Story of Dubliners Essay Example for Free

Story of Dubliners Essay The very first story of Dubliners outlines a large theme that can overlay much of the book and may in part be why James Joyce decided to group all of these short stories into one book. The first short story called â€Å"Two Sisters† focuses on the paralysis of a young boy as the impending death of his mentor Father Flynn draws closer. The boy walks past the priest’s home showing that a part of him cannot let go and that he himself is paralyzed by the loss of his friend and mentor who was prepping him for the priesthood. In the first paragraph of the book the narrator talks of the word paralysis and says â€Å"It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work† (Joyce, 3). The quote summarizes a recurring theme throughout Dubliners and prepares the reader by showing how paralysis in life is dangerous and leads to unhappiness. The story following â€Å"Two Sisters† is called â€Å"An Encounter† which is about two boys and their adventures while skipping school. Seeking escape from everyday life the boys decide to skip school and have an adventure much like the adventures that Mahoney reads in his books. At the start of their day their original plan is working out for them apart from the fact that Joe Dillon who promised to join them was a no show. However, the title suggests that something would happen to the boys. While they are in a field they see an older man coming right towards them. The old man is particularly creepy towards the boys after asking them about their girlfriends and then leaving walking to another part of the field and then coming back talking of beating Mahoney. Faced by this odd situation the narrator feels paralyzed from taking some sort of action to avoid the old man. Mahoney ran off chasing a cat, but the narrator stayed and instead of leaving as well, the peculiarity of the situation keeps him from acting. The narrator does not respond to the man and sits hoping for the moment to just pass by. Only at the very end of the story is the narrator able to stand up and break free from his paralysis. The next story in Dubliners called â€Å"Araby†, centers around a younger boy who has a crush on his friend’s sister who is likely a few years older. Her presence in the story greatly resembles â€Å"An Encounter† because she is seen as an escape to the narrator. She allows him to break away from the dull dragging on everyday life by giving the boy over romanticized thoughts. He goes to the bazaar to get her a gift, however he arrives late and does not have as much money as wanted to buy her a gift. By the end he gives up his attempts to purchase a gift and has a sort of epiphany; however it is not a positive one. The paralysis in the story centers on this youthful defeat and eludes that life itself will be much the same. The three stories prepare the reader for the paralysis in â€Å"Eveline† because in the stories preceding the paralysis is the same, but slightly different every time. In â€Å"Two Sisters† the narrator is paralyzed from the beginning and thinks heavily on the work itself and how destructive it can be. The narrator foreshadows the theme that continues through the whole novel. In â€Å"An Encounter† the narrator is paralyzed in the field by the old man, but he manages to overcome it after a while and leaves. In â€Å"Araby† the narrator breaks free from paralysis when he has his romanticized feelings for his friend’s sister, but at the end is defeated and thrown back into paralysis after failing to get her a gift. In â€Å"Eveline† the paralysis is so evident that the narrator is described as clinging to the cold iron bars. The theme of paralysis is most evident in this story than it is through the entire novel, however the stories placed before â€Å"Eveline† were needed to help the reader further understand paralysis and how it affects people constantly every day. Short Response 5.In â€Å"Two Gallants† Lenehan receives a great deal of depth even though on the surface he could be seen as a simple con man. Lenehan’s partner, Corely, is fairly one dimensional and is a great contrast from Lenehan. Corley seems content with the life that he lives in that he is described as a â€Å"leech†; however Lenehan is shown in a much different light in that he seems distant when walking with Corely at the beginning of the story, lost in his thoughts. Later when Lenehan is walking on his own he thinks of how he wants to settle down and get a steady job with steady pay and have a good home life possibly with a family. The wishes that he has for a better life shows his depth while his partner has none, but once Lenehan sees the gold chain Corely conned a maid into stealing it seems unlikely Lenehan will change. 2.In â€Å"An Encounter† the narrator and Mahoney skip school in search of adventure, however by the end of the story their relationship has greatly changed. Although the narrator never says anything to Mahoney many of his private thoughts are of him thinking why is Mahoney talking to the old man. He was confused on why Mahoney was egging on the old man by having a conversation while the narrator sat silently. The narrator by the end of the story thinks of Mahoney as dumb for being unable to see the oddness of the situation with the old man as he was able to. 4.In â€Å"Eveline† she is undecided on the notion of leaving with her love, Frank, and abandoning her family, particularly her father. The quote â€Å"It was hard work – a hard life – but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life† plays on the fact that numerous time in the story she changes her mind on whether or not to leave. Certain things make her want to leave such as thinking about how her mother felt stuck, while other things made her want to stay such as the harp playing reminding her of her mother’s death. She constantly is convincing herself to either go or stay even if the reason that she comes up with goes against how she actually feels. Her logic leaves her saying things like the quote in that even though she feels the want to leave she convinces herself it is just as nice to stay home.

