board questions:2014
1. Give the character sketch of Jack.
Ans: Jack was a friend of Algernon Moncrieff who had been using double identity. When Algernon found his cigarette case, he finally confessed that he called himself Ernest in town and Jack in the country. He was an orphan adopted and taken care by old Thomas Cardew who had a grand daughter called Cecily Cardew. After old Thomas Cardew’s death, he had to become the gurdian of Cecily.
To escape from the responsibility of being a guardian he would excuse himself to visit his brother Ernest who would get into serious troubles. When he reaches town, he would call himself as Ernest. He had fallen in love with Gwendolen. He had come to town with the intention of proposing her for marriage and if she agreed to marry him, he was planning to stop the double identity.
2015
2.Describe the character of Lane.
Ans: Lane is a very loyal and dedicated servant to Algernon. He tries to mind his own business. This we see when Algernon asked Lane if he heard the music piece that he was playing and whether he liked it. Lane said that he thought it would be inappropriate for him to hear.
He also brought cucumber sandwiches for Aunt Bracknell, as Algernon had ordered, but when Algernon said to Aunt Bracknell that there were no Cucumber sandwiches, Lane quickly agreed saying he went down to the market twice but couldn't find cucumbers.
From his description of his married life, it is seen that he is not excited about marriage is plain and simple. Lane symbolises the lower class of the Victorian society in London. He belonged to the lower class and does not like to meddle with the personal and social lifestyle of the aristocratic people.
2017
3.Write a note on the double identity played by Jack.
Ans: Jack Worthing is the guardian of Cecily Cardew, the grand daughter of Old Thomas Cardew who had adopted and taken care of Jack.It was a tiresome responsibility, as he described to Algernon. So,he would keep Cecily under the care of Miss Prism and escape to town saying that his brother Ernest was in serious trouble, and when he went to town, he would use the name Ernest.
When he revealed the truth that his name was Jack and not Ernest, Algernon also tells him that he also has a double identity. He also had an invalid friend in the country by the name Bunbury. This shows that they were both involving in double identity to escape their social responsibilities.
2018
4.‘The Importance of being Earnest is a commentary on the social conventions of the late Victorian London, the way they treated a serious institution like marriage. Elucidate.
Ans:During the Victorian era, marriage was pure business and had nothing to do with love and romance. Marriage proposals meant dowry, family heirloom, connections and social status. This is seen when Algernon told Jack that to fall in love is romantic but to propose is pure business. Marriage is a business matter because during Victorian era, women were no more than a man's property. There was also dishonesty in marriage. Extra marital affair was a common thing as Algernon said ‘Three is a company, two is none'. He also tells Jack/Ernest that women never marry the men they flirt with.
Lane symbolises the lower class of the Victorian society. He describes marriage as plainly a mistake which he sometimes thought he should not have committed.
2019
5. Justify ‘The importance of being Earnest' as a satirical play.
Ans: ‘The importance of being Earnest’ is a satirical play about the social lifestyle of the Victorian era in England. It satirises how the society treats important social issues like marriage, love, class difference and the double standards of lifestyle.
During the Victorian era, marriage was pure business and had nothing to do with love and romance. This is seen when Algernon told Jack that 'to fall in love is romantic but to propose is pure business'. There was also dishonesty in marriage. Extra marital affair was a common thing as Algernon said ‘Three is a company, two is none'.
The issue of love and romance is also satirised when Algernon said that women never marry the men they flirt with.
Oscar Wilde also brings out the issue of class difference when Algernon is disappointed at the lower class people for not setting good example for the upper aristocratic class to follow.
Double standards and artificiality of the people is satirized when Aunt Augustus bluntly tells Algernon to inform Bunbury to make up his mind whether to live or die. Mary Farquhar also flirted with her own husband in public, which made sensible people feel awkward.
Oscar Wilde also satirizes how the Victorian people, especially men escape the artificiality and double standards of the society as both Jack and Algernon makes fake excuses and double identity to avoid unnecessary social gatherings. Even Lady Augustus’ husband escapes his wife's parties by going upstairs to eat alone, away from the company.
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15 сен 2024
