Jack and Algernon are both incredibly cynical characters but by far Algernon is the more sardonic of the two. Algernon is idle and prone to boredom and has no visible means of support apart from his debts. One off the many examples of cynicism is when Algernon replies to Jack that “I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal.” (Act 1 page 3) Jack on the other hand has a more earnest view on life, “My own one, I have never loved any one in the world but you”. Jack is a very down to earth character who lives most of the time at the “Manor House, Woolton, Hertfordshire” (Act 1, page 24) Jack is less of a dandy (man to concerned with appearance) then Algernon, otherwise known as Algy, and dresses with austereness and although being very prim and proper, he would not stand out in a crowd. Jack is always commenting on the fact that being underdressed “is better then being always over dressed” Algernon reply’s is that “If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated” (Act II, page 39) This is just one of the many euphemisms that Wild uses in the play. What Wild could have said about Algernon is that he is a complete upper-class snob, but he chose not to. Algernon feels that Jack has absolutely no taste at all, “I certainly wouldn’t let Jack by my outfit. Has no taste in neckties at all” (Act II, page 31) In my opinion “All woman become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man ever does. That’s his.” (Act I, page 21) is one of the more amusing remarks that Algernon makes in the entire play. Algernon love food and drink especially muffins and regards Jacks as not serous enough about food, this is one of the many idle trivialities that Jack does not display. Algernon’s level of absurdity far surpasses Jack’s with this particular quote from Act I, page 21 “The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain” In all farness Jack and Algernon are very much alike but there are more differences between them then there are similarities, for one Jack has much more respect for woman then his counterpart Algy.
The proposal scene, Act I, pages 13-15, is the first of the two proposals that happen in the course of the play. Jack Worthing is in love with Gwendolyn and apprehensively asks her to marry him, “Miss Fairfax, ever since I met you I have admired you more than any girl… I have ever met since… I met you” (Act I, page 13). Gwendolyn expresses herself with utter decorum that you would expect of a woman of her upbringing, for she is a very accomplished socialite. Jack plays the role of the plays ingénue (naïve and easily manipulated) and is far less accustomed to the substance of Gwendolyn’s character and is rather taken aback when she accepts his proposal. The world of this play is one which takes nothing seriously, and even though at that point Jacks name is not Earnest he go on giving Gwendolyn false impressions about his name right up to the end of the play. It is at this point we see that Gwendolyn accepts Jack as Earnest without asking any questions and we see Wild paradox as to the fact the all the characters in the play are always in earnest.
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is a comedy of manors about upper-class people who live absolutely trivial and idle lives. This is directly mocking the people that would have been watching the play on the 14 of February 1896, St Valentine’s day. Jack and Algernon are to rich idle young men, whom both are in pursuit of wealthy and upper-class young woman who know absolutely nothing about there lives and accept wedding proposals with absolute credulity, believing that there names are “Earnest”. Throughout the play we learn of the two male characters cynical and somewhat hypercritical outlook on life, woman and the society that they live in. The whole play relates back to two things; the plays subtitle ‘A Trivial Comedy about Serious People’ and the earnestness of the two young men, who paradoxically pass themselves off as having the name Earnest so that they can marry the woman of there dreams. In the end the woman find out the truth of there lovers name but ultimately accept who that are and agree to marry, no longer in earnest. The play is set in earnest and at the end of the play we here Jack say the crux line, “I’ve now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Bring Earnest” (Act III, page 73)
