In the late 19th century, many European, and especially British, authors, playwrights, and poets wrote about the inadequacies of the upper class. Often the author does not express his feelings openly, but rather hides them behind the plot or characters of his story. In Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde mocks the values ​​of the upper class. By fully exaggerating the faults of the upper class, Wilde succeeds in expressing his belief that upper class men and women are shallow, stupid, and have no respectable value. Many traditionally accepted practices Wilde finds disgusting and unacceptable; therefore, he completely satirizes them to express how superficial these customs really are. At that time, and still today, it was very common for the families of two engaged couples to do background checks on the opposing family. Therefore, when Jack Worthing, under the false identity of Ernest Worthing, proposes to Gwendolen, it does not seem strange that Lady Bracknell would want to know Jack's background. The extreme expectations Lady Bracknell has of a suitable man for her daughter are incredibly high. Jack tells her about his impressive lifestyle and success and Lady Bracknell complains that he lives on the wrong side of the street. Afterwards, Jack tells her the sad story of how he was abandoned as a child and she tells him that he must find his parents if he wants to marry her daughter. With these ridiculous responses, Wilde is trying to emphasize that the upper class feels they deserve more than anyone else and are insensitive to the feelings of others. Later, Lady Bracknell tells Algernon that he cannot marry Cecily, Jack's ward. This rich woman only decides to chan...... middle of paper ...... heir to the comments. Right after their two proposals, they each comment that they would never marry someone whose name wasn't Ernest. Besides being totally ironic, it's also very shameful. Girls place the importance of their engagement on a name rather than love. It seems that the upper class value system is completely misplaced. As a comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Ernest mocks the behavior of upper-class Englishmen. Through a variety of literary devices, primarily satire, Wilde expresses his belief that upper-class citizens are shallow, stupid, and have no respectable values. Throughout his play, he uses unnatural symmetry to emphasize that all upper-class citizens possess these qualities. With this play, Wilde hoped to enlighten people about social and societal flaws so that they could correct them..