Global Issue: Identity, Culture and Community

 

How does the social hierarchy dictate how an individual acts upon their desires?

 

The Importance of Being Ernest: 

Jack and Algy both ‘Bunbury’ as a way to escape their normal life. Living this double-life acts as a way where Jack and Algy can stray away from their moral obligations and do something for themselves. The two characters however juxtapose each other in regards to how they react when people find out they ‘Bunbury’. Both are from the same social class, yet react differently to the concept of ‘Bunbury’ to achieve what they want.

Scene: Gwendolen and Cecily confront Jack and Algy about Ernest

• When Cecily asks Jack he pretended to have a brother Ernest to be able to come see her often in the city he does not hesitate and reply with an answer that says yes. During this particular scene Jack seems to be honest about ‘bunburying’ because he is close to getting what he wants.
  • In Act 1 when Algy explains the concept of ‘Bunbury’ to Jack, he refuses to believe that he is doing such an (considered to be) immoral act. As part of the middle class he did not want to ruin the reputation that he had built for himself just to be able to escape his moral obligations; he did not want people to think less of him.
• Algy on the other hand is perceived as a dandy character and takes pleasure in ‘Bunburying’ unlike Jack he is aware of what he is doing and is having fun. Algy seems to be in a social class above Jack which reveals the idea that when an individual is in a higher social class they are able to do what they want without consequences.
• The class divide between Algy and Jack is not large, however it affects the way how they have acted upon their desires and the consequences of their actions.

 

Warming her Pearls:

The poem is told from the perspective of the servant who romanticises and desires the idea of a relationship with her mistress. To the reader, this creates an impression that a relationship between the two is inappropriate due to their difference in social class, so the servant is unable to act on her desires or is she knows what she truly wants.

• Her carriage brings her home. I see her every movement in my head… (17-18) It’s as if she is reaching for something so close yet so far. As a servant she spends a lot of time with her mistress yet she seems distant. The speaker may only
• Lines 14-16, it is as if the speaker is looking into the relationship too much; it is all in their head. It can be seen as unrequited love where the speaker idealises what it would be like to have a relationship with the mistress, but the mistress only sees her as her servant. But it can also be seen as does she know what she truly wants; it is as if they are more obsessed with the idea of the idea of having her as she knows she cannot have her due to her social status
• Allusions to a fairytale, possibly Cinderella: carriage, gown, dancing. The word choice chosen by Duffy reflect a fairytale that is about a maid that was suppressed due to her step-mother and step-sisters but in the end she changed her social class. It can be interpreted for someone’s desires in a lower class to become true the only way that can happen is if they emerge up the social hierarchy.
• Connection to Little Red Cap: Duffy also uses a childhood story, Little Red Riding Hood, to subvert the readers’ expectations of a patriarchal society and highlight the independence of women

 

Importance and relevance of the global issue

Even though the social hierarchy is not as apparent as it used to be it still exists. The divide still limits and dictates how we should act based on our social class, it is often that social classes have assumptions about other classes due to not knowing what it is like. People still want to climb up this social ladder to be able to present themselves to be able to do what they want without consequences.