Cecily. you must not laugh at me, darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love some one whose name was ernest. [algernon rises, cecily also.] there is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. i pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called ernest. –the importance of being earnest, oscar wilde write two to three sentences explaining the pun on the name ernest in the passage and how the pun connects to a serious issue or question.

The pun is related to the same pronunciation of the words Ernest and earnest which means serious commited, dedicated and etc. The pun is connected to the serious issue of choosing the right significant other, someone you can trust that is dedicated to you (an earnest husband/wife).

Sample Response: Throughout the play, Wilde uses puns to connect the name Ernest to the word earnest. When Cecily says that she has always wanted to marry someone named Ernest, she implies that she also wants someone earnest who “inspire[s] absolute confidence.” In this scene, however, Algernon is lying to her about who he is. His deception suggests that no one can ever have “absolute confidence” that others are being earnest.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)