Free Essays - The Catcher In The Rye :: Catcher Rye Essays

Catcher In The Rye      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Catcher in the Rye, starts off with the main character, Holden Caulfield being expelled from school once again.   Holden is a sixteen year old boy who has been expelled on numerous occasions from other schools.   This time he is being expelled from Pency Prep.   Before Holden goes home to his parents, he plans to spend a few days in New York.   His parents do not know of the expulsion, so he spends the weekend in a hotel.   Holden is a pretty strange kid who can always find a way to get himself into trouble.   Holden constantly talks about how he hates phony people and phony words.   He complains of how the head master Thurman of Pency Prep is a phony person.   Holden says he is the kind of guy who will treat you bad, but will act polite and nice to your parents when they visit.   Holden basically decides that almost everyone he meets in his life is a phony.   He even gets disgusted with the advertisement for Pency Prep.   The picture of the horse jumping over a fence is a false image in his opinion.   He says that he has never even seen a horse on the campus.   Holden is also very curious.   Of all things, he wonders where the ducks go when the pond freezes over in the park.   He loves his red hunting cap that he bought for a dollar. The cap serves as his way to be an individual.   Stradtler is his roommate and they are fairly good friends.   Stradtler is two years older than him so he is always going out on dates and has to listen to Holden question him.   One time Stradtler goes out with one of Holden$BCT(J long time friends, Jane Gallagher, and he has to listen to an earful from Holden.   Ackley is Holden$BCT(J neighbor and they are all right friends.   Ackley is the kind of guy though who can get on anybody$BCT(J nerves in a heart beat.   Ackley and Stradtler despise of each other and rarely talk.   Ackley is very nosy and Holden does not understand why he puts up with Ackley$BCT(J nonsense.   Holden has a dead brother Allie, an older brother D.B., who is a writer, and a younger sister

Modern America was shaped

Modern America was born in the 1920s Looking back at the 1920s we see the birth of modern America. Women started dressing differently, the invention of household cleaning tools were emerging, and athletes were becoming heroes of many. The Jazz Age also came about In the 1 920s and influenced different types of music we have today such as: Rock and Roll, Hip- Hop, and R&B. Although, many new inventions and social changes were coming about, nothing/no one shaped modern America more than Henry Ford and his impact on the automobiles, the media, and the start of a public education.Henry Ford, American Industrialist, greatly influenced production. wages, working conditions, and daily life. With his development of the assembly line, a technique used for mass production, Henry Ford made cars faster and cheaper than ever before. He allowed both wealthy and non-wealthy to afford cars. Today, thanks to automobiles, people are able to live farther from their jobs and the demand for car parts or necessities has fueled the economy by an increase of Jobs and businesses, In addition to this, automobiles have played a key role in the development of many cities, motels, and highway systems of today.Having not only an Impact on automobiles, Ford also provided better working conditions and wages for his workers. Doubling wages to $5 a day, reducing workdays from 9 hours to 8, and giving the weekends off, was how Henry Ford Influenced working conditions of today. Along with automobiles, the media also helped shaped modern America. The Inventions of the radio and sound films have greatly influenced America's lifestyle of today. The radio as well as sound films are probably one of the most used inventions of all time. When the radio first came about it was used by many as a leisurely thing.People would listen to music, religious sermons, news, and sports games. Today the radio is used by almost everyone; it is used in cars, stores, houses, and parties, it Is a form of entertainment. The radio has influenced many other electronic devices of today such as the iPod. Sound films are another popular invention that we still use today. With the help of sound films, movie theaters arose and shaped the American tradition of going out to the movies. Today there are about 18,000 movie theaters in the U. S that help fuel our economy and keep America entertain with new releases every week.In addition to leisurely Inventions, public education became more important in the 1920s. Before the 1920s a public education was not the maln concern of people as It Is today. In the 1920s public education became more important when people realized that, â€Å"Mastery of mathematics and language could spell the difference between a low-paying Job, unskilled Job and a higher paying position as an office worker. † (p. )This idea has greatly prospered over the years and led to many public schools and unlversltles of today. In the 1900s the percentage of students graduating rom high sc hool was 6. and tripled during the 1920s. Today children, teens, and adults continue to go to school to receive an education and a higher paying Job. During the 1920s the theory of evolution also became known during the scopes trial t Of2 ata scnool In lennessee. I nls Idea 0T evolutlon vs. rellglon Is stlll around today ana continues to be challenged. It is safe to say that the 1920s affected America greatly and continues to do so today. The invention of the automobile still affects modern America today and has greatly impacted the economy financially and socially.It has defined America's structure and changed the way we do things. The radio and sound films have changed the lifestyles of many and have become an American custom. Its businesses continue to grow today and are thriving. Education has also become very important to America and plays as key to architecture, health, and politics of today. Education has challenged many ideas and influences the way we think, positively.

