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Does Wilde Treat Victorian Values Were Perpetuated Through Courtship And Marriage

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Does Wilde Treat Victorian Values Were Perpetuated Through Courtship And Marriage
English IV-College Prep, Chandler
2nd Semester (‘08)
The Importance of Being Earnest Essay Exam

PURPOSE OF AN ESSAY EXAM: The purposes of this type of exam complement the purposes of this course: 1. to prepare you for college English and 2. to prepare you to write in all college classes. This essay will require that you synthesize the major concepts in the play we have studied and further develop your writing skills. This type of essay is very common in college. You will frequently be asked to write an exam essay in a 1 to 2 hour test period. Sometimes you will be able to prepare in advance, sometimes not. Believe me, it is better to learn here with me than to learn in college when the semester essay exam can count up to 40% of your total course grade. …show more content…
Consider chronological organization for your essay.

Courtship and Marriage
Topic #1: Oscar Wilde felt Victorian values were perpetuated through courtship and marriage, both of which had their own rules and rituals. Marriage was a careful selection process. It is presented as a legal contract between consenting families of similar fortunes; background, love, and happiness have little to do with it. How does Wilde treat the Victorian marriage values?
Duty and Respectability
Topic #2: The aristocratic Victorians valued duty and respectability above all else. Earnestness—a determined and serious desire to do the correct thing—was at the top of the code of conduct. Appearance was everything, and style was much more important than substance. So, while a person could lead a secret life, carry on affairs within marriage or have children outside of wedlock, society would look the other way as long as the appearance of propriety was maintained. For this reason, Wilde questions whether the more important or serious issues of the day are overlooked in favor of trivial concerns about appearance. How does Wilde show his attitudes toward the Victorian ideals of duty and respectability?
The Absence of
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