Ms. Peifer
10 IB Hour 5
5/20/09
the Importance of Being Earnest Commentary
In my section of The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde is trying to show how much the characters use cleverness throughout the book. He does this by using wit and absurdity. He also uses foreshadowing to compare Gwendolen to Lady Bracknell.
It foreshadows the future in some ways because Gwendolen resembles her mother in a few ways. They are both somewhat ruthless and overbearing. They also have some similar speech habits and frames of mind. Both of them say absurd things at times.
Algernon's response to Jack's question is an epigram. "All women become like their mothers. that is their tragedy. No man does, that's his" (Wilde 136). This shows that Wilde uses wit to explain an outrageous statement. It is a very clever response to jacks question. After that Jack asks "Is that clever?" ( Wilde 136). Algernon replies, "it is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as any observation in civilized life should be" (Wilde 136). Algernon answers jacks question with another witty and clever statement. These two statements from Algernon show that he is a witty and clever character. The author uses characterization in this segment to describe Algernon's personality. The author uses the characters dialogue to show their personalities and tendencies.
Wilde also uses some absurdity in this segment. "upon my word, if I thought that, I'd shoot myself... You don't think there is any chance of Gwendolen becoming like her mother in about a hundred and fifty years, do you, Algy?" (Wilde 136). This shows absurdity with the amount of time stated. This shows that Jack does not want Gwendolen to be like her mother because he does not like Lady Bracknell. "I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever now-a-days. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left" (Wilde 136). This quote is absurd because Jack is saying that he thinks cleverness is becomeing a public nuisance. Jack is getting annoyed with peoples clever statements. He wishes there were still fools so there would not be so many clever remarks. This quote also shows that cleverness is used a lot throughout the book.
This section uses a lot of cleverness, absurdity, and wit. He uses these literary elements to show that the characters are very clever and make many clever remarks. Foreshadowing is also used to explain absurd statements.
It foreshadows the future in some ways because Gwendolen resembles her mother in a few ways. They are both somewhat ruthless and overbearing. They also have some similar speech habits and frames of mind. Both of them say absurd things at times.
Algernon's response to Jack's question is an epigram. "All women become like their mothers. that is their tragedy. No man does, that's his" (Wilde 136). This shows that Wilde uses wit to explain an outrageous statement. It is a very clever response to jacks question. After that Jack asks "Is that clever?" ( Wilde 136). Algernon replies, "it is perfectly phrased! and quite as true as any observation in civilized life should be" (Wilde 136). Algernon answers jacks question with another witty and clever statement. These two statements from Algernon show that he is a witty and clever character. The author uses characterization in this segment to describe Algernon's personality. The author uses the characters dialogue to show their personalities and tendencies.
Wilde also uses some absurdity in this segment. "upon my word, if I thought that, I'd shoot myself... You don't think there is any chance of Gwendolen becoming like her mother in about a hundred and fifty years, do you, Algy?" (Wilde 136). This shows absurdity with the amount of time stated. This shows that Jack does not want Gwendolen to be like her mother because he does not like Lady Bracknell. "I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever now-a-days. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left" (Wilde 136). This quote is absurd because Jack is saying that he thinks cleverness is becomeing a public nuisance. Jack is getting annoyed with peoples clever statements. He wishes there were still fools so there would not be so many clever remarks. This quote also shows that cleverness is used a lot throughout the book.
This section uses a lot of cleverness, absurdity, and wit. He uses these literary elements to show that the characters are very clever and make many clever remarks. Foreshadowing is also used to explain absurd statements.
1 comment:
Ian,
Well organized. Make sure to include the lines you are writing the commentary on. Also make sure you introduce/incorporate your quotes so they aren't in a sentence alone without any explanation. Good explanation of absurdity and wit. I also like your implication about foreshadowing; it seems that, as Algernon says, all women are destined to become like their mothers.
-Ms. Johnson
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