that none of the characters benefit from propriety and implies there is little importance …show more content…
The deep level that Wilde goes through to map out an ambiguous story that has meanings on multiple levels relates to the openness that a work of art can provide. Value of the word Earnest begins to lose meaning as Jack lies about his name and even so does not act in that way. Algernon said, “You have invented a very useful young brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.” (Act I, pg. 1607) The young brother named Ernest refers to how Jack introduces himself as Ernest to everyone and doesn’t tell them his real name. Throughout the play Jack gets away with this and it can be realized that Wilde’s work goes beyond the level of entertainment. Furthermore, Jack tells Algernon, “It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression.” (Act I, pg. 1607) It’s ironic for him to say it is vulgar to be someone you are not because he lies about his identity. Looking at the interaction between the two men and taking a closer look at Jack, Wilde’s play reaches into the zone of moral question. A play for simple joy and entertainment would likely only incorporate positive motifs and conclude with a happy ending, but The