Gwendolen And Cecily From The Play example essay topic

When people meet each other, they really do not know that much about the other person. It is human nature to judge a person with the facts that are initially presented about the individual, such as appearance and attitude. In this way, people develop images about others that may not necessarily be true. They see the differences in one another before the similarities because differences are foreign and stand out. Two people who really do not get along at first may actually be quite similar and compatible with each other. In "The Importance of Being Earnest", two characters, Gwendolen and Cecily, are irritated with each other when they first meet because of a misunderstanding.

It is their behavior, however, that results in an indication that they are more similar to each other than different. Gwendolen and Cecily are brought up in different social societies. When they get into an argument, their opinions about each other arise. Gwendolen is from the city and Cecily was brought up in the country. Their impressions of each lifestyle are entirely different and biased, since most of what they know has been told to them.

Their comments on the other society reflects the image they have of the people in it. Gwendolen says that "the country always bores [her] to death". By saying this, she is implying that people in the country are boring. Since she is talking to Cecily, it is obvious that Gwendolen means that she is boring.

Cecily also has an opinion about people from the city. She states that "flowers are as common [in the country]... as people are in the London". (Act 2) The implication is that Gwendolen is common, not unique like Cecily. In this analy zation of their banter, it is evident that their social prespectives are very different. When observing their conversation, it is evident that Gwendolen and Cecily have more similarities between them than differences.

It is actually part of the reason why they get so heated in their dispute. They both indicate that they are very superficial people. Gwendolen hopes that Jack "will always look at [her]... especially when there are other people present". When in love, it should not matter what other people think. Gwendolen has a different opinion. She feels that the most important thing about a relationship is what other people think of it.

(Act 1, page 11) Cecily informs Gwendolen that she is "very fond of being looked at". (Act 2) This means that most of her self-confidence is based upon how attractive she thinks she is. Even though they show it in different ways, it is obvious that they both have no sense of individuality and would rather conform to what they are accustomed to. Later in the play, they both show that they are very impatient people as well. When Algernon needs to leave for about half an hour, Cecily thinks that "it is rather hard that [he] should leave... for so long a period as half an hour". (Act 2) She has lived all her life without him before, so it is humorous that she feels that she cannot wait half an hour for him.

Impatience is not as obvious with Gwendolen as it is with Cecily. She tells Jack that if he is "not too long, [she] will wait for [him] all [her] life". (Act 3, page 52) In saying this, she means that she would not really wait her whole life for him. She would not have the patience to actually wait for him.

Both these women show that they are not patient individuals. The men are more like a convenience rather then people they really love, so it has no meaning for Gwendolen or Cecily to wait for them. Gwendolen and Cecily from the play "The Importance of Being Earnest" are introduced by Wilde to be excessively different, but then reveal characteristics of being extremely alike. In the end, it is recognized that the women are very much alike due to their personalities and expressions.

It does not take much to find differences between people, but similarities sometimes require a little more time and effort. It tells us that people should not be judged to be different until they get to know one another better, since many similarities between individuals are exposed by discovering more about the other person..