Nervous Nelly the Narrator Enjoys Oscar Wilde's Play

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, for me, trumps all other books we have read this year in AP English 12. When Ms. Serensky announced that our next book, following Everything Matters, would be a play, I became slightly apprehensive. I pictured The Importance of Being Earnest as similar to Othello, but thankfully I was wrong. Everyday that we read The Importance of Being Earnest, I left English class more light-hearted than when I had entered the room. When Ms. Serensky said aloud that she thought I should be the narrator, I sunk nervously in my seat and thought to myself, “Good Heavens” (1). I believed that my ability to read aloud was not up to par with the rest of my classmates’ but “one doesn’t blurt these things out to people” so I accepted the role with fake confidence (16). After the first day of reading, I realized that I not only enjoyed the plot of the play but also had fun participating through reading in class.  So the next day, I actually volunteered for the role of the narrator. To most people reading short, emotionless fragments “does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations” but for some reason I thoroughly enjoyed filling the role of the detached narrator and reading the unemotional sentences and stage directions (11). When I say this, I realize how boring and empty my life sounds. Shoot. Now I sound like Ms. Serensky when she described a tasty a snack: “When I bit into the pretzel, it was filled with pumpkin pie filling. That was one of the greatest surprises of my life. I realize when I say these things, how pathetic my life sounds.” Anyway, I am sure that I enjoyed The Importance of Being Earnest because of my active involvement. Playing the roll of the narrator helped me to feel immersed in the characters’ lives and their absurd, yet comical problems. Certainly the satire throughout the entire play added to my enjoyment as well. It seems in most of the books we have read this year that there has been some sort of disaster that causes the characters terrific grief. Although in this book Jack had an issue regarding his name, overall The Importance of Being Earnest seemed lighter and easier to read than other readings we have had which contained emotional or depressing moments. Alex’s intense British accent also enhanced my interest in the play. If he had read the part of Algernon in a monotone, unemotional voice (much like me, the narrator) I would not have enjoyed the play nearly as much.  John’s constant switching of accents every other syllable also helped me to enjoy the play. Although I firmly believe that the content of the book and reading styles of the characters in our class added to my enjoyment of The Importance of Being Earnest, I believe I found most of my interest in this play because it taught me a lot about myself. As I venture to college, I am sure I will be faced with obstacles that I am not prepared to tackle, much like my unpreparedness and apprehension about the role of the narrator. However, I learned through this book, that my abilities exceed my self-confidence and that I can actually do more than I think I can. From now on, I will have less apprehension and less anxiety when reading aloud to a group as I realized that although I may be able to find flaws in my reading skills, I can get the task accomplished and also enjoy myself at the same time.