Question

excerpts from the importance of being earnest
class title
the importance of being earnest is a comedy of mistaken identities. the main character, jack, appears to all of his acquaintances to be a productive and serious man. however, he pretends to have a younger brother, ernest, whose troublesome behavior requires jack to frequently travel to london, its muddy, dis- reputable brother is jacks excuse to escape from the burdensome obligations of his life in order to be free and irresponsible.
in this scene, jacks niece, cecily, and her governess, miss prism, are discussing jack and his \brother\ in the garden of jacks country house.
scene
garden at the manor house. a flight of grey stone steps leads up to the house. the garden, an old- fashioned one, full of roses. time of year, july. basket chairs, and a table covered with books, are set under a large yew-tree.
miss prism discovered seated at the table. cecily is at the back watering flowers.
1 miss prism. calling cecily, cecily! surely such a utilitarian occupation as the watering of flowers is rather missels duty than yours? especially at a moment when intellectual pleasures await you. your german grammar is on the table. pray open it at page fifteen. we will repeat yesterdays lesson.
2 cecily. coming over very slowly. but i dont like german. it isnt at all a becoming language. i know perfectly well that i look quite plain after my german lesson.
3 miss prism. child, you know how anxious your guardian is that you should improve yourself in every way; he laid particular stress on your german, as he was leaving for town yesterday. indeed, he always lays stress on your german when he is leaving for town.
4 cecily. dear uncle jack is so very serious! sometimes he is so serious that i think he cannot be quite well.
in paragraph 5, miss prism says, \as a man sows so let him reap.\ what does this comment mean in the story?
a. uncle jacks \brother\ should suffer the consequences of his own behavior
b. uncle jacks insistence on cecily learning german grammar is appropriate
c. miss prism is happy to look after cecily while her uncle jack is away
d. uncle jack and his \brother\ should spend more time with each other

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The play is a comedy of mistaken identities, and Jack’s “brother” is his own alter - ego. So Uncle Jack’s “brother” (his own behavior) should face consequences of his actions, which fits the context of the comedy’s themes.
• Option B: Cecily dislikes German and finds it unappealing, so Jack’s insistence on her learning German grammar is not presented as appropriate.
• Option C: Miss Prism’s tone and actions (pushing Cecily to study) don’t show happiness about looking after Cecily while Jack is away.
• Option D: There’s no indication that Jack and his “brother” (himself) should spend more time together.

Answer:

A. Uncle Jack’s “brother” should suffer the consequences of his own behavior