The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest

Directions: Answer the following questions as you watch the movie. Make sure to write in complete sentences.

1.  What item does Ernest lose that Algernon finds? What does the object reveal about Ernest?

2.  Why do Jack and Algernon need Ernest and Bunbury, respectively?

3.  Why does Gwendolen want to marry an “Ernest”?

4.  Briefly describe the requirements that Ernest must meet in order to marry Gwendolen. Where does he excel in character? Where does he fall short?

5.  Describe Jack’s birth. What is significant about it?

Act II

6.  How does Jack character change once he gets to the country?

7.  Describe how Cecily falls in love with “Ernest” and then develops the affair. Is this similar to the way Gwendolen falls in love?

8.  Describe the way the female characters interact with one another in this act.

9.  Why do both men want to be christened in this act?

10.  What role does food play? Think about when the characters are eating and what is going on in their lives when they eat.