The Importance of Being Earnest Study Guide Questions Act 1 – Flashcards
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Why does Lane think it isn't polite to listen to Algernon's piano-playing?
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Because Algy is playing badly
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What does Algernon tell Jack he has always suspected him of being?
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A Bunburyist
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What leads Algernon to think Jack is leading a double life?
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He finds an inscription reading: To Uncle Jack from Your Little Cecily
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What does Jack say is very ungentlemanly thing to read?
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A private cigarette case
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At first, Jack tells Algernon that Cecily is his what?
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His Aunt
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What does Algernon mean when he says that Lady Bracknell rings the doorbell in a "Wagerian manner"?
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She is pressing it nonstop; heavy-handedly
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Why does Lane claim that there were "no cucumbers at the market"?
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He is covering for Algy, who has eaten them all
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Gwedolen says they live in...?
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An Age of Ideals
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What does Gwedolen say the name Ernest produces?
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Vibrations
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What is Lady Bracknell's reaction when Jack admits to her that he smokes?
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I'm glad to hear it; all men should have a profession
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Where did old Mr. Thomas Cardew find Jack as a baby?
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In a railway station in a handbag
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What is Lady Bracknell's objection to Jack as a prospective suitor to Gwedolen?
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His parentage
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What does Algernon begin playing offstage at the conclusion of Jack's interview with Lady Bracknell?
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The Wedding March
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What is Gwedolen's response to the story of Jack's origins?
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She thinks it is romantic
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Who does Algernon think ought to set an example for the upper class?
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Lane, the lower class
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What does Jack call Lady Bracknell behind her back?
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A Gorgon
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Why hasn't Jack told Gwendolen that he has an excessively pretty young ward?
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He fears she may become jealous
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What is the name of Algernon's imaginary friend?
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Bunbury
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Where is Jack's house in the country?
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Hertfordshire
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Give 2 examples of inversion.
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1) Divorces are made in heaven 2) Three's company/two is none
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Jack
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Believes in love since he met Gwedolen and has no qualms about lying as a means to an end
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Algernon
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Finds it the end of freedom and any fun and believes if one does marry, will need a diversion
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Gwedolen
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She wants to be loved, but only by a man called Ernest; not interested in whether he is earnest or not, also believes men are changeable
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Lady Bracknell
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For social standing and stability for posterity, arranged and not for love
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Lane
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Not much, he had a bad experience
