Summary The curtain opens on the flat of wealthy Algernon Moncrieff in London’s fashionable West End. While Algernon (Algy‚ for short) plays the piano‚ his servant (Lane) is arranging cucumber sandwiches for the impending arrival of Algernon’s aunt (Lady Bracknell) and her daughter (Gwendolen). Mr. Jack Worthing (a friend of Moncrieff’s and known to him as Ernest) arrives first. Jack announces that he plans to propose marriage to Gwendolen‚ but Algernon claims that he will not consent to their
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In Act 2 of The Importance of Being Earnest‚ Oscar Wilde uses irony to comment on the‚ absurd nature of the Victorian morals and values‚ context as well as highlight the satire‚ that he implemented‚ and humour. In the scene‚ Cecily admonishes Algy‚ who is pretending to be Ernest by saying‚ "I hope you have not been leading a double life‚ pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time. That would be hypocrisy." This is a use of dramatic irony as usually the act of being a hypocrite is
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Social Class in Sense and Sensibility In her first published novel‚ Sense and Sensibility‚ Jane Austen brought to life the struggles and instability of the English hierarchy in the early 19th century. Through the heartaches and happiness shared by Elinor Dashwood‚ who represented sense and her sister Marianne‚ who stood for sensibility‚ Austen tells a story of sisters who plummet from the upper class to the lower crust of society and the characters that surround them. Austen juxtaposes the upper
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identity. The play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a clear example of when individuals find that their identities are being suppressed by society and‚ therefore‚ find ways to express who they want to be or who they are in different‚ more creative ways. Two factors that influence a person’s identity the most are circumstances and society. Circumstances influence a person’s values‚ morals‚ and ideals‚ while societies‚ specifically strict societies such as the Victorian era‚ suppress
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The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is regarded by many as one of the wittiest plays in the English language. However‚ it is not simply a “trivial comedy‚” as its title proposes‚ but also a cutting satire appraising the conventions of Victorian society‚ chiefly the upper class. Much of Wilde’s social commentary is portrayed through the speech of the dictatorial Lady Bracknell‚ who embodies Victorian upper class conventions. Having ascended to her current high social
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Sense vs. Sensibility Making choices is fundamental to our lives. When we are making decisions‚ the biggest paradox may be the conflict between the sense and the sensibility. It has been over two hundred years since Jane Austen wrote the novel Sense and Sensibility‚ yet to our surprise nothing has really changed. We still struggle to make the moral and ethical choices that people have struggled with over the years. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”‚ Martin Luther King Jr. broke unjust laws and engaged
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majority of the nineteenth century) upheld very specific ideals that shaped the culture of that time period. These specific social‚ cultural‚ and intellectual ideals of Victorian England can be explored in the famous play by Oscar Wilde‚ “The Importance of Being Earnest.” This play is set in the late 1890’s‚ and features two young couples who struggle to overcome the misgivings‚
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a satire being‚ ‘the use of humour‚ irony‚ exaggeration‚ or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity’‚ it is ludicrous to even propose that The Importance of Being Earnest is anything other than a satirical play‚ as the characters relishing in the upper class of the Victorian period unknowingly mock their own habits acquired to them due to the luxury they are spoilt with. Despite this‚ it is evident that the use of satire is feckless and lacks a moral point of view‚ in contrast with the
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satisfy their creative urges. For the most part‚ when adapting the play The Importance of Being Earnest‚ director Rob Parker stayed pretty faithful to the original source material. However‚ he did make a very slight amount of changes when making his film. Through his decision making Parker was able to create a film the was unique but still highly based on the play that he was adapting. In The Importance of Being Earnest film Parker stayed faithful to the dialogue‚ made slight
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The presented for interpretation and stylistic analyses short extract is a part from the novel Sense and Sensibility written by J. Austen. The text passage begins with the description of last events of Dashwood family. When Mr. Dashwood dies‚ his estate‚ Norland Park‚ passes directly to his only son John‚ the child of his first wife. His second wife‚ Mrs. Dashwood‚ and their daughters are left only a small income. The author passes on‚ saying that on his deathbed‚ Mr. Dashwood extracts a promise
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