Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Question Three: The Importance of Being Earnest


The Importance of Being Earnest: what's in a name?

As you've noticed, this entire play centers around Earnest--the name, the identity, the confusion. But, why Earnest? Of all the names Wilde could've chosen, he specifically selected this name. Authors do this stuff on purpose. Tell me your theories of why Wilde chose this name--what does it mean? what could it signify? how does it tie in with other themes in the play? how does it tie in with other characters? how does it compare to the other characters' names? Consider these questions as you think about the utter importance of... being Earnest. 

You will respond to this question by leaving a comment on this post. 
Responses should be at least 250 words each.
Remember: you must respond to at least 4 questions per novel. 
Extra credit will be awarded if you respond to more than 4 questions.

*and remember, this is a blog--write with good English and use your inner intellectual, but speak casually!

15 comments:

  1. I think Oscar Wilde chose the name Earnest partly because of the definition. Earnest according to Miriam Webster dictionary means seriousness. Even though that definition is given to the word earnest as a noun , Oscar Wilde probably took the definition into consideration when he wrote the play . This play is a comedy and the main character or characters are named Earnest is a joke unto itself. Wilde most likely chose the name as a joke and wondered if people were going to understand it. I think another motive for Wilde choosing the name Earnest is because Gwendolyn and Cecily are determined to have Jack and Algernon be named earnest. Determined is another definition to the word earnest. Other definitions are actuality and reality. Reality could also be one of the reasons Oscar Wilde chose Earnest because both the men who claim that their name is Earnest are in reality not named Earnest. Wilde’s work includes a lot of satire and the name itself screams satire and is a joke for the reader , or person watching , to pick up on. Oscar Wilde uses the word earnest to tie into another theme of the play , love , love is a serious thing and serious is a definition of earnest. Oscar Wilde thought thoroughly about his choice of the name and he chose the name he could add the most satire to and earnest is one of the best names he could have chosen.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being earnest is simply being serious, sincere, and determined. So it is perfectly fitting that a story basically about being truthful and sincere should be centered on such a name. The name earnest has a double meaning; the men want to be named Earnest because that is what their women are determined to have men named Earnest. They also need to be earnest which they have not been with their loves, the only reason the women are in love is because of the name. Once the men have been caught not telling the truth and not being earnest them and are no longer under the name earnest. The whole situation is tied together and plays off of being earnest and Earnest. Earnest means serious and love is a very serious thing that the women and soon the men care a lot about, in the begging however Algernon has no use for love. And only cares about defying Jacks wish that Algernon never meet Cecily (Wilde 208). He says his name is Earnest and arrives under false pretences that he wants to see his brother. The whole thing is based off of deception and a larger lie that Jack created to escape the country life. From the begging the whole concept that the word defines is smashed to pieces. Earnest also holds a satiric meaning in that the author wanted people to pick up on their own; he never says anything about the meaning to give it away to the audience or the reader.

