A Marxist Criticism on The Importance of Being Earnest

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A Marxist Criticism on "The Importance of Being Earnest"

"Excuse me Geoffrey, could you get me some more water. I'm terribly

thirsty, and the weather out here isn't doing any good for my complexion."

declares the man as he sighs in exhaustion.

"Right away sir, anything else?" proclaims the servant.

"No that will be all." says the man as he waves off the servant.

So is this the scene of yesteryear's society or one of today's, well in

actuality it can be either. In today's world the rich still rely on butlers and

maids. It seems to be a practice that will always exist in this world, but the

question largely is not on their jobs, but if they are deemed of a different

class, and sadly to say yes. In today's world it seems that class is still a

huge part of the world order, and moreover it seems that there will always be

the rich and poor, the owner and the worker. This is even demonstrated by the

literature of our time and that of other era's, such as the play "The Importance

of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. In this play Wilde display's the class

structure with a different and interesting twist. He makes a reflection on the

society with his own sense of humor, but however it still leaves a very good

opportunity to make a Marxist critique about the way the class structure

influences the play. He leaves room for these critiques when he writes about

the servants, the nobles, and the middle class. His view on society and class

is very evident on the way the servants are portrayed.

"‘I don't know that I am much interested in your family life, Lane'"

"‘No sir; it's not a very interesting subject. I never think of it

myself.'"

In this passage from the play it is very clear that Wilde likes to give

his characters some life, but however it seemed that he was giving the servants

a bit too much, but nevertheless it does establish very well the position of

those servants. In the society Wilde is presenting it seems that the place of

the servant was not only for manual labor, but also to provide conversation, and

to compliment the employer's personalities. In the story the idea of class was

demonstrated by the interaction between Lane and Algernon even though Lane was

witty he did know his place as a servant and throughout the play the servants

were an excellent reminder that class structure did exist. Wilde's idea of a

witty servant has even spawned off into today's society with television sitcoms

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