Satire In Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” was a classical satire that explored the ridiculousness of victorian society and manners. Wilde’s purpose in creating this satire was to awaken the people. By exaggerating about ridiculous details, it also allowed people to see more clearly about the reality of this society. One example is when Lady Bracknell wanted Jack to find his parents: “I would strongly advise…… to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex.” (Wilde, 995). This shows the the reader that the society is very unreasonable and ridiculous. Showing this ridicule allowed the people of the late Victorian period to realize that a change was needed.
I believe a good author must be able to project himself into the story, but it does not mean he has to like the characters. Wilde created ridiculous characters that had unreasonable qualities. Gwendolyn, for instance, loved the name Ernest, “It is a divine name. It has music of of its own. It produces vibrations.” (Wilde, 990). He

He views the opportunity as an extra as a way to express himself: “…an opportunity to channel my feeling of disappointment to bravura acting.” (Alford, 996). Entering the set with a serious mind, he bases his character on the props: “What if Sean Haworth labored under the impression that if he took a good enough photograph it would be aired on the radio?” (Alford, 998). His inner thoughts also reveal his serious attitude as an extra, “…I exclaimed, hoping that this would translate to him as ‘Serious actor…’” (Alford, 998). However, when Alford encounters the lack of seriousness from the other extras, he no longer retains his seriousness: “Zilla monster ate me baby!” (Alford, 1000). He describes one of the scenes of exaggerated acting, “…a tall, fifty something woman……repeatedly dropping and then retrieving her umbrella” (Alford, 1000). Alford’s seriousness faded when he is flooded with the lack of seriousness from