The importance of being earnest: a trivial comedy for serious people By Oscar Wilde

The play is a satire on 19th century Mayfair society and as the title suggests the play is about the importance of being called Ernest. The play centres around the exploits of Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing and their prospective fiancés Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Throw in a governess (Miss Prism), an aunt (Lady Bracknel), butler, manservant and a reverend and you have the recipe for one of the funniest plays ever.

John and Algernon have both told their fiancés they are called Ernest, and this is almost a condition of marriage. The girls discover that Algernon and John are not called Ernest. Algernon asks the reverend to christen him Ernest so that Cecily will agree to marry him. John however discovers that he is Algernons brother and is already called Ernest. The plot is very convoluted and features a handbag quite heavily! This story is very witty and short. It is an interesting comedy that looks at the absurdity of society at the time.

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Treasure Island By Robert Louis Stevenson

In this retelling of Stevenson's classic story, each spread is structured as a chapter and provides a short story arc within the larger tale. The elements of suspense or triumph that close each chapter compel readers to turn the page for the next piece of the story. However, the graphic storytelling leaves much to be desired, especially in the essential layout and presentation. The pages ... More are comprised of a series of mostly wordless panels, depicting tight close-ups of the characters as their situations are described in captions paraphrasing Stevenson's prose with none of its luster.

When dialogue does appear, it is placed artificially at the top of each panel despite the fact that it is almost universally meant to follow the caption it precedes, creating a dissonant reading experience. Vocabulary is defined in footnotes, and a handful of concluding pages provide some context for Stevenson's life and background on the novel. The volume may well provide young readers with a desired dose of pirates, but this attempt has not bent the format to fit the vintage tale. Try the version adapted and illustrated by Tim Hamilton, instead (Puffin, 2005).—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

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Faust: a Tragedy, Part 1 by By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Bayard Taylor

In Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe builds a dramatic poem around the strengths and weaknesses of a man who under a personalized definition of a hero fails miserably. A hero is someone that humanity models themselves and their actions after, someone who can be revered by the masses as an individual of great morality and strength, a man or woman that never sacrifices his beliefs under adversity. Therefore, through his immoral actions and his unwillingness to respect others rights and privileges, Faust is determined to be a man of un heroic proportions.

It is seen early in the poem, that Faust has very strong beliefs and a tight moral code that is deeply rooted in his quest for knowledge. Sitting in his den, Faust describes his areas of instruction, "I have, alas, studied philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine, too, and, worst of all, theology with keen endeavor, through and through..." It is obvious that through his studies he has valued deep and critical thinking, however with the help of Mephisto, he would disregard his values and pursue the pleasures of the flesh.

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