The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Essay Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is about a young man who leads a double life, in whenever he wants to escape the reality, along with his obligations and real-life dealings. The story is not just about the life of the young man, Jack, also known as Ernest, but it is also about taking life in a more serious way. In order to do so, Oscar Wilde has reformed or improved the parts of life that he has satirized in the story. One aspect which Wilde has reformed in the story was in the life of Jack/Ernest. He is described as a seemingly responsible and respectable young man. He is also well-off, as he owns a country estate. But at some time in the story, it was found out that Jack was an adopted child, and that he was found in a handbag by the train station. Jack’s past and his present life is so ironic that it effectively builds up his character. It is both amusing and surprising that for a baby who was supposedly left alone in a train station would be able to survive and be successful when he grows up. Jack have almost everything that he desires, wealth, fame among those who know him, love in the person of Gwendolen; so who would ever think that a person like him was adopted as he was abandoned in the train station as a child? Oscar Wilde reformed Jack/Ernest character in order to make the story much more interesting. Despite his somewhat unlikely past, he is now a wealthy man, leading a happy life. If his character wouldn’t be reformed or improved, he wouldn’t be rich or attractive, following the fact that he was an abandoned child. The interesting part of the story though is not his rags-to-riches life; instead it was his double life that he leads, in the form of Ernest. Another one Wilde’s reform to the character he was satirizing was when the issue of marriage was introduced in the story. Jack Worthing is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, and so is Gwendolen to Jack. But the problem is that Gwendolen fell in love with Jack because of her fixation to the name Ernest. Jack introduced himself to Gwendolen as Ernest for her to love him, but he still has to face his problem, as Gwendolen intends to marry only the man whose name is Ernest. Oscar Wilde reformed Jack’s character by actually trying to become Ernest: his alter ego that he uses as a scapegoat to preserve his morality as Jack Worthing. For Jack, the name Ernest is his way to keep an honorable image in place. By using Ernest, Jack is able to escape his real life, as he is bound by duties and obligations, as well as a reputation he must protect. Ernest actually provides Jack with an excuse he conveniently uses whenever he wants to do things that he can do when he is under his real identity. It is also his disguise, as Jack wants to remain being seen as upright and moral, and with Ernest as his mask, he is able to misbehave. His character is reformed when it was the time for him to make the choice: to be Ernest or be Jack. It was love that drove him to that deciding corner, as Gwendolen was evidently in love with him being Ernest, and he is not sure if she would still love him if he is Jack. In the end, Jack apologized to Gwendolen, which she returns with forgiveness, saying that she did so because she is sure that Jack would change to make up for his mistakes. The Importance of Being Earnest is Oscar Wilde’s way of satirizing the general tolerance for hypocrisy in the Victorian concept of morality, and this is shown by the character Jack Worthing. He wants to adhere with notions of duty, honor, and respectability, yet he lives a double life, Ernest, hypocritically flouting those notions.