The Importance of Being Earnest LrJ #3

Wit is used when Farce is shown in act II when Cecily brings up Bunbury. Because Algernon told Cecily about Bunbury, Jack now has to play along with the charade. He gets angry because he now has to pretend that Algernon is his brother. Then Jack says, " Bunbury! Well, I won't have him talk to you about Bunbury or about anything else. It is enough to drive one perfectly frantic." (Wilde p. 153) This was a very clever thing for Algernon to do. Cecily and Miss Prism are discussing the point of having a diary and memory. Cecily says, "I don't like novels that end happily. They depress me so much." (Wilde. p. 143) This shows irony and makes a silly situation in the play. It is complete nonsense to say something like that. Satire is shown when Cecily tells Algernon, who is pretending to be Jacks brother, that Jack will not be back until Monday. Algernon pretends to be very surprised and disappointed, "That is a great disappointment. I am obliged to go up by the first train on Monday morning. I have a business appointment that I am anxious...to miss." (Wilde. p. 146)

Wilde makes a comment on Victorian society by putting in little hints of why he doesn't like it. He creates comical situations, which shape what he thinks of the society. He shows that they are gullible by having so many fake identities in the play and shows that they are all rich and self absorbed.