Self Reflection Paper On Conflict - 1399 Words

A conflict that I have chose to write about is from one of my own experiences. Suchlike, my parent’s divorce in the year of 2007. I have chosen to write about this topic because I was in the middle of the dispute, therefore I know all components of the conflict. If I would have chosen a historical event at a different level, it is possible that I would not know all the details or possibly confuse part of the facts. I would not say writing about my own conflict is any easier because there are still various components to these conflicts, just like any other world wide problem. I tend to look back at this time because it was such an unhappy part in my whole familys life, and I have learned from it. As I stated in my self reflection paper, I†¦show more content†¦My father constantly had a bad attitude and that is where my mom drew the line. When he had a bad day he would come home and take it out on her. My parents had several differences because of having two different c onflict styles. My dad has the conflict style of a competitor. He always has to be right, and when he is not he becomes angry. His style of solving problems is way different than my mother’s, she likes to accommodate to other people (Barsky, 2014, p. 47). Therefore, she had low concern for herself and was always trying to please my father, which was not healthy for her. She went out of her way to satisfy him and when it did not work it made her more upset and obviously my father too. My mother’s emotions were taking over her life. From what I remember when I was younger is that my mother would spend her nights crying at the kitchen table when my father would be out doing chores. After reading Beyond Reason I can put together that she was letting her emotions get the best of her. Her emotions affected the way she ate, the way she interacted with my brothers and me, her thinking, and more aspects of her life. Her emotions were affecting her body in negative way (Fisher and Shapiro, 2006, p. 11). I can see how it would be hard to hide these emotions. If my mother would have been aware of the five core concerns, she would have had an easier way to deal with her emotions. According to Fisher and Shapiro, these fiveShow MoreRelatedManagement and negotiation1332 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Fall 2014 MGT 832 Negotiation and Conflict Management Mondays 2:40pm – 5:30pm. N124 NBC Dr. Jonelle Roth N421 Business College Complex Office Hours: Mon. 1pm – 2:30pm or by appointment Phone: 429-3519 Email: rothjon@msu.edu Textbooks: Lewicki, R., Saunders, D., Barry, B. (2010). Negotiation: Readings, Exercises, and Cases (6th ed). Irwin/McGraw Hill. 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The Prize Deep Book Pitch - 2005 Words

watching a movie in place of reading the entire text will be immediate honor code violations. The Prize Deep Book Pitch The Prize, by Daniel Yergin, is an important book for me because it has to do with some of the biggest issues in the modern world: Oil, Money, and Power. This book was rated 4.37 out of 5 Based on 3,753 reviews on Goodreads. â€Å"Energy consultant Yergin limns oil s central role in most of the wars and many international crises of the 20th century. A timely, information-packed, authoritative history of the petroleum industry, tracing its ramifications, national and geopolitical, to the present day.† - Publisher’s weekly. I will definitely be in my challenge zone while reading this book. I know this because I decided to†¦show more content†¦The Prize Deep Book Review During the past three weeks I have been reading a book called The Prize, by Daniel Yergin. I decided to read this book because it traces the history of the oil and gas business dating back to the mid eighteen hundreds up to recent times. This book is important because oil production is one of the biggest economic issues around today. The Prize explains the fluctuations in the oil business beginning with Edward Drake s first successful oil well in Pennsylvania, followed by Teddy Roosevelt s anti-monopoly case against Standard Oil and finishes with the development of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia. The book starts off with the discovery of oil in America. When Americans started to use oil, they had to skim it off the top of ponds that had a crack in the rock below it. The crack allowed oil to leak through. These leaks were called oil springs. Skimming oil off the top of oil springs was very primitive and could only gather so much oil. At that time, the only use for oil was for a medicine that would cure headaches. One day, after being very ill, a man named George Bissell stopped in Pennsylvania to see the oil springs there. He was amazed. When he traveled back to his hometown of Dartmouth, he met a professor who had a bottle of oil on his desk. Afte r getting into a conversation about oil with the professor, George found out that oil was flammable. The idea hit him, â€Å"Why couldn t oil be used as an illuminant?† Prior to the discovery

The New Green Renovating Macon s Public Spaces

