Throughout the reading of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there have been a lot of ties to the Victorian Era because that is when the story takes place. Some things that I have noticed about the History of the era and its ties the comedy are that it was common to marry your cousin in the Victorian era. I saw this in the book when Algernon is faking to be Ernest to hit on his cousin Cecily. Nowadays it is really wierd to marry your cousin, so if I didn't know that fact about how it was common to inbreed, I would have been confused.
Another tie I noticed between the history and the book is that there is a big difference between the social classes. This is shown in the book by the way Algernon treats his servant, Lane. Lane brings everything to Algernon on a silver platter, even if it is a small note. He always does what Algernon wants, at any moment. This is because Algernon is higher classed than Lane, so Lane is serving the food instead of getting served the food. Also, the higher class people are alot more respected and distinguished than the lower class people. Which is shown in the book by the way people treat Algernon.
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Just a thought Michael,
ReplyDeleteErnest/Jack is not the cousin of Cecily, thew are not even blood related.
Jack is the guardian of Cecily, there is no blood relation. He is the adopted son of her grandfather, as such there is no "inbreeding" involved.
I agree with the differences between social classes. It is shown very clearly in this book.
ReplyDeleteI do not fully agree with view of people having a marriage with their cousin. They mainly have marriages to those with high social class to raise there class.
ReplyDeleteThe social classes are probably the most clearly shown look at the Victorian Era, and sorry Michael but Dpbadge's comment was right jack and Cecily are not related.
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