Sincere Irreverence

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A prominent theme in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is the question of earnestness or sincerity. At the core of the play’s exploration of earnestness is the playwright’s social criticism for the substitution of moral values for aesthetic values. Wilde pokes fun at the notion of morality as a set rules dictating what people should and shouldn’t do. For Wilde, “earnestness” contains false morality as well as false truth. It is for this reason that Wilde makes a point to contrast his two male leads. John (Jack) Worthing’s insincerity is primarily self-serving and therefore amoral, whereas Algernon (Algy) Moncrieff’s insincerity is to be viewed as a positive form of creative expression.
As the central character of the play, Jack initially appears to be a sincere individual but is soon proven to be otherwise. His first line in the play explains his true motivation for escaping his country home for the excitement of the city: “ Oh pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?” (14). So, despite his proper outward appearance, Jack is at heart a hedonist and also...

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