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are quite a few reasons that Oscar Wilde would use the name Earnest in his play The Importance of Being Earnest. The Webster’s Dictionary defines the word earnest as 1) a serious and intent mental state (example: a proposal made in earnest) and 2) a considerable or impressive degree or amount (example: the sap started running in earnest). Earnest basically means to be devoted to or be serious about something. Ironically, neither Jack nor Algernon are “earnest” when they are portrayed to be the character Earnest. For example, at the beginning of the story, there is nothing serious about creating a fake character and claiming that you are that character which is exactly what Jack did as Earnest. Later on when Algernon takes up the name Earnest and also when both Jack and Algernon want to be christened with the name Earnest, they are not earnest even towards their own names. Oscar Wilde’s purpose of using the name Earnest in the play and then creating his characters to not be earnest is most likely to show how un-earnest the Victorian society was at the time. Another time when un-earnestness is demonstrated in the play is when Algernon hooks up with Cecily just because he heard that she was beautiful. He barely knew her and wants to marry her on the spot. Oscar Wilde made a good choice when he used the name Earnest in his play The Importance of Being Earnest because it created irony that showed Wilde’s sense of humor.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There is no other name that Wilde could have selected for this play. The name “Earnest” is constantly used as a sort of pun in this play. It could be that Wilde thinks being in love is for silly, shallow people like the characters in his play. By contrasting their need to be “Ernest” with our expectations of learning to be earnest, as in humble, sincere, he is showing just how absolutely ridiculous being in love can be, especially if the actual state of “being in love” is all you have your heart set on. The girl’s in this story have some ridiculous lure to the name “Ernest”, while no interest in men who actually exhibit this quality. Both men lied continually in order to please the crazy whims of their lovers and planned to actually change their names so their lies were never exposed. The fact that it ironically turned out they were telling the truth doesn’t change the intent of their choices. These men never learned the importance of being earnest, only the importance of being “Ernest”. Algernon and Jack, far from earnest, were really the vain and exciting type, exactly, despite their preferences in names, what the ladies wanted. Wilde uses this contradiction to suggest that the hopelessly in love, and possibly the entire upper class, I don’t really know, is shallow and, frankly, pretty stupid. As for the author’s reasons for selecting this name over others, a play entitled “The Importance of Being Bob” obviously wouldn’t have worked in the same way.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Based on Oscar Wilde’s choice of words and sentence structure, it is easy to see that he is a very skilled writer. The way that he planned out the story to make puns and ironic scenarios that revolve around the name “Earnest” took a lot of thinking and truly shows his knowledge and understanding of the English language and grammar. The dictionary definition of the word earnest is, full of seriousness, as of intention or purpose. I think that the main reason Wilde chose the name Earnest is because of what it means. During the play, neither Jack nor Algernon were being sincere of their true identities. This in itself is ironic because the name they were both being called means serious or sincere, but they were both lying. In fact, Gwendolyn and Cecily were the ones that were actually being earnest. The title, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, completely explains the main message of the play. The play shows the true importance of being sincere. It also gives us a perfect example of why we should follow the directions given in the message. I also think that maybe Oscar Wilde used the name Earnest to try to impact people enough that they might take the message to heart and try to be more honest to their friends and family. One of the biggest things that a person must be serious about is love. If you are not sincere and honest, the trust that is required for the relationship will not exist, so another reason Wilde chose Earnest could be to teach us that we need to be earnest in our relationships.

    ReplyDelete
  6. If Wilde had chosen any other name for this play, it simply would not be the same play at all. Earnest, by definition, means "a serious and intent state of mind." (Merriam Webster Dictionary)Ironically, none of the characters in this play exhibit the true qualities of being earnest in the least. In fact, they are the complete opposites! Take, for example, Algernon and Jack, who are our two "Earnest" men in the play. Jack is slightly more serious than Algernon, but both are irresponsible and foolish. Jack, even though he has a ward to look after, enjoys running away to the city with the lie that he has a sick brother. He lies that he has an honorable reason for entering the city, when in fact he only lies of his name and flirts with Gwendolyn. Not very earnest, huh? And how could we forget Algernon! Algernon has absolutely no serious bone in his body. He is always cracking a wise joke, cares nothing for finances, and runs around Bunburying all the time! Clearly, neither of these men are earnest in the least. But the two girls of their dreams, for some strange reason, will only marry men named "Earnest". Ironically, they care not about the qualities of being earnest, but only for the name. This further proves Wilde's theme that love is foolish when chased for the wrong reasons. Wilde also shows how love is not always what it seems, which is shown when Jack and Algernon are willing to lie about their true names and identities in order to win their girls. In the end, we find out that Jack was named Earnest all along, and he states that he has found the true meaning of being earnest. But of course, he couldn't be farther away from knowing the true meaning of the word. If he did know, Jack would be a much more serious, honest, and respectable man to both Gwendolyn and to Algernon. Wilde sure does love his irony!

    ReplyDelete
  7. To write a play all about lies, what better name to use than Ernest? There really is no other name that can compare or that could make this play as sarcastic, ironic, and idiotic. Earnest means to be serious in intention, purpose or effort, or showing depth and sincerity of feeling. Personally, I think Ernest is a really strange and horrible sounding name, but Cecily and Gwendolyn think that is the most attractive name because it is exciting and not boring like “John”. Cecily even goes so far as to pretend to be receiving letters from Ernest and to be engaged before she has even met him! If she thought his name was anything but that she would not have given him the time of day. Wilde used the name Ernest in several smart and clever ways to show the shallow emotions of the upper class and to show how earnest, or lack there-of, they really were. Algernon, especially, had the least sincere feelings of anyone. He was selfish with his food, hated being with his family, and was an all around horridly fake person with no real depth. He lived to have adventures even if that meant the misfortune of others. A person like that having the name of Ernest shows his faults more clearly than anything ever could. A lot of what Wilde brings up is the romantic intentions and entanglements the cast find their selves in. It is all so immature and unbelievably showy. How could it get any better than Ernest?

