In The Importance of Being Earnest, Jack and Algernon clearly have a preoccupation with food. In this lesson, you explored the deeper meaning of this preoccupation. Using what you learned in this lesson and what you have read in the text, discuss how food serves as a symbol for obedience to impulse and the pursuit of pleasure. How does this symbol help Oscar Wilde to comment on and satirize society?
Do not restrict your discussion to your reading for this lesson; include Acts I and II in your analysis and commentary.
In The Importance of Being Earnest, food serves as a symbol for obedience to impulse and the pursuit of pleasure. This symbol effectively helps Oscar Wilde to comment on and satirize society.
Throughout the play, both Jack and Algernon have a preoccupation with food, constantly consuming and discussing it. This preoccupation reflects their desire for instant gratification and indulgence in their impulses, symbolizing their pursuit of pleasure rather than adhering to societal norms and expectations. Food becomes a metaphor for the characters' insatiable appetites for pleasure and their willingness to prioritize their own desires above societal conventions.
This theme is apparent right from the beginning of the play, in Act I, when Algernon declares, "I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them." Here, Algernon expresses his disdain for those who do not share his passion for indulgence, implying that he believes in allowing oneself to fully indulge in earthly pleasures. Similarly, Jack's desire for food is evident in his invented brother, Ernest, whose name he uses as an excuse to escape to the city and indulge in a more pleasurable lifestyle.
Additionally, food is also used to satirize the rigid societal expectations and hypocrisy of the Victorian era. In Act I, Algernon reveals that he has created a fictional friend named Bunbury, whom he visits whenever he wants to escape his responsibilities. This is similar to Jack's persona of Ernest, which he uses as an excuse to neglect his duties in the country. These invented personas are reminiscent of the superficiality and phoniness prevalent in society at the time. The characters' respective cravings for food reflect their desire to escape from these societal constraints and enjoy life to the fullest.
Moreover, the characters' obsession with food also functions as a critique on the emptiness of Victorian society's focus on appearances and superficiality. Algernon's witty remarks about food and his insistence on pleasure over seriousness reveal his disdain for the strict moral codes and the artificiality of the upper class. By placing an emphasis on the pursuit of pleasure, Wilde challenges the notion that societal norms and expectations are necessary for a fulfilling life. He suggests that society's obsession with proper etiquette and decorum is shallow, and true happiness lies in giving in to one's impulses and desires.
In conclusion, the symbol of food in The Importance of Being Earnest serves to depict the characters' obedience to impulse and pursuit of pleasure, allowing Oscar Wilde to satirize and comment on Victorian society. Through their obsession with food, Wilde criticizes the rigidity and hypocrisy of societal expectations, highlighting the importance of individual freedom and happiness. By employing this symbol strategically throughout the play, Wilde effectively exposes the superficiality and emptiness of a society that places appearances above the pursuit of genuine pleasure and fulfillment.