importance of being earnest
In Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, the conversations between characters reveal a lot about their relationships and create a language. The relationship of Earnest and Gwendolen is primarily based on a surface characteristic; his name. Gwendolyn is only attracted to Earnest because of his name, because she is so consumed by what others will think. Cecily is portrayed as the wholesome girl in this play who is attracted to the devious and mysterious Algernon. However, their relationship proves to work out because of their similarities that can be seen through the intelligence that they both share. Ms. Prism chooses to keep her relationship pure, and chooses not to involve herself in a sexual relationship with Chasuble. However, it is clear that through the language she chooses to use, she may not truly believe in this celibate lifestyle she has chosen. All of these relationships show the interactions between the two members. Some share the same values, and some have conflicting values. Each couple does end up having their own specific way of working out whether they speak the same language or not.
Algernon and Cecily come from different backgrounds and different stories, but I think they do, in fact, share a common language. I found both of their personalities to have a sort of cynical fixation. I think these two characters connect well together. They are both cynical in their own way. Algernon is a clever and devious trickster. He knows how to get information and what to do with it. Cecily likes this wicked quality and has a fascination with the dark side. Both characters have brilliantness to them. When they first met Cecily said, “I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time,” (Wilde 1752). This caught Algernon off guard because he wasn’t expecting to meet his match of ingenuity. Algernon was able to concoct a way to meet Cecily, and she was almost able to see through him. The
Algernon and Cecily come from different backgrounds and different stories, but I think they do, in fact, share a common language. I found both of their personalities to have a sort of cynical fixation. I think these two characters connect well together. They are both cynical in their own way. Algernon is a clever and devious trickster. He knows how to get information and what to do with it. Cecily likes this wicked quality and has a fascination with the dark side. Both characters have brilliantness to them. When they first met Cecily said, “I hope you have not been leading a double life, pretending to be wicked and being really good all the time,” (Wilde 1752). This caught Algernon off guard because he wasn’t expecting to meet his match of ingenuity. Algernon was able to concoct a way to meet Cecily, and she was almost able to see through him. The
Cited: Wilde, Oscar. “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The Norton Anthology English Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. Crawfordsville, Illinois: Norton and Company, 2012. 1774 to 1776. Book.