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Examples Of Hypocrisy In The 19th Century

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Hypocrisy in the 19th Century
Hypocrisy is a common phenomenon in the contemporary society. The trait is observed in daily interactions, where an individual engages in actions that contradict their professed principles or ideals. Hypocrisy occurs in various platforms. The trait is observed in friendships, in church settings and in the learning institutions. In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde decried the prevalence of hypocrisy in the 19th century. The author successfully conveys the double standards which pervaded the Victorian society. Through the character interactions and setting in the play, Wilde was able to convey the negative implications of hypocrisy in the society. Oscar Wilde highlights the hypocrisy in the …show more content…

For instance, despite wanting an exclusive marriage between him and Cecily, Algernon proclaims that faithfulness in marriage is unattainable. Algernon suggests that there cannot be a marriage that involves only two spouses. Equally, upon the discovery of Jack’s pedigree, Gwendolen sought to postpone her marriage on the premises that she would only marry an individual by the name Ernest. Such countenance is a reflection of the hypocritical nature of the character. It would be expected that if she truly loved Jack, she would be thrilled at knowing the truth about his pedigree. However, she is projected to have been more impressed by the manufactured exotic alter-ego presented in the form of Ernest. The character prides herself in being a sophisticated member of her society. However, her actions are a negation of the claim to since she shows a willingness to sacrifice her principles for imagined thrills. Gwendolen associates the name Ernest with grandiose. Upon being informed of Jack’s affinity to the name Ernest as a result of his kinship with previously iconic army personnel, Gwendolen agrees to marry him. Thus, “Ernest! My Own Ernest! I felt from the first time I met you that you could have no other name” (Wilde 78). The proclamation is hypocritical because the character knows that her partner’s real name is

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Her traits and actions soley depend on that of John Proctor’s, which expresses Elizabeth as a flat character. She is a very simplistic character because the biggest matter Elizabeth has are always concerning her husband, and even when “she doesn’t want friction, and yet she must” (51) the cause returns to it being because of John. She is yet not a stereotyped character because the decision she makes is unpredictable even though it invariably regards John. In particular, when the judge decided that he will consider John Proctor’s point if Elizabeth answers his questions in all exactness as that of John’s testimony,

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Elizabeth lets John keep his name pure by not stopping him from for making things right. " He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" (Miller) She lets her husband die for something he didn't do.

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Ernest is a German baby name, and its meaning is “serious, determined”. People who have the name Jack tend to look at the larger, important, issues and not the delicate details that may be more significant than you think. He is also a Moncrieff, Algernon’s brother, and we find this out later in the play. Ernest’s name suits him well, simply since he doesn’t take things lightly, especially when the girls [Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Bracknell] refuse to speak with the men after finding out their names. Ernest, who is still known as Jack at the moment, is struck at how heartless Algernon’s behavior is when he “sits there, calmly eating muffins when they’re in this horrible trouble”(Wilde 68).

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“You can have a certain arrogance, and I think that 's fine, but what you should never lose is the respect for the others.” said Steffi Graf. She is a professional tennis player that has won 22 grand slam titles, which makes it very hard to stay humble. That’s why she mentions being arrogant, because it is ok, you can’t forget to be sensitive towards others. Contrary to Steffi Graf, there are many people who lose their respect towards others. Mayella and the jurors in Harper Lee 's To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Collins in Darcy Swipes Let by Jane Austen.

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Jack later promises Algernon that he would reveal his true identity to Gwendolyn in which Gwendolyn responds, “...my ideal has always been to love someone of the name Ernest….The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.” (Wilde, pg. 1706). Wilde is making it known to his audience that now, in order for Jack to marry Gwendolyn and in order for her to remain in love with him, his name should be Ernest. Also, considering that without Ernest there is no Gwendolyn, Jack realizes that he cannot be without Ernest.

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If there is one entity every play should have, it is an effective and clear meaning or message. Lady Bracknell’s opinions on how a person should act greatly add to this. This is clear when she states “I was not aware that Mr. Bunbury was interested in social legislation. If so, he is well punished for his morbidity.” (Wilde 45).

