The Importance of Being Earnest...

We're now reading Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", and I must say, this is another good read (and very similar to "Tartuffe", where one is not who he appears to be). The title is very ironic, because everyone seems to be hiding something and/or pretending to be something that they're not. Ernest, the title character, is not who he appears to be; he pretends to be one person in one part of the country and another person in another part of the country. He longs to shed this second personality and be free to be who he really is with the love of his life, Gwendolen Bracknell; however, he has a whole other life with another family.

Algernon is a cynical character who doesn't see good in anything or anybody and he mocks not only those of a lower social standing, but also those of his own social standing. He, too, has created an alter ego--a sickly alter ego who is constantly on the brink of death--in order to escape what he feels is a ho-hum existence. He even implies that this is what Ernest (Jack) will have to face should he enter into marriage with Gwendolen (who Algernon also happens to be related to).

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the story next week and seeing what becomes of the characters; what epiphanies will they arrive at? I'm also looking forward to my research assignment, which is due at the end of next week. Having read "Tartuffe", I have some insights that I would like to expound upon in the research paper. Well, that's it for now. It's almost time, fellow students; the end of this quarter is yet upon us. Study hard, and do well on your final assignments.