I Never Tell the Truth and I Always Lie

Dishonesty is a major theme in the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” It is made humorous; satirical, in respect to social institutions; it also is apparent in the difference between the name “Ernest” and the word “earnest;” you can also find it in the situations involving the pursuit of pleasure. Many times in the novel, it is mentioned and alluded to, that, being honest is bad, unstylish, and/or something to be ashamed of. This is quite contradictory to actuality. Also, throughout the play, Wilde makes fun of dishonesty in the upper class of society. It is clear that honesty is shameful and that people should make themselves to be ignorant and sharp. It is ironic that in the end of the play, Jack turned out to be named Ernest after all and he was Algernon’s brother, so in the end his dishonesty turned out to be the truth and in an exchange between him and Gwendolyn, he asks for her forgiveness of his pure honesty for his whole life and she subsequently agrees.

Wilde is trying to say in the play that dishonesty was expected and respected in the Victorian era, especially in the upper class. The characters often say stuff that indirectly, or quite directly as the case may be, make honesty out to be bad. In the case of Ernest vs. earnest, it is the earnest thing to do if your name is not Ernest but as soon as you change your name to Ernest you loose all earnest qualities. Whether the men were pretending to be Ernest or planning to become Ernest, the were un-earnest. In the end however, Jack turned out to be Ernest making his lies earnest. Tricky stuff. Tricky, tricky stuff.