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oscar Wilde’s usage of the name Earnest is synonymous with the meaning of the word earnest and its literal dictionary definition. The word is used in English to mean sincere or truthful. So take this meaning in the context of the play The Importance of Being Earnest, means the importance of sincerity, or being sincere. This is actually very ironic; the play is far from being sincere and truthful. So why would he employ the name? Well, the answer is quite obvious and it all comes down to the overall picture Wilde is trying to portray, that is almost mocking the name, in a sense. The idea of mocking the name and thus the word can be seen by Jack and Algernon who both desire to be Earnest so that they can string together all of the lies that have been told by them both. Lying is the opposite of being earnest and truthful, thus Wilde is mocking the name. Another take on this could be that Jack was never technically lying and was Earnest the entire time. The evidence of this is that he had discovered that he was named Earnest at the end of the play, and had finally understood the concept of being true to one’s self. One theme that drives the main characters is love and relationships, and the name Earnest has application here. Again, earnest means truthful and sincere; so the key to any relationship or marriage is to be honest in order for it to be successful. However Wilde’s take on marriage and relationships is very cynical so the use of the name being Earnest is perfect in his overall use of irony.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Just the name of the play is humorous. Algernon and Jack disguising their names as Ernest is like a homophone. The two characters' "names" were pronounced the same as Earnest, but it seemed that they were just the opposite!
    Disguising your name is one big lie and that is just the opposite of being earnest. I like how Oscar Wilde introduces the puns from literally the very beginning. His first pun is on the FRONT COVER.
    Anyway, Jack and Algernon are the opposite of Earnest. Jack lies like a rug. He is so far from earnest. Algernon is just the opposite as well, with all the sarcasm and insincerity. And what is wrong with Gwendolyn and Cecily? They ONLY want to marry people with the name Ernest? That is just strange. Its as if they thought, "Who cares if he is the worst person ever, as long as his name is Ernest then I will always love him." Give me a break. That is just immature in so many ways.
    It was a humorous idea the Wilde had and it worked so well. He took an idea and had fun with it. He makes people do the facepalm because of how ridiculous it is and how far he takes this pun. These people are so far from being Earnest that it was a perfect title for a play and a perfect play on words with the selection of their fake names. I can't even think of another name that would have fit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oscar Wilde was obviously a believer in literature and its POWER: power to change, power to inspire; power to simply make a difference. With that being said, under all the silliness, puns, embarrassment, and plot twists, Wilde still intended to make a mark on the literary story itself by including a message. But, the mind of Oscar Wilde was GOING to produce a silly, shocking play. Wilde`s problem was incorporating this profound (barely) message into this sort of play. This is why he chose Earnestness as a theme. He knew he could base a play around the complete OPPOSITE sort of characters: ones who chase vain things in life based on whims; ones who construct a web of lies in order to live a pleasurable life. These characters even claim to be Earnest in certain matters, which is ironic, because they are ultr-trifling matters. On page 228 (act 2), Algernon mentions, "well, one must be serious about something, if one wants to have any amusement in life. I happen to be serious about bunnburying." Bunnburying... as in the act of escaping to the counryside on the false excuse of an ill friend, "Bunnburry". Wilde knew this would convey his belief in the importance of being earnest to his readers. Not to mention the incredibly witty double meaning he placed on the word E(a)rnest in the mean time. Both Algernon and Jack claimed to be Ernest several times throughout the play. Wilde did this intentionally, hinting (or screaming rather) that the Earnestness of each man was just about as true as their Ernestness.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The simple reason why Oscar Wilde used “earnest” is because Wilde’s style of writing is full of irony. Ernest in the play is Jack Worthing’s secret identity who is in absolute love with Gwendolen, who is determined to marry a man named Ernest. However these characters are almost unable to be sincere in intent because the leading characters love is based on lies. One cannot build a relationship on a mountain of lies. Earnest means to be intensely or excessively serious and grave in manner or attitude. Gwendolen has just assumed a man named Ernest will be responsible, moral, and wealthy as society expects a polite man to be. However, it’s ironic because the only time Jack Worthing, or Ernest, was earnest is when he’s trying to convince Gwendolen at the end that he never lied to her because technically his name REALLY was Ernest but he didn’t know. Even Algernon uses the name Ernest to capture Cecily Cardew’s heart because she too expects to marry someone named Ernest. Apparently Ernest was a very popular name among the ladies. Wink, wink. The name in this play signifies how Wilde portrays his characters as trying their best to earnest but failing miserably until the close of the book where both male leads are forced to be earnest to win back the hearts of the leading ladies, Gwendolen and Cecily.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Earnest is definitely the most important name in the whole play, "The Importance of Being Earnest". This name was selected by the author, I think, to create a sort of pun that gives a moral value. Earnest, when not used as a name, means truthful, serious, and persistent. Throughout the book, Wilde conveys a moral notion that it is good and beneficial to be truthful and dedicated to something. The character Jack, a.k.a. Earnest, was used almost as a tool to show what it was to be earnest or truthful. This theme of being earnest showed how people related to each other in a relationship and in their identities. Characters in this story were affected by others who tried to be or weren’t being earnest. Gwendolyn was not going to marry Jack because his name was thought not to be Earnest and he did not have an earnest character because he lied about his name. Algernon was also abandoned by Cecily because he was not truthful either. At the end of the book, evidence reveals that Jack’s name is actually Earnest and Earnest is actually Algernon’s brother. We can gather from the play that it was important for Jack actually to be Earnest and in life, it is important to have an earnest character, no matter what your name is. The other character’s names are quite common for the time in which the play was based. Earnest, however, is the only name that has two meanings; one as a name, the other as a characteristic.

