Modern Drama Term Paper

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Drama

Is the Importance of Being Earnest a serious examination of the idea that people wear masks and have multiple identities, or is it just a farce with no serious content?

The idea that people wear masks is the central metaphor in the play "The Importance of Being Earnest," but ultimately, the play is a farce that author Wilde uses to poke fun at the general tolerance for hypocrisy in conventional society. Two of the play's characters, both Jack Working and Algernon create alter-egos, or "masks" that allow them to live seemingly double lives. In London, Jack is known as "Earnest," and gets into all sorts of trouble, while at home; Jack is respectable and quite conservative. While these dual identities do show that people often wear masks and are not what they seem, the underlying theme of the play is a society that is far too conservative, stodgy, and mired in the past. For example, the speech Lady Bracknell gives about ignorance is quite indicative of stuffy, pompous Londoners who have an opinion on anything, and must conform to the constraints of society at all costs.

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She says, "I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever" (Wilde Act I). Lady Bracknell is a snob who acts quite self-important but is actually the epitome of ignorance herself, and so, she is a farcical character that points out the weaknesses of her social class, as well as other characters in the play. Thus, the play revolves around characters who wear masks so….....

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