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Secrecy In The Importance Of Being Earnest Essay

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Secrecy In The Importance Of Being Earnest Essay
Secrecy In The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, secrecy holds a great significance in allowing Jack and Algernon to retain their double lives. These double lives are used by the two to achieve relationships with the women they desire. Early on, the character’s will to retain their double lives empowers the two to develop negative relationships with each other. Eventually however, Jack and Algernon realize that through telling the truth, true happiness can really be found. Early on in the play, secrecy was a necessity for the two main characters of Jack and Algernon. It could be considered a normal part of their lives. Jack would continue being Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. Algernon also has his own form of secrecy …show more content…
The plot consequently shifts from a web of lies into a confession of truth and discoveries that stem back to the discovery of Jack and Algernon’s secret lives. Oscar Wilde’s use of lies that ultimately lead to truth provides for an extremely interesting work that holds attention right until the end of the play. The in depth view into the minds of both “bunburyists” brings about feelings of justification for lying as the two did. Ultimately they lived fake lives to achieve love that they felt could not be achieved any other way, and in the end, they only had to be themselves to receive the love they desired. This builds towards the greater meaning of the play, It is better to be yourself than to lie to gain the love of others. Jack and Algernon realize this at the end of the play, and as soon as they do they attain the satisfaction they had been searching for. The use of secrecy by Jack and Algernon throughout The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde allows the two to gain temporary satisfaction. However throughout the play, the importance of being honest is stressed and eventually is shown through the reveal of the character’s true identities. They realize that if they accept themselves for who they are and own up to their responsibilities, they can achieve the true happiness they each desire, through relationships with

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