Earnest

Physical journeys in novels are the ultimate adventure stories. From Homer's Odyssey across the Mediterranean fighting mythological beasts, to Jack Kerouac's On the Road featuring a beatnik trek along the highways of America, a physical journey can be used to create the most enthralling tales. In The Importance of Being Earnest however, the physical journey is not used to tell the story of an adventure or spiritual journey, but as a means for the characters to work their way around the social norms of the Victorian era.

The Importance of Being Earnest is a social commentary on the norms of 19th century England. Throughout the play the trivialities and social nuances of the time are satirized and exaggerated; being exposed as vain and stupid. The characters physical movement alternates between two general places the "town" and the "country". The people living in either area were largely ignorant to the goings on in the other, so taking advantage of this ignorance Algernon and Jack both develop alter egos as "Bunbury" and "Ernest" respectively. Algernon uses Bunbury as a means of avoiding social situations that displease him, whilst Jack does the same with Ernest, he often leaves the country for the town proclaiming that he has to tend to his black sheep of a brother that he has to worry about. This in of itself is a criticism of Victorian morals. They are so stifling to both Jack and Algernon that they are forced to create different personas just to live their lives as they please. 

This "journey" that exists between the town and the country creates some comedic situations as the play progresses. Jack claims in Act II that his brother Ernest has in fact died in Paris from "severe chill", yet Algernon later arrives pretending to be Ernest himself. Eventually both men are found out to be frauds. The physical journey and how the two male characters used the ignorance associated with the travel (or lack thereof) of information is an important factor in their bids for marriage - which are not based on love but rather prestige and status. That is ultimately Oscar Wilde's critique of the society and distance plays a large role in that. 

Two Poems

The first poem I chose was "Riddle"(238. pg 300). Riddle is a pretty straight forward poem asking us "Who killed the Jews?" the poem recalls the holocaust and uses it's refrain to ask a rhetorical question as to who is to blame for the genocide. The poem points out how Germans in the time period all claimed to have no direct involvement with the holocaust itself and the killing of the Jews. However, the poem lists the various things that people had done during the time that lays the blame on all of them in an equal manner. "and some had planted the wheat, and some poured the steel, and some cleared the rails, ... Who killed the Jews?" It uses repetition in multiple stanzas to emphasize and drive home the fact that so many people didn't want to garner blame for the horrific deeds of the Holocaust but as with all rhetorical questions the questions "Who killed the Jews" implies that in pouring the steel or laying the wheat all of the German people have to accept some sort of blame for what went on.

I agree with the poet in some respects that all of these people have something to own up to in a way, and that few Germans were really rushing to save the Jews and rather carried on in assisting a regime (albeit indirectly) in the mass killing. It seems that the poet is critical of people like Albert Speer who were "just doing their job" yet helping to arm Hitler's forces- who betrayed their conscience to adhere to an immoral authority. However even with that I think that some common folk who were just "clearing the rails" or "raising the cattle" really had much of a choice when it meant that or survival.

 The second poem I analyzed was "The warden said to me" (250. pg311). I chose this poem because it is straightforward, short and sweet. Magnificent to the English student. Ok, well this one has an easy meaning. A man is in jail and he asked by his warden why the Black prisoners don't run away from jail like the white one's do. The prisoner answers "...we ain't got no wheres to run to." This is obviously Alluding to the fact that pre-civil rights America was essentially a prison for African-Americans, as their rights were limited in ever aspect of their lives. So, being in jail or being "free" wasn't much of a difference for them. The line "innocently, I think," is repeated twice before the two characters in the poem speak. I think this just emphasizes the fact that neither of these characters feel much animosity towards one another but more of a general frankness and perhaps even the beginnings of empathy in the warden (Who's inital question to the prisoner is an interesting thing to ask given their setting.).

I like this poem. It's straightforward and get's to the point. I'm kind of a fan of John Steinbeck so I appreciate colloquial diction like "suh" and "got no wheres" + "why come". I feel like it just gives you a much better feel for the setting in a poem, and helps illuminate the time period and the relationship between the two guys.