In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, the author satirizes the superficial nature of Victorian age society through the use of a physical change in location. In order to live socially acceptable lives, Jack and Algernon have both become accustomed to travelling between the city and the countryside. In Hertfordshire, away from the city, Jack lives as he is expected to in the time period. He watches over his ward, Cecily, and acts as a model citizen. Jack's only relief from the dreadful bore of Victorian life is being able to escape to London, with the excuse that he is helping his sick brother, Ernest. The journey between the city and countryside in the play represents the way that Jack and Algernon can switch between their two identities.
The main character in the play, Jack, represents the upper class citizens of the Victorian era. He is forced into behaving properly and responsibly because society expects him to. He never allows himself to have any fun while taking care of Cecily. Cecily herself frequently pleads with Jack that he be less proper. Jack confides in Algernon that he really hates being forced to act as a model citizen. The trip between the city and the countryside symbolizes the vast difference between how Jack would like to act and how he is expected to act. Just as the lifestyles of people living in the city and the country are different, so is the way that Jack allows himself to act in those places. The author criticizes the Victorian society by showing the great lengths that people will go to in order to momentarily escape it.
During the Victorian era, people were expected to live “properly”. This led to many people putting on a facade of always behaving morally and politely. The author points out the hypocritical nature of the people in the Victorian era. Normally, neither Jack nor Algernon would behave the way that they do in the public eye. However, they both have accepted their hypocritical lives, just as most other people in the time period. Jack and Algernon treat their journeys between the city and the country as if they were completely normal. They both have to travel far away in order to be allowed to be themselves. Yet they do not think of their travels as inane, but instead as if they were the best idea that they have ever had. The journey between the city and the countryside symbolizes the acceptance of hypocrisy in the Victorian era.
Throughout the novel, the trip between the city and the countryside is frequently mentioned. Jack’s life seems to be almost tied to the train that takes him between Hertfordshire and London. Not only does he need the railway to live his double-life, but he was also found there as a child. This uncanny connection with the railway symbolizes how he is trapped in his superficial life. He is neither Jack who lives in Hertfordshire nor Ernest who lives in London. Jack is forced to live forever in transition. The train symbolizes Jack’s two-faced life.
The Victorian era was marked by an increased importance of being proper. Jack is used to symbolize the Victorian society, and the trips that he makes between the city and the country show the author's opinion on the Victorian era. The distance that Jack has to travel each time that he wants to be himself shows how different his "proper" self is from his actual personality. The way that he accepts that he must use the train to be himself parallels how people in the Victorian era accept their hypocrisy. Jack's journeys between Hertfordshire and London represent Jack's two-sided life. The trips between the city and countryside are more than just for transportation; as a central piece of the play, they display the author's feelings towards the Victorian era.
The main character in the play, Jack, represents the upper class citizens of the Victorian era. He is forced into behaving properly and responsibly because society expects him to. He never allows himself to have any fun while taking care of Cecily. Cecily herself frequently pleads with Jack that he be less proper. Jack confides in Algernon that he really hates being forced to act as a model citizen. The trip between the city and the countryside symbolizes the vast difference between how Jack would like to act and how he is expected to act. Just as the lifestyles of people living in the city and the country are different, so is the way that Jack allows himself to act in those places. The author criticizes the Victorian society by showing the great lengths that people will go to in order to momentarily escape it.
During the Victorian era, people were expected to live “properly”. This led to many people putting on a facade of always behaving morally and politely. The author points out the hypocritical nature of the people in the Victorian era. Normally, neither Jack nor Algernon would behave the way that they do in the public eye. However, they both have accepted their hypocritical lives, just as most other people in the time period. Jack and Algernon treat their journeys between the city and the country as if they were completely normal. They both have to travel far away in order to be allowed to be themselves. Yet they do not think of their travels as inane, but instead as if they were the best idea that they have ever had. The journey between the city and the countryside symbolizes the acceptance of hypocrisy in the Victorian era.
Throughout the novel, the trip between the city and the countryside is frequently mentioned. Jack’s life seems to be almost tied to the train that takes him between Hertfordshire and London. Not only does he need the railway to live his double-life, but he was also found there as a child. This uncanny connection with the railway symbolizes how he is trapped in his superficial life. He is neither Jack who lives in Hertfordshire nor Ernest who lives in London. Jack is forced to live forever in transition. The train symbolizes Jack’s two-faced life.
The Victorian era was marked by an increased importance of being proper. Jack is used to symbolize the Victorian society, and the trips that he makes between the city and the country show the author's opinion on the Victorian era. The distance that Jack has to travel each time that he wants to be himself shows how different his "proper" self is from his actual personality. The way that he accepts that he must use the train to be himself parallels how people in the Victorian era accept their hypocrisy. Jack's journeys between Hertfordshire and London represent Jack's two-sided life. The trips between the city and countryside are more than just for transportation; as a central piece of the play, they display the author's feelings towards the Victorian era.
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