The New Green: Renovating Macon’s Public Spaces Public spaces are areas in the community in which people can come into a common place and promotes community identity. Parks create an environment for the community to reach out to each other as well as creating a public forum for the community. We need to have the community more involved with each other and the best way to create an enriching environment is if the community was able to come and share their many identities to create a unique identity for the park. Tattnall Square Park hold a farmer’s market every week to promote community involvement and every so often brings in entertainment for the community to experience. The green space that the parks will have will welcome other community activities from other organizations and therefore allow the park to flourish. Parks are important to the community because they lend a hand in creating an identity to who the community is. The more inviting a community is, the more t he community might intermingle, and the more inviting the community will seem to others creating an environment that Village Green, Mid-City Square, and Mill Hill needs. Creating a public space is not as easy as waving a wand. Creating a public space take careful planning because a haphazard plan reduces the likeliness of encouraging community involvement or even after community usage. In order for the public spaces to flourish, they need to be open enough that the outside world can peer into the another

The Importance of Being Earnest Free Essays

TOPIC : THE ACT OF BUNBURYING IS THE CENTRAL TO THE THEME OF THE PLAY. DISCUSS WHY WITH REFERENCE TO QUOTES WITHIN THE TEXT AND THE ERA THE PLAY WAS WRITTEN IN. BUNBURYING- A WORLD OF CHIMERA :- Bunburying was just a way for Jack to break-out of his social duties and responsibilities by giving an excuse to meet an imaginary person (Ernest) created by him itself. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Being Earnest or any similar topic only for you Order Now The bunburying allows both Jack and Algernon to live an untruth, to give an impression assist the highest ethical standards, while be at fault without any such consequences. Even whenever Jack and Algernon are caught in their lives. They never went through any punishments. The situation never came off for them to kill there imaginary friend Ernest . This shows the Victorian societies real values. The Victorian values did not exhibit truthfulness, accountability and benevolence for the less privileged people. For instance Lady Bracknell:- Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die.. In this Lady bracknell shows no sympathy for Mr. Bunbury and does not exhibit pity for him as he is less privileged then status. It is befitting that how cursory is Victorian values. BUNBARING AS A CENTRAL THEME :- Marriage:- It is of principle importance in the story both as a chief plot and also a topic of debate. The issue of marriage came for the first time when Algernon asks Lane† Is marriage so demoralizing as that ? â€Å"(Pg 7). They discuss the attributes of marriage and discuss whether marriage is a substance of â€Å"business† or â€Å"pleasure†. The Lady Bracknell talks about engagement and marriage . According to her engagement should come as a something amazing and as a surprise. Jacks proposal can be assumed and so it shows the conventions of Victorian ethics and responsibility and thus shows his status in society. Lane tells about his own marriage that it is a pleasant but then says due to misunderstandings it did not work out between him n his wife so it became an unpleasant experience for him. Algernon takes his views as slack. His views were like that till he met Cecily. Jack expresses remorse to Gwendolyn as he has always been saying truth. She accepts his apology and feels sure that jack is going to change which shows Gwendolyn’s doubtful thoughts about marriage and men The Dual Life:- Bunburing for Jack was just a way to escape for his duties and social-responsibilities. Similarly Algernon’s imagery friend Bunbury was to break away from the country. As he says â€Å"Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury, and if you ever get married, which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it†. Page 41 act 1 Jack says this when he wishes to finish Ernest and suggests Algernon to finish Bunbury as now he is in love with Gwendolyn. He wants to be completely loyal and honest as now he is going to marry her. Algernon says it is the married man who needs bunbury the most to escape at times. Both have different views about marriage and both take bunbury as their life saver. Bunburing with Algernon:-It’s the cigarette case , when Jack goes and meets Algernon in a party and there Algernon tries to clear the doubt of a girl named Cecily . As the cigarette case that was missing from few days of Jack was with Algernon. Jack tells him to give it back to him as it is his. Algernon says it is not because it was given by Cecily to some called Uncle Jack. At that point Jack’s faking Ernest was caught . Algernon says that Jack is known as Ernest and has introduced him to everyone as Ernest. He also had a proof ,a visiting card naming Mr. Ernest Worthing. So Jack explains that thus his name is Jack in country and Ernest in the town. And the cigarette case was given to him in the country. ALGERNON:- You