Sorry this took so long, but this is all I have right now.
In The Importance of Being Earnest, general dishonesty neatly connects the broad power of freedom with the pursuit of pleasure. For instance, Algernon repeatedly lies about having an invalid to take care of by the name of Bunbury. He explains, “…I have just had a telegram to say that my poor friend Bunbury is very ill again. They seem to think I should be with him.” In this way, Algernon gets out of having dinner with his Aunt, and has all that time to himself now. He uses that time to see Jack’s house in the country and to meet Cecily. Later, when Lady Bracknell shows up at Jack’s house, she says that she does not “approve of mercenary marriages.” This is obviously a lie, as it is the only type of marriage she approves of. This is sort of a pursuit of pleasure because she lies to get Jack to allow Cecily to marry Algernon, which would add her fortune to the family’s. Overall, these examples all have people who lie to get what they want, and mostly have a good time doing it, too. They all connect freedom with the pursuit of pleasure.
I need a third example, if you guys have any ideas. And feel free to change anything you like to make it smoother. Also, email me anything you comment, because I get emails much faster then blog comments.
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