Wilde, Oscar: 1854-1900

The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895 - Thematic Parallels: Satire

Satire is a style of writing or art that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s behavior, social flaws, or political issues.
Wilde, Oscar: The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895
The novel is a satire of Victorian society’s seriousness and social conventions, especially its attitudes toward marriage, identity, and propriety.
The following books are thematically simliar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Boyle, T. C.: The Tortilla Curtain, 1995, ~350pp
  This is a satirical novel focusing on social divisions, immigration, and prejudice in modern California.
  - Both texts target societies that pretend to uphold certain values while contradicting those values in practice. They critique class structures and the illusions that uphold them. They simply use different modes—Wilde uses exaggerated comedy; Boyle uses contemporary social tragedy—but the social critiques align sharply.
- Russell, Willy: Educating Rita, 1980, ~100pp
  This work includes comedic social themes.
  - Both texts show characters who feel trapped by society and craft new identities to gain freedom or acceptance. They suggest that formal learning is often pretentious, and true understanding comes from experience and personal growth.
- Sedaris, David: Me Talk Pretty One Day, 2000, ~270pp
  This author is known for his humor and social observation.
  - Both works share thematic and stylistic similarities in their use of humor to critique social norms, their interest in the performance of identity, their playful engagement with language, and their reliance on absurdity to reveal human insecurities.
- Shaw, George Bernard: Pygmalion, 1913, ~100pp
  This is a witty and satirical play with social commentary.
  - Both plays suggest that who we appear to be matters more to society than who we truly are. Even within comic frameworks, the women exhibit intelligence and autonomy.
List of general discussion questions on Satire (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Satire (pdf)