...Theme of death in The Importance of Being Earnest It is obvious from the very first conversation in the play (between Algernon and Jack) that the characters are lackadaisical in their actions and views. This theme continues through the play, evident in the ridiculously comical and odd comments they make, their eccentric and aloof mannerisms and their general air. Many might look at The Importance of Being Earnest and see it as a play wrought with frivolities and meaninglessness, including author Oscar Wilde himself, who described it as "A trivial comedy for serious people." However, the play does contain a few serious undertones which are subtle enough that most readers (serious people or not) fail to notice them. One of the most noticeable of these is the trend of death. Death is mentioned several times throughout the play, in the form of flippant comments and offhand jokes. The initial thought one might have when realising the frequency with which death is mentioned in the play is that this was added to give the play dimension and a bit of dark humour. That may be true, but at the same time it highlights and compliments the lighthearted and flippant theme that is so evident throughout. Since the characters in Being Earnest* do not act in a manner that is appropriate or socially acceptable in modern times, it would make sense that their view on death, as a group, is exceedingly callous. The subject is handled with less gravity than most other issues (such as the consumption...
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...Techniques of a Well Made Play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest End of Term Project Ivy Koranteng Saint Peter’s Insurance Page 1 Techniques of a Well Made Play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest A well-made play usually opens with a discussion where the actors reveal essential information to the audience. This is set up in way where information logical to the plot is brought up in a conversation. The techniques of a well-made play include revelation of a secret, suspense, conflicts, mistaken identity and a climatic scene resolving all the problems in end. Majority of well-made plays are comedies, however Ibsen’s A Doll house, although it is a drama, it has most of the characteristics of a well-made play. In the beginning of the play, Ibsen uses conversation between Nora and Mrs. Linde to set up the plot of the play. Mrs. Linde, an old school mate of Nora, pays her a visit to see if her husband Torvald could help her secure employment at the bank where he works. During the visit, the two of them catch up on what has been going on in each other’s life, which is perfectly logically for two old friends to do. It is through their conversation that Nora’s secret that she took out a loan to go on a trip to help save her husband’s life without his knowledge is revealed to the audience. She had to keep the secret from her husband because he does not believe in taking out loans...
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...“Wilde empowers his female characters but also undermines them”. To what extent do you agree with this view? Wilde’s comedy of manners play, The Importance of Being Earnest, holds a satirical outlook on Victorian life. Wilde uses both satire and farce in his play written and set in 1895 to depict a slightly exaggerated version of society as it was, with all its forms of hypocrisy, double standards and repression of women. Wilde chose to invert the usual gender roles in Victorian literature by portraying the women with a position of power and influence in their relationships and the men as fairly passive. However, as Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff “Bunbury” about the women they love, they appear to dominate not only their facades but the women’s own lives and relationships. In addition, Wilde uses comedic effects throughout the play when presenting Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, allowing them to be seen collectively as foolish and incredibly naïve. Lady Bracknell is first and foremost a symbol of Victorian earnestness. Initially, we see that she is powerful, arrogant, conservative, and proper. In many ways, she represents Wilde's negative opinion of the Victorian upper-class, their power and conservative and repressive values. Lady Bracknell's authority and power are extended over each and every character in the play. Her decision about the suitability of both marriages in the play provides the conflict of the story. She tells her daughter quite...
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...The Importance of Being Earnest—Oscar Wilde Plot Summary: 1. Mr. Earnest Worthing (Jack) enters Algernon Moncrieff’s flat in the Mayfair section of London’s Went End claiming to be visiting in town for “pleasure”. When Algernon informs him that Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen will be coming by, Jack, delighted, confides in Algernon of his intentions to propose to Gwendolen. 2. Jack and Algernon have a debate over whether the subject of marriage is of “business” or “pleasure” which eventually leads to Algernon confronting Jack about the “cigarette case Mr. Worthing left.” 3. Algernon forces Jack to explain the inscription on the inside of the case: from “little Cecily” to “her dear Uncle Jack”. Jack admits that his name is not Earnest but rather Jack, claiming that he is “Earnest in town and Jack in the country.” 4. Jack tells Algernon about the false brother he created as an excuse to get out of the country. Algernon tells Jack that he has invented a friend call Bunbury whose sudden illnesses give him Algernon a chance to get away to the country. 5. Jack tells Algernon that if Gwendolen consents to marry him then he will “kill off” his imaginary brother Earnest, as “little Cecily” is getting too interested in Earnest. Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. 6. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that due to the illness of his friend Bunbury he will be able to keep their dinner appointment. Lady Bracknell replies by voicing her irritation about Bunbury’s...
