A Marxist Criticism on The Importance of Being Earnest :: essays research papers

A Marxist Criticism on "The Importance of Being Earnest"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "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.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "Right away sir, anything else?" proclaims the servant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "No that will be all." says the man as he waves off the servant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "‘I don't know that I am much interested in your family life, Lane'"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  "‘No sir; it's not a very interesting subject. I never think of it myself.'"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  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