    ReplyDelete
  14. To be earnest is to be sincere, a term which also stands in as a substitute for to be truthful. The title of the book is "The Importance of Being Earnest." Now if we substitute the word sincere for the word earnest, we obtain the changed title which is, "The Importance of Being Sincere". It is stating that it is important to be sincere, but it is not being literal; the protagonist is John Worthing (also known as Jack), but he leads a secret life as a fake brother of his named Earnest. The title of the play, and Jack's other ego, Earnest, the name was meant to be ironic. This name is even important to the play as a whole. If Jack's other ego's name wasn't Earnest, it wouldn't have the same comedic air as it does now- sure it would still be a great and funny play, but the nature wouldn't be the same without that irony in it; the irony is that Jack is being not sincere. He is living two lives: one is in the country where he is known as Earnest, and the other is in the city where he is his real identity, Jack. Now Jack has a friend named Algernon, who has invented another ego as well named Bumbury. Bumbury is a made up friend that Algernon pretends to be when out in the country. These egos of both Jack and Algernon are the evidence of how Jack and Algernon are not truthful about who they say they are, and this is very funny when both characters talk with others in each of their different lives.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Earnest. There is no other name besides it that could have been used in this play. Ernest is the main ironic word of the play. Jack is a straightforward, honest man who has a good name for himself, so everybody thinks. What is not honest and straightforward is his alter-ego, Earnest. Jack has a secondary life that nobody knows about, this is to protect his good name from the things he does as Earnest. Neither Jack, nor Ernest, is earnest. Jack is deceiving and ignores his obligations by traveling away to help out Earnest, his brother, but really becomes Earnest. Earnest (Jack) meets a girl, Gwendolyn, and falls in love with her, but she won't marry him unless his name is Earnest! So Jack must then, ironically, become his escape and embrace his alter ego by becoming Earnest. Then, to make things worse, Earnests best friend, Algy, goes to Jacks home as Earnest, and falls in love with Jacks aunt, Cecily. So, for love, both Jack and Algy decide to change their names to Earnest! Algy is forced to tell Cecily his true identity, and Earnest finds out that his true name has actually been Earnest all along. By the end of the play it becomes very apparent that both men are not very earnest, due to their lack of sincerity and honesty. It is also apparent that I have thoroughly confused myself, along with anybody else who attempts to read this.

    ReplyDelete