The Importance of Being Earnest Post

          Dishonesty is very common in The Importance of Being Earnest  (TIBE). Oscar Wilde sneaks it into the plot in many different ways. Most are found in silly things that shouldn't really be funny at all. These would be called epigrams. Jack states: "...it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth." (Wilde 89). It seems life should be easier if everyone was truthful, but as pointed out by Algernon "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." (Wilde 14). Jack and Algernon, whose characters are quite opposites, are constantly disagreeing. Jack would be the inner conscience, and Algernon would be the devil on your shoulder. Though on the second to last page of TIBE, it is almost as if Algernon's words are coming from Jack's mouth. Near the beginning Jack seems to be the person who has never done anything wrong, the romantic angel who will do anything to win dear Gwendolyn's heart. Yet when Gwendolyn's mother steps in the way, this dream becomes a lie stricken maze. Jack must lie about his name and conceal the people in his life to get what he wants; Jack's on the pursuit for pleasure.
          Along the way down this dangerous path, Wilde exposes dishonesty through marriage, edution, social class, and religion. Gwendolyn shows that she is commited to Jack when he proposes, but her answer seems a little dishonest with her obsession with "Ernest's" name. "Jack: Darling! You don't know how happy you've made me." Gwendolyn responds "My own Ernest!" (Wilde 20-21). Gwendolyn's mother has a high social status, and in her eyes Jack must be perfect in every way possible for him to marry Gwendolyn. Jack seems to pass her tests in every way, until it comes to the background check. When Jack is unable to provide his parents for her expection, she refuses to let him marry her daughter. She says "...a cloakroom at a railway station might serve to conceal a social indiscretion." (Wilde 27). Jack is only barely on the list because of his lucky jump into a higher status when adopted. This status jump could also be looked upon as dishonesty on Jack's part because he isn't so sure that he's supposed to be where he is in life. Before you know it, Jack lets the lies take over. A professional bunburyist and yet his life seems no more untangled than before. Algernon, though, takes this as an advantage. Upon discovering Jack's true home, he goes there to meet Cecily Cardew, disguising himself as Jack's brother Ernest. The plot for a long while becomes very confusing as there are two "Ernest's" (Jack and Algernon) who are pretending to be the same fake being. More dishonesty. This is ironic because the name Ernest sounds just like the adjective "earnest" which means sincere. When the truth finally falls together Jack becomes his "innocent" self again. He states "On the contrary Aunt Augusta, I've realised for the first time in my life the vital importance of being Earnest!" (Wilde 90). Wilde makes each character's job very clear. He does this by matching their characteristics with their names; Algernon is nick-named "Algy" and Jack is really Ernest even his character is earnest. Their actions and words are also very significant. Cecily is very romantic and makes her own "Bunbury" out of loneliness. Algernon is always being clever, even his words are witty. Jack's simple self doesn't understand half the time what's going on. It all fits, Wilde makes everything amusing but still keeps things similar to a regular romance novel (or in this case play).