It seems logical to start by commenting on the title: This is the way the worlds ends. Anyone that reads a title like this will think that is going to face a dramatic or apocalyptic novel, perhaps with some epic story inserted, perhaps with characters who face the adversities with stoicism. In summary: the reader when reading this title expects to find something similar to Mecansocrit del segon origen by Manuel de Pedrolo, for example.

However, immediately remains clear that the text has a great dose of humor. This breack our expectations as readers. And besides breaking our expectations, if we are experimented readers and with literary knowledge, we will receive a second surprise: James Morrow spins the title out a work by T. S. Eliot called The Hollow Men, which ends as follow:

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

This fact open the door to a multiplicity of resources now the author can use playing with our expectations:he can satirize the poem by T. S. Eliot, can do a counterpoint, can complete it, etc. In any case, it will be a strange coincidence that he used as title a verse by T. S. Eliot and there was not any type of connection between one work and another. In this case, the most obvious connection is thematic: they both talk about the war in a form or another.

After the title, the following that finds the reader is the inscription: «For my daughter Kathy». It does not provide us as readers so much information for the moment, but this as any other inscription helps us start knowing the implied author. The section called «Aknowledgements» insists in this process of formation in reader’s mind of the implied author. We can firstly think that this section does not have anything to do with the implied author but with the author itself, we can think that is a kind of objective texts, simply a list of influences. But it’s not true: the author itself makes an election, list who want to list an exclude everyone else: for example, he does not cite T. S. Eliot.

Then reader found the table of contents, where we have to stop because there are some surprising things. The dictionary of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans definite prologue as «Introduction to a work that usually reviews the merits, the value, o also to place it in the middle of a context and some determinate circumstances.» So usually prologue readers to the work itself, not to the story itself or to the plot itself. James Morrow is playing here with conventions about titles and divisions of literary works; if usually we expect some references to the work itself in the prologue, he starts the story and calls «prologue» to this beginning, turning the divisions itself in a part of a literary play. Something similar happens with the «Epilogue» section. He also plays in a similar way with another division used in literature, which is entr’acte, usually located between two acts in literary plays and here located in the middle of a novel, between book one and book two. Also we have to retain the names of this last parts I’ve mentioned, «Those who favor fire» and «For destruction ice is also great».

We have to retain this data in our minds because it is connected with the next thing that a reader receives, also another more information previous to the text itself: a poem by Robert Frost called Fire and ice. This is obviously the first definitive clue the author give us to tell us this is not a dramatic story. It’s a resource for desdramatization. And author uses two verses borrowed from this poem to entitle book one and book two.

Then starts the singular prologue o this curios story, that deals with Nostradamus and the end of the world. The action starts with the description of the main character in this prologue, which is Nostradamus, and then tells us a story about this prophet and his efforts to narrate how the world ends. To do that, the author uses sometime sarcasm (even explicitly the word «sarcasm» is used) or let his characters do; anachronisms, sought protection in the fact that the main character can foresee the future; and also uses very often irony: «My readers expect a full complement of nonsense» my be a good example of how this irony is used. And this example is also connected with the fact that Morrow often, also here, deals with religion and / or superstition.

Also in the prologue the reader can find a lot ob examples of different ways of speaking: direct speech, free direct speech, and free indirect speech are often used. Let’s see some examples:

As an example of direct speech:

‘No,’ I replied, ‘I did not think so’, he confessed.

As an example of free direct speech:

“What?”
“That was a sarcasm. The coming thing. Mirable dictu, what a reversal Bonaparte will suffer once he reaches Moscow!”

When the prologue ends, reader found the book one, entiteled Those Who Favor Fire, whose setting implies contrasted with the Prologue’s one a foreshadow. It deals with nuclear armament and where there are some references to well-known popular artists like George Paxton and references to popular trade marks of big corporations like Honda, used all this as a desdramatization strategy.

