Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Physical Journey in The Importance Of Being Earnest

      In literary compositions, an idea or theme can be conveyed by a journey, during which the characters experience or are affected by something that is central to the plot of the work. In The Importance Of Being Earnest Both of the major characters Jack and Algernon travel away from the area they most frequently live in, the country and the city, respectively, so that they might live under another name and under false pretenses, so as to escape responsibility that they face at their usual residences.
      The major conflict arises when Jack, who pretends to be named Earnest when visiting with his soon to be fiancee Gwendolen, mentions that she should come to see him, at his home in the country. Algernon, Jacks friend overhears this and secretly decides to go as well, in order to meet Jacks young ward, Cecily. This only all becomes a problem, because Jack pretends to visit his brother Earnest when talking with Cecily, and pretends to be Earnest when talking with Gwendolen, and Algernon visits pretending to be Earnest as well. This becomes an issue, as Cecily falls in love with Algernon who is Earnest, at the same time that Gwendolen is in love with Jack, who is Earnest.
      This all contributes to the social commentary made by Oscar Wilde in regards to the absurdity of the time period, and the ridiculous behavior of the supposed high society. Had any let alone all of the characters been honest or serious in the reasons for doing anything, none of the conflict would have occurred, but they were all so preoccupied with what was fashionable, that rational thought completely passed them by. They wished to constantly travel away from where they were, as an escape from responsibility, and when they all traveled to the wrong place, at the wrong time, it all comes crashing down.
      As the major conflict continues, all of the characters become increasingly pettier, and upset with one another over the most insignificant things, such as muffins. They completely miss the point that they caused the huge problem by lying to get away with traveling where they please. Lest it seem that only the men in this story were so absurd, both women, almost as fast as they agreed to their marriage proposals, rescind them upon finding out that neither man is named Earnest. No character in the text is earnest, none of them show any serious thought or emotion for more than a brief sentence.
      In conclusion, the major theme of the absurdity of the time period, which caused the characters to act as they did in their travels, would have been impossible to express without the journeys of Jack and Algernon, to the city and country, and without the journey of Algernon and Gwendolen to Jacks home. All of this traversing was necessary for the the climax of the convergence of lies and conflicting stories to occur.