PRIM, PROPER, PREPOSTEROUS
The way to greet a lady you know in public, as a man.
What is lifting your hat using the hand farthest from her?
"The truth is rarely ___ and never ___." What does this quote mean?
What is pure and simple? The truth is often hidden because lying is deemed less complicated.
Jack’s brother, who he is planning on murdering to protect himself. Explain why!
Who is Earnest? The purpose of killing him is to get rid of his alter ego and not be caught in a lie.
Her mother claims she is a girl with a simple, unspoiled nature, who could hardly reside in the country. However, this young lady is eager to learn and is confident in her own abilities.
Who is Gwendolen?
¨I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing. Which do you know?¨ (309)
Who says this and why might it be considered an important question for a husband to answer?
Who is Lady Bracknell, because it allows her to judge a man's self esteem or how ignorant he is.
The hours of the day in which a woman was expected to be ready for visitors.
What is 3-5pm?
This 1930s actress rephrased a famous epigram from Alexander Pope. Her rendition stated, “To err is human, but it feels divine.¨ (Explain why she might have changed it!)
Who is Mae West?
This man created the term, “Bunburyist”
Who is Algernon? What is going off to the country for leisure?
This perfect pessimist went to the market twice in the morning for cucumbers. What is his name and why might he be such a pessimist?
Who is Lane? He is a pessimist because he does not have the luxury to be as carefree as Algernon and other wealthy characters. Also, he's on the job!
The little numbers next to certain sentences in the text are called ___, what is the purpose of these?
What are appendixes? They allow you to further understand a certain quote and find more information in the back of the book.
In Victorian Etiquette, you can’t eat fish with this starchy veggie.
What are Potatoes?
This famous activist and Nobel Peace prize holder said this: “A right delayed is a right denied.” The quote was discussed for this movement. (Evaluate this epigram in your answer!)
Who is Martin Luther King Jr? What is the civil rights movement?
Algernon’s poor friend, who is seemingly always ill. His name and medical conditions are this.
Who is Bunbury, the invalid.
This character believes that marriage is a matter that a young lady should not be allowed to arrange. Her priorities for her daughter are status and wealth, not freedom. Why?
Who is Lady Bracknell? She is trying to secure a successful future for herself and her daughter, and she knows that by having her daughter marry someone powerful, she will become more powerful too.
¨Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral Responsibility.¨
Who says this and what does it tell us about Victorian society and how the wealthy viewed the lower class?
Who is Algernon, showcasing how the wealthy viewed the lower class as an example of what not to be, and had little sympathy for them.
What was a big dance card Faux Pas? (Explain why!)
What is dancing with the same man more than three times? It showed you were closed off!
This famous horror author added a quote from Paradise Lost into her book about a certain monster and its maker. (Include why she made this choice in your answer)
Who is Mary Shelly and to connect her monster, Frankenstein, to societal expectations?
This character has two identities. He is ___ in town, but is ___ in the country. The purpose of his ¨town identity¨ is to ___. (Discuss why he would need two identities for this).
Who is Earnest and Jack? What is to keep his identities separate within both places.
This character wrote a message in a ___ it read, ¨From little ___ with her fondest love¨
What is a cigarette case? Who is Cecily?
Algernon declares that: ¨All women become like their mothers. That is their ___. No man does. That's his.¨ (312)
Fill in the blank! What do you think Algernon means by this? Can you provide a reason why you might agree or disagree?
What is a tragedy, Algernon is expressing the idea that while many women actively try to NOT become like their mothers, maybe it would be smart if men DID try to pick up some of the habits of the women in their lives.
The definition of cutting.
What is staring at someone you know without acknowledging them?
During the depths of winter, Albert Camus learned this about himself.
What is within him lay an invincible summer?
This name did not produce vibrations. Did NOTHING for her! How come? (BONUS! If this were an analogy (which it is), what could Wilde have been trying to represent?)
What is Jack? She found the name boring/plain! Wilde is critiquing how often the expectations men have for women seem ridiculous, by switching the narrative towards a woman with an unreasonable expectation of a man, such as his name, he showcases the absurdity of society's constant nit-picking/ridicule for women.
Algernon is opposed to sitting next to this character due to her scandalous flirtation with her husband. What does this say about him?
Who is Mary Farquhar? Algernon has unfair expectations for women.
Algernon says: ¨The very essence of ___ is uncertainty.¨ (297) Interpret this epigram and the different meanings it could have based on the characters in the story.
What is romance? To Gwendolen, this quote could LITERALLY mean uncertainty, considering she cant pick her own husband. However, to Algernon it could just be another example of him not wanting to be tied to anything if it means losing the leisure and FREEDOM he has.