have always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to every one as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest-looking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly absurd your saying that your name isn’t Ernest. It’s on your cards. Here is one of them. [Taking it from case. ] ‘Mr. Ernest Worthing, B. 4, The Albany. ‘ I’ll keep this as a proof that your name is Ernest if ever you attempt to deny it to me, or to Gwendolyn, or to anyone else. [Puts the card in his pocket. ] JACK:- Well, my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country, and the cigarette case was given to me in the country. Bunburing with Lady Bracknell:- When aunt Augusta asks Algernon to dine with her and Mary Farquhar. Algernon replies that he needs to drop out the plan of dining with her as he got a telegram saying his friend Bunbury is suffering from an illness and needs to see him again . ALGERNON TO AUNT AUGUSTA :- â€Å"It is a great bore, and, I need hardly say, a terrible disappointment to me, but the fact is I have just had a telegram to say that my poor friend Bunbury is very ill again. † (Pg 16 Act 1) Bunburing with Gwendolyn :- Jack expresses his feelings for Gwendolyn in the absence of Aunt Augusta. Gwendolyn replying to him says that understands the feelings of Jack and got to know about her love of her life when for the very first time Algernon told her about his friend Ernest (Jack). As Algernon introduced her to Jack as Ernest before. And continues that she always knew that she is destined to love a man named Ernest. GWENDOLYN :-â€Å" Yes, I am quite well aware of the fact. And I often wish that in public, at any rate, you had been more demonstrative. For me you have always had an irresistible fascination. Even before I met you I was far from indifferent to you. [JACK looks at her in amazement. We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals. The fact is constantly mentioned in the more expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a frien d called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you†. (Pg 17 Act 1) Bunburing with Cecily :- Cecily lives in a fantasy and writes fictitious and imagery things in her diary about the romance of her and Algernon . She tells Algernon and shows him the ring that he gifted her. Cecily- â€Å"Worn out by your entire ignorance of my existence, I determined to end the matter one way or the other, and after a long struggle with myself I accepted you under this dear old tree here. The next day I bought this little ring in your name, and this is the little bangle with the true lover’s knot I promised you always to wear. † Algernon â€Å"Did I give you this? It’s very pretty, isn’t it? †page 41 act 2 Algernon pretends that he gave her that ring . NOTE: CITATION OF DIALOGUES UNDER â€Å" † PASTED FROM THE NOVEL :- http://www. online-literature. com/wilde/being_earnest/2/ How to cite The Importance of Being Earnest, Essay examples The Importance of Being Earnest Free Essays The Importance of Being Earnest Social class and public reputation are two of the most common things that influence a person in their decision making. In â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, Oscar Wilde mocks a society for their reasons of choosing who to marry. Oscar Wilde expresses an ironic and satiric perspective on a society that builds a marriage upon a foundation of money, power, and deceit. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Being Earnest or any similar topic only for you Order Now The play â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest,† is one of the most perfect examples of satire in our culture. Although it is set in England, it makes fun of the upper class. The play uses dramatic irony to show how Oscar Wilde sees the upper class as too formal and snobbish. It is dramatic irony because the characters in the play obviously think that they are high class with their multiple houses and butlers even though the author thinks that the upper class is too snobbish. The play also uses hyperbole to make its point. Every character in it is exaggerated. The characters Jack and Algernon are both willing to change their names to Earnest just because the women they love say that they will only love a man named Earnest. This is an example of how much emphasis Wilde believes that society places on love and how important it is to us. In they play, Wealth is a desirable aspect in life that many people crave. Many people will venture to extreme limits to acquire riches. In â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest†, prosperity is wanted so much that woman will consider wealth as their rationale to get married. In the book, when Jack Worthing proposed to Gwendolen Fairfax, Gwendolen’s mother refused to let her marry him. Her reasoning was since Jack didn’t know who his parents were; he would not receive an inheritance. Lady Bracknell refused to let her daughter marry someone who was not exceptionally wealthy. In this society, a person who descends from wealth is forbidden to marry someone from a lower class. It is considered disrespectful towards the family and it would degrade their self image. Power, in Wilde’s society, is also greatly commendable for