Now we know there had been a foreshadow if we observe again the table of contents we see that the next division is again setted in 16th century, while Book one is sitted in 20th century. Nevertheless Book Two is again setted in 20th century so, although there is no continuation in the proposed excerpt, we can say that the author is inserting alternatively narrations setted in 20th and in 16th century.

To sum up, all the strategies adopted by the author permit him to deal with a dramatic theme as is nuclear armament and wars from humor and irony, mixing elements of religion (often satirizing it) and history (by introducing some symbols, for example; by citing some well-known figures like Hitler) and playing with their traditions and with the tradition of literature itself. This mix of elements produces greatly the humorous effect that the author was searching.

Sources

James Morrow. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [on line] <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Morrow&oldid=205316097>. 2008.
George Paxton. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [on line] <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Paxton&oldid=221147043>. 2008.
The Hollow Men. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [on line] <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hollow_Men&oldid=221142579>. 2008.

In The importance of being Earnest Oscar Wilde is doing social criticism. He fights against the system but it’s a battle where victory is impossible. Wilde knows this, so he uses irony and something like caricatures (a transcoding of caricature from painting to the literature) as his arms for this battle. The dominant class is that which is portrayed in the interview. The most obvious thing is that they are from high-class:

Jack. Well, yes, I must admit I smoke.

Lady Bracknell. I am glad to hear it. A man should always have an
occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London as it is. How old are you?

Lady Bracknell’s answer shows that her conception of Jack is a man with a lot of leisure (conception probably right). This is that kind of impression that someone has when she is talking with a person from high-class. Wilde uses this answer also with irony to portray people form high class in London as idle people. This fact that characters are people from the dominant class is an evidence that proves that The importance of being Earnest is a comedy of manners.

Following this idea – i.e., this is a comedy whose characters are form high-class –, we may see that Lady Bracknell is doing an interview in order to find a husband for her daughter. This interview may remind us of the job interviews of work. Here we can see, again, the irony: it’s as if the mother must find a proper husband for his merits. This is because get married is – in the world view of the characters – the most act important for a woman, because if they do not get married, they would be excluded form the society.

In order to maintain this irony we have found that very often, characters have to be quick at replying to each other. We can see it in the following quote:

Lady Bracknell. Ah, nowadays that is no guarantee of respectability of character. What number in Belgrave Square?

Jack. 149.

Lady Bracknell. [Shaking her head.] The unfashionable side. I thought there was something. However, that could easily be altered.

Jack. Do you mean the fashion, or the side?

Lady Bracknell. [Sternly.] Both, if necessary, I presume. What are your polities?

Jack. Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal Unionist.

We can see here that Jack’s answer “Do you mean the fashion, or the side?” that is quick and full of ingenious, a mix that provokes the irony. In this same quote we can see another obvious social criticism: when asked about its political affiliations, Jack responses “I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal
Unionist.”, so Wilde is indirectly saying that Liberal Unionist are “none” in politics, another evidence also of irony.

The social criticism doesn’t stop here. Oscar Wilde wants to make for us a more complete criticism, so he criticised a society in which the appearance of thinks is the most important thing: a hypocritical society. In this context, Lady B. asks Jack to show her his real parents when he says that he is “found”. It is hypocritical because, as we can see, in other parts of The Importance of being Earnest family is not for them something too important – actually, the character Algernon complains of his family.

So, the interview between Lady Bracknell and Jack hasn’t got a happy ending (although the whole comedy, as a comedy of manners). Lady B asks some questions to Jack in order to take note of this particular kind of “merits” and all of that was good until he says he is “found”, that is, he has lost his parents. In this moment, the appearances, the superficial side of the problem, makes Lady Bracknell adopt a conservative resolution.

To sum up, Wilde uses the double entendres (sometimes he remarks this point by making his characters ask about the clear meaning: “Do you mean the fashion, or the side?”), resulting in sarcasm, satire and irony, to criticise a whole class (not only individuals: his characters, as long as they are like caricatures, doesn’t represent individuals). All these facts contribute to make a comedy, with all the characteristics of the realist subgenere of “comedy of manners” and full of humour.