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...How are Victorian attitudes to marriage and respectability satirised in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’? Oscar Wilde uses the play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ to mock and ridicule the attitudes and popular conceptions towards marriage and respectability of the upper class in his own time which he believed to be purely superficial. Through the use of controversial satirical caricatures- in particular Lady Bracknell - Wilde often exaggerates behaviour and language when addressing the topic of marriage to instigate humour. The comedy which is thus generated by Wilde’s epigrams, stereotypes and heavy irony invites the audience to laugh at the ridiculousness of their own attitudes in order to teach them a moral lesson. Marriage has always been subject to the whims of fashion, but in Wilde’s era the problem as he saw it, was that marriage appeared to have lost any connection with love. The societal rules and rituals which had to be followed for the arrangement of a marriage were necessary to sustain or improve an individual’s social position; eligibility was determined by a thorough interrogation of an individual’s name, wealth, family background and rank. However it could be argued that far from pushing the boundaries in making the audience understand their shallow values in relation to marriage and respectability one of the huge structural ironies of the comedy is that all characters marry their social equals- whether this is because Wilde thinks that they deserve each other...
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... 2014 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank prof. Mgr Franková , CSc., M.A. and PhDr. Věra Pálenská, CSc. for their guidance, advice and kind encouragement. Table of Contents Preface ...............................................................................................2 Introduction ......................................................................................3 Chapter I – The Way of the World 1.1 In General ..................................................................................8 1.2 True Wit and False Wit ............................................................9 1.3 Courtship and Love .................................................................14 1.4 Invention vs. Reality ................................................................18 Chapter II – The Importance of Being Earnest 2.1 In General ................................................................................22 2.2 True Wit and False Wit ..........................................................23 2.3 Courtship and Love ................................................................28 2.4 Invention vs. Reality ...............................................................32 Conclusion .....................................................................................
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...The importance of being Earnest Values and attitudes of 1895 – 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. Gwendolen is the paragon of this value. Her marriage proposal must be performed correctly, and her brother even practices correct proposals. Gwendolen's aristocratic attitude is "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing." The trivial is important; the serious is overlooked. • The tea ceremony in Act II is a hilarious example of Wilde's contention that manners and appearance are everything. The guise of correctness is the framework for war. Both women, thinking they are engaged to the same person, wage a civilized "war" over the tea service while the servants silently watch. When Gwendolen requests no sugar, Cecily adds four lumps to her cup. Although she asks for bread and butter, Gwendolen is given a large slice of cake. Her true feelings come out only in an aside that Cecily...
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...In the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde it provides humor by differentiating the society in which they say they are, but are acting differently and eventually are being made fun of. It demonstrates this by using imagery and the tone it creates that shows how they take society and think about love. This novel will be consider as a satire as well because it makes fun of the Victorian period. In act 2, Oscar Wilde uses imagery to show how Cecily’s letters are a fantasy that demonstrates how her relationship with Earnest was even though it was just part of her imagination. Before Algernon’s departure to the city, he questioned Cecily what was she talking about, “My letters! But, my own sweet Cecily, I have never written you letters”. Algernon was not aware of the letters in which he thought it never existed. Cecily’s answer was, “I remember only too well that I was forced to write your letters for you.” Even though Algernon (Ernest) never had the intention to write letters, she had the desire to do it herself, so she would not feel lonely and still have the desire to love him and marry him because of his name Ernest. We can see that the letters are just written things that are not even true....
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...beginning from the institution of a suit in 1965 in the lower court, going in appeal to the Division Court, from there in second appeal to the Single Judge of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana who referred it to the Division Bench of the High Court, and then finally being disposed by the Honorable Supreme Court of India in 1990. The case assumes importance as it relates to some very important questions of law, which were finally put to rest by this judgment of the Honorable Supreme Court of India. This matter deals with the question of the jurisdiction of the civil courts in matters of Land Revenue. The other question that has been deliberated upon in this matter is as regards to the nature of Section 85 and Section 86 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887. These Sections being analogous to Rule 84, 85, and 86 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 have been interpreted in light of the interpretation afforded to these Rules of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. FACTUAL MATRIX OF THE MATTER At the heart of the dispute was the allegation that Sardara Singh had been appointed as the substitute Lambaradar on 8th November, 1957 for District Ferozpur replacing the previous substitute, Hardit Singh (the original Lambardar being Narain Singh, who had undertaken liability for the land revenue which was in arrears). It was alleged that despite collection of the amount by Sardara, the same had not been deposited with the Government Treasury; consequently he was prosecuted under Section 409...
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...People tell white lies so they don’t hurt other people. Oscar Wilde uses satire in many different forms in the play called The Importance of Being Earnest. The one that is going to be explained in this essay is lies. Lying can become a second nature for some people. Oscar wilde makes fun of people for telling the truth and saying that they should lie. Lying is being untruthful to make yourself to look better. The two main people that lie in this play are Jack and Algernon and they lie over little things. They both lie to the girls they like and say that their names were Ernest “I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name Ernest , who lives in Albany and gets into the most dreadful scrapes” (Jack Act 1). This...