a man who wants to marry. When Lady Bracknell questions Jack about his social status within the city, she is disappointed to hear that he is not of high class. Without money in the society, it is impossible to be a part of the high-class society; which is where power is attained. In this society, people marry inside of their own social and economic class. Since Jack does not have any power within the city, and does not have a lot of money to his name, he is not qualified to marry a woman of upper class. In addition to power and wealth being two ludicrous factors being heavily weighted for marriage, a man’s name also decides eligibility for matrimony. Jack lies to Gwendolen and tells her that his name his Ernest. When she learns that his name is not in fact Ernest, she refuses to marry him. Oscar Wilde used humor and irony when titling the play, â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest. † Earnest describes a person who is honest and sincere, which does not describe anybody within the play. All of the relationships in the play are built upon lies and deceit. Jack Worthing’s friend also deceives the woman that he loves, Cecily. Algernon also lies about his name and creates an imaginary friend so that he can avoid spending time with people that he does not want to see. Algernon and Jack come to call it â€Å"bunburying. When a social event is occurring that Jack or Algernon does not want to attend, they fake a visit with an extremely sick friend or relative. Eventually, Cecily and Gwendolen learn of all the secrets that Jack and Algernon are keeping. At first they are justifiably outraged. But after they all have talk, all is forgiven. This is another example that shows absurdity tow ards marriage. Cecily and Gwendolen realize that the men that they are supposed to marry have lied to them about everything. They don’t even really know who Jack and Algernon truly are. Even though Algernon and Jack have lied about everything, Gwendolen and Cecily both agree to carry on with the wedding. â€Å"The Importance of Being Earnest† provides many ironic and satiric views in a society where marriage is built upon all of the wrong foundations. Marriage, in this society, is built upon wealth, power, lies, and deceit. The characters in the story are very scandalous and indecent. Men lie to their fiances and women marry them for money and power. In today’s society, this would be considered a huge disgrace and would be untolerable. ? How to cite The Importance of Being Earnest, Essay examples The Importance of Being Earnest Free Essays The Importance Of Being Earnest â€Å"Women’s roles are often tokenistic in dramatic comedy† To what extent do you believe this to be the case in relation to the play you have been studying? In dramatic comedy it can often be said that women’s roles are ‘tokenistic’ which essentially means: that women are there to serve a little more than the minimum, or may not serve much of a purpose at all, they may also follow social stereotypes during the era of this literary piece. In this essay I will be assessing this statement and come to a final decision by looking at both sides of the argument and looking for secondary sources/opinions to prove some points that will be made. I believe that women are not tokenistic in terms of comedy in The Importance of being earnest because they do serve a purpose and add to the humour but on the other hand they may only do the very minimum within the story line and many of the female characters follow social stereotypes strongly. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Being Earnest or any similar topic only for you Order Now Wilde often uses characters within his plays and pieces as an opportunity to discuss or highlight certain contemporary issues, and may sometimes mock them through satire and farce. An example of this is the character of Gwendolen who is used to create humour; Oscar does this by presenting her as an inversion of the traditional female during the era Importance of Being Earnest was written. In the third act Gwendolen Says â€Å"But we will not be the first to speak† and then instantly contradicts her statement and addresses Algernon straight away after saying so, this would be found rather humorous by contemporary audiences because women were traditionally meant to be quiet and should ‘speak when spoken to’ Gwendolen recognises this, but yet she does speak first, and this is a break of a social stereotype. This is an example of a women’s role within The Importance of Being Earnest as un-tokenistic because she serves a purpose in creating humour, and also the language used in that line suggests that she is leading the conversation and in turn leading Cecily, that is because the plural â€Å"we† in the quote indicates both herself and Cecily, should both conform to her statement, she is in a sense telling Cecily what to do. Also linked to this, after the later quote she then begins to interrogate Algernon and Jack, and she is the first to do so. This shows that she is accustomed to being in a position of power, so to conclude this point: how can Gwendolen truely be tokenistic if she serves a purpose in terms of comedy and is in a position of power within the stated conversation/section. On