Research Paper

Jamie Johnson

Mr. Gowans

Language Arts

April 4th

In the Book by Oscar Wilde “The Importance of being Earnest,” The author writes about being earnest as a trait while referring to an individual named Earnest who in fact doesn’t actually exist. He apparently thinks that the people who feel like earnestness is such an admirable trait are naive and making a big deal about something that in reality doesn’t exist to the extent they pretend it does and is an overrated title.

Cecily and Gwendolen are in love with the name Ernest. “Cecily: You must not laugh at me, darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest. There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest.”(Wilde, 67-68) Just like Gwendolen, Cecily admits that marrying a man with the name Ernest was a girlish dream. Is Earnestness such an admirable trait that they want to marry someone named Ernest and only Ernest? Most people only look at the good of the trait earnestness but with every good comes bad. Although there are good things about being earnest there can also be bad.

 Is being earnest an admirable trait? At dictionary.com, earnestness is defined as “serious in intention, purpose, or effort; showing depth and sincerity of feeling.” (Earnestness)There are some ups and downs to being earnest as there is to most traits. For one, to have someone who is serious in their intents, purpose and efforts would be nice but if they are too serious in their work they would never be home or if their intents or purpose wasn’t good then that wouldn’t be an admirable trait. For example, a criminal may be earnest in getting rich as opposed to a legitimate hard working individual. So it isn’t so much whether you are “serious in intention, purpose, or effort; showing depth and sincerity of feeling” but the direction taken because of one’s earnestness.

A lot of people confuse seriousness and earnestness. Although the synonym words for seriousness is earnestness and sincerity that doesn't mean they are the same thing. “Synonyms are words that have a related meaning to another word or a similar word.”(Examples) There are many similarities in seriousness and earnestness but there are differences as well. We are all familiar with taking something serious, meaning we recognize that it is something significant or of importance while being earnest is more of showing an intense effort in doing or accomplishing something. So to take something serious does not necessarily mean you are being earnest. Seriousness and earnestness are very similar but you can be serious without being earnest and you can be earnest without being serious.

 Earnestness may be an admirable trait but that does not mean you have to marry a person with the name Ernest, even though they may be earnest. From the book one gets the impression that Mr. Wilde thinks titles are very over rated.  Whether or not earnestness is an admirable trait or not it’s all based on your opinion. Serious people may be earnest but it’s not always the case and giving someone the title of being earnest will not make them such.

Work Cited

“Earnestness.” Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. 8 April. 2013. Web. 10 April 2013.   <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/earnestness>.

"Examples of Synonyms." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow, n.d. Web. 4 April 2013. Web. 12 April 2013 <http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-synonyms.html>.

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest: August 2009. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.