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...The Importance of being Earnest - THEMES # Lies and Deceit: The most prevalent reason characters in The Importance of Being Earnest lie is to get out of social or familial duties and, instead, to do something more enjoyable. Not surprisingly, few characters hold honesty in high regard. However, we see how hard it is for characters to set things straight once they’ve lied about them. As the situation gets increasingly complicated, characters must weave more complex lies to get out of the tangles of their previous lies. Eventually they reach the point where lies will no longer work and the truth is revealed. Perhaps the most striking thing is that none of the characters ever shows true remorse or guilt about lying. 1. Algernon: Yes. But why does your aunt call you her uncle? 'From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack.' There is no objection, I admit, to an aunt being a small aunt, but why an aunt, no matter what her size may be, should call her own nephew her uncle, I can't quite make out. Besides, your name isn't Jack at all; it is Ernest. Jack: It isn't Ernest; it's Jack Jack lies to cover up his double life. A simple white lie that he doesn’t know anyone named "Cecily" gets him into an incredibly messy situation. When he’s forced to admit he does know a "Cecily," he tries to pass her off as his aunt. But Algy, a fellow Bunburyist, eventually sniffs it all out and forces Jack to confess. What is most surprising is that Jack seems to have no shame...
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...Challenges and trials e. The real reason to go—always self-knowledge 2. Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion a. Whenever people eat or drink together, it’s communion b. Not usually religious c. An act of sharing and peace d. A failed meal carries negative connotations 3. Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires a. Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man, attractive but evil, violates a young woman, leaves his mark, takes her innocence b. Sexual implications—a trait of 19th century literature to address sex indirectly c. Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness, exploitation, refusal to respect the autonomy of other people, using people to get what we want, placing our desires, particularly ugly ones, above the needs of another. 4. If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet 5. Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? a. There is no such thing as a wholly original work of literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of other poems. b. There is only one story—of humanity and human nature, endlessly repeated c. “Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between one story and another deepens our appreciation and experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text, which we may not be conscious of. The more consciously aware we are, the more alive the text becomes to us. d. If you don’t recognize the correspondences, it’s ok. If a story is no good, being based on Hamlet won’t save it. 6. When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare… ...
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...rage” (Berman 58). Narcissus and Frankenstein are both disoriented by ostensible renditions of their own internal conflicts. The creature’s acts of violence are external representations of Victor Frankenstein’s internal rage. It is ironic that his own self-replication in the form of the creature brings him to his eventual demise. Another element that correlates with the Narcissus story pertains to the escapes and pursuits that are present in the novel. “Since Mary Shelley’s novel employs the element of flight (Walton to the pole, Victor from the Creature, the Creature in pursuit of Victor), Frankenstein embodies an additional element of the Narcissus complex” (Kestner 69-70). The grandiosity of his creation and pursuits end in a chase to eliminate any evidence of his mistakes. Jeffrey Berman summarizes all of these examples in comparison of narcissistic personality disorder: Victor exhibits, in fact, all the characteristics of the narcissistic personality disorder as defined in DSM-III: a grandi- sense of self-importance; preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; exhibitionism; cool indifference or feelings of...
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...the most revered Irish novelist, playwright, essayist and poet in the Irish literature and culture renaissance. With his rather comfortable beginnings—being the son of a revered oto-ophthalmologic surgeon who was knighted—Wilde seemed to have the whole world laid out before him. And in his adventures he carved out a name for himself, remembered today for his peculiar writing...
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...STRATEGIC ORGANIZATION Vol 4(2): 201–211 DOI: 10.1177/1476127006064069 Copyright ©2006 Sage Publications (London,Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) http://so.sagepub.com S O ! A P B OX E D I TO R I A L E S S AY S Why managers need an evolutionary theory of organizations Peter J. Richerson University of California–Davis, USA Dwight Collins Presidio School of Management, USA Russell M. Genet Orion Institute, USA Introduction Most observers have agreed that the theory of human behavior derived from the assumption of selfish rationality is inadequate to describe human behavior and human organizations (Rousseau et al., 1998). The issue is what other approach to theory building will provide an adequate theoretical toolkit for human behavior. We argue in this essay that evolutionary theory is the proper foundation for the human sciences, particularly a theory that includes an account of cultural evolution. This theory shows how the limited but real altruistic tendencies of humans arose by tribal-scale group selection on cultural norms followed by coevolutionary responses on the part of our genes. Our tribal social instincts in turn act as a moral hidden hand that makes human organizations possible. We introduce this theory and describe some implications of it for strategy and organization. In effect, managers want to control the cultural evolution of organizations so as to make them perform better. Understanding the tribal roots of our social instincts and the dynamic properties...
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