the other hand Gwendolen seems to support the typical patriarchal society which is present in The Importance of Being Earnest’s era. It is shown by this quote – â€Å"How absurd to talk of the equality of the sexes! † And â€Å"men are infinitely beyond us† Both in Act 3 also the use of the word infinitely emphasises this driving Gwendolen’s further. Gwendolen indirectly mocks the idea of ‘new women’ which was a  feminist  ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence on feminism well into the twentieth century as well. It can be said that her role knocks back equality, which then leads to us thinking she is indeed tokenistic. But her role and this particular quote draws attention to the unfairness and importance of the issue at hand. This could be another example of Wilde using characters and satirical mocking to highlight certain issues, so therefore she again does indeed serve a purpose and an important one at that, so she may be un-tokenistic. Another example of roles of women serving a purpose is Lady Bracknell – â€Å"The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square† on page 20 act 1. This is an example of Oscar Wilde’s satirical mocking technique, directed towards the upper classes and the education system, through characters such as lady Bracknell and Gwendolen. Also the use of language and words such as ‘radically’ and ‘theory’ emphasises the satire because they are fairly emotive or serious words, contrasting with the absurd bigoted point. â€Å"Lady Bracknell is the main character to portray this satirical technique, as she believes the upper class to be much more educated than the lower class, purely because of social status† – hubpages. com/education, this point taken from an online website agrees with the idea that Wilde uses characters as a way to highlight issues and mock them. This is shown in the wording. And in turn this point suggests that if characters used to mock and highlight issues within society, then they are serving a purpose and are important to aspects of comedy within the play, examples of such characters are, Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen. So how can they be tokenistic if they are doing so? This shows that they are un-tokenistic. On the other hand Oscar Wilde often uses stock characters to enhance comedy and have no real purpose. â€Å"A  stock character  is a  fictional character  that relies heavily on  cultural types  or  stereotypes  for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics† – Fritzfreiheit. om, this shows that characters following stereotypes could be considered tokenistic, such as Lady Bracknell, who is described as â€Å"a symbol of Victorian earnestness and the unhappiness it brings as a result. She is powerful, arrogant, ruthless to the extreme, conservative, and proper. In many ways, she represents Wildeâ₠¬â„¢s opinion of Victorian upper-class negativity, conservative/repressive values, and power† – Cliffnotes. com, this shows that Lady Bracknell follows contemporary social stereotypes and only serves a minimum purpose and that is to make the audience laugh. So she may well be tokenistic. Also many other stock characters are considered to be tokenistic because they are only used to enhance comedy, not to add to the story or to highlight issues. Examples of a stock character with a minimal role is Miss Prism she is an example of a stereotype of an aspiring romantic novelist, she is the typical woman of the time with a dream that is suppressed. This means she both abides by contemporary social stereotypes and in no way highlights issues as much as Gwendolen or other characters may. So this could be suggested that indeed she is tokenistic due to the later points made. In conclusion I believe that female characters in Oscar Wilde’s Importance of being earnest such as Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell both serve a purpose in terms of comedy by enhancing it with the use of; farce, satire, and mocking. Linked to this he also uses the humour created by these characters as well as the actually characters themselves as an opportunity to mock or highlight issues and ideals, for example Lady Bracknell and the upper class. But on the other hand it could be said that any female characters are stock characters which follow stereotypes and therefore produce a minimum affect, examples of this are Miss Prism and Lady Bracknell who has proven to be most contradictory and can be used by both sides of the argument because she does serve an important purpose. Over all I believe the large majority of female roles within The Importance of being earnest are not tokenistic because they most serve a purpose and enhance comedy. By James Rae Bibliography – Importance of Being Earnest * http://rachira. hubpages. com/hub/The-Importance-of-Being-Earnest-Mocking-Education – Author: RachiRa (username) – Date of citation: 14/3/13 * http://fritzfreiheit. com/wiki/Stock_character – Author: Fritz Freiheit – Date of citation: 14/3/13 * http://www. cliffsnotes. com/study_guide/literature/importance-of-being-earnest/character-analysis/rev-chasuble-miss-prism. html – Author: Susan Van Kirk – Date of citation: 14/3/13 How to cite The Importance of Being Earnest, Papers