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How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? In his play The Importance of Being Earnest (1895, London St. James’ theater), Oscar Wilde portrays the attitudes and society of Victorian upper class through character interactions within the ‘Bunburyist’ adventures of Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing. The play’s comedic elements, in addition to the portrayal of power structures, are used as an effective medium to challenge the viewer to reflect upon Wilde’s criticism on institutions and values of the aristocracy. In conjunction to this, deeper analysis can be conducteds about marriage in Victorian aristocracy and their attitudes to members of other social groups.

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Yes, I do think this play has a darker, less forgiving tone than other Wilde's works. This play delves into the inequalities between women and men during Victorian times, specicifially, the unfair roles of women in society compared to those of men. In the play it is revealed that Mrs. Arbuthnot was not really married like everyone thought and had given birth to an illegitimate child, which during this time period was absolutely scandalous. During this time period it was the mother who suffered in those times and would be punished solely for her indiscretions while the man responsible came out unscathed. Hester Worsley addresses this injustice and in her opinion she feels that both the mother and father should be blamed and punished not just

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Oscar Wilde wrote his plays against the backdrop of the Victorian English society. It therefore helps to discuss the salient aspects of the Victorian society. Victorian England is known for many paradoxes -- glaring contrasts between the rich and the poor, insistence on morality on the one hand and the practice of cynicism on the other, blooming creativity pitted against blatant constriction, imperial grandeur since Britain was then ruling almost one fifth of the total surface of the earth and domestic squalor since the majority of people did not have decent means of livelihood, and finally collectivity dictated by tradition opposed to the rapidly developing individualism. The class system denied the talented members of the lower classes access to social and economic advancement. The upper classes alone had the privilege of working in the government, the armed forces, and the church, while trade was monopolized by the rising middle class.

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Through this satirical writing, Wilde uses comparison of beauty and industrialism and juxtaposition between compliments and criticism to paint American social values as backwards and unappealing in order to dispel the glamour of a romantic American culture.

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Be it his extravagant lifestyle, bold mockery of the upper class, open homosexuality, or middle- finger to established social norms, Oscar Wilde is, at heart, a 21st century celebrity born 150 years too early√. In his 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde satirizes the trivial and hypocritical values of his time. He uses satire not only to ridicule the pretentious aristocracy, but also to criticize the moral hypocrisy of the Victorian era, a culture that irrationally valued one’s immutable characteristics over the content of their character. Though the aristocracy may be a thing of the past, the reasoning behind Wilde’s jokes keep the message relevant to society in the digital age. The play’s title is satirical in and of itself,

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Oscar Wilde’s satirical play The Importance of Being Earnest, set in the late Victorian era, London, is a portrayal of British upper class society and its conventions surrounded by a strict code of conduct. In 1890’s class society, earnestness was desired; to follow the moral code and social obligations in order to keep up one’s appearance. Besides, there was a huge gender disparity between men and women. In the play, Wilde criticizes the social inequality and Victorian upper class standards. He characterizes Victorian personae making fun of their qualities; hypocrisy, arrogance and absurdism, ultimately the very vital state and lifeline of not being earnest at all in Victorian society.

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Describing how the play differs from the Irishman’s other writings, Ellmann assesses, “What seems clear is that Wilde has turned here from direct onslaughts upon conventional morality to a more olympian amusement” (xviii). Wilde utilizes

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Oscar Wilde’s Victorian melodramatic play The Importance of Being Earnest opened on February 14, 1895. Wilde used this play to criticize Victorian society through clever phrasing and satire. Throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde displayed the themes of the nature of marriage, the constraints of morality, and the importance of not being earnest. One of the themes that Oscar Wilde includes in the play is the nature of marriage.

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The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde is an excellent play which has many underlying themes and suggestions especially with regards to the Victorian era, during which this was written. Many themes within the play are reflective of Wilde and his life, including his secrecy and supposed “double life,” his interest in aestheticism, his life pertaining the mannerisms and social etiquette during his lifetime. Today, Oscar Wilde is often remembered in part due to his well known homosexuality trial of 1895 (Linderd, 1), but his “second life” per se had been speculated on for years prior to it, in fact many of his plays contain subtle yet effective implications towards a possible piece of his life kept hidden from the public eye. The Importance of Being Earnest mirrored this double life through the utilization of Jack and Algernon's “Bunburying,” and their motives for lying to the ones whom they love.

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