The Importance of Being Earnest

          In Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses frivolous and superficial characters to shape a comedy full of satire to create a picture of the upper-class before the turn of the 20th century. Wilde depicts these characters as frequently traveling from one place to another, throughout Enland. At each of these different physical locations, the protagonists, Jack and Algernon, assume
 their alternate identity of Jack's fictional brother Ernest. The transformation of each man into Ernest was a deceptive trick designed to make their women of interest fall in love with them.  Similar to the transformation of each man's persona from one place to another is Algernon's use of his friend, Bunbury, who was fabricated by Algernon to provide him with an excuse to flee from undesirable social situations. The dishonesty presented by each of the shallow men lead to detection of their ploys by their female counterparts. Oscar Wilde uses the movement of characters from one location to another to allow the characters to shape alternate identities. It is these alternate identities that lead to the entanglement in the men's stories and the revealing of the meaning of the work as a whole, that lies and deception may lead to a character's downfall.
        Throughout The Importance of Being Earnest,  Jack Worthington is depicted a superficial man that engages in a deceptive second life. In his hometown of Hertfordshire, Jack is a hard working man that possesses the responsibility of taking care of his ward, Cecily. However, when traveling to other locations such as London, Jack transforms himself into his fictional brother Ernest, for occasions when he wants to cut loose. With his physical movement from one location to another, Jack is able to become two separate beings. Jack uses his identity as Ernest when winning the affection of Gwendolyn, but it is his swapping of identities that leads to his downfall and the potential loss of Gwendolyn. Jack's deception of his love is revealed when Algernon, who is also posing as Ernest, is in the same room with Jack and each man's fiance. Similar to Jack, Algernon is able to use his physical movement from his home to Jack's manor to establish his identity as Ernest as well. When the truth is revealed about each man's false identity their wives-to-be are shocked and repulsed, leading to the potential destruction of each relationship. A destruction that was founded by the journey from one location to another.
      In addition to nourishing alternate identity of Ernest, assumed by both Jack and Algernon, and allowing the web of deception to survive, the change of location from one place to another also contributes to Algernon's ability to construct his fictional friend Bunbury. Bunbury was created by Algernon, and established to be one of his dearest friends, despite living in different areas of England. Due to this separation of location, no one but Algernon was aware that Bunbury was made-up. Algernon used Bunbury as an excuse to get away from his life for a while, or to avoid unwanted social situations among his upper-class companions, by claiming that he was ill and that Algernon must go visit him. The physical journey of Algernon to his imaginary friend was one of deception and shrewdness, and allowed his to trick those around him. However, Algernon was eventually tripping over his own lies and instead of confessing that Bunbury was fabricated, he was forced to "kill" him off, forever negating any future attempt of his to use Bunbury as an escape.
       Throughout the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde uses the journey of superficial and wealthy characters from one location to another, to establish the idea that lies and deception may lead to one's downfall. The characters Jack and Algernon, each use their journey to lands other than their homes to assume the fictional identity of Ernest Worthington. This sly trick attempted by the two men was realized and almost resulted in the loss of their potential wives. Similarly, Algernon was able to make journeys away from unwanted situations by visiting Bunbury, his fabricated friend that no one knew was made-up do to their physical separation from their location. The discovery of the fact that  Bunbury was a lie was narrowly avoided however it forced his creator to kill him off, forever preventing any further use of his treasured escape. Through the use of the journeys of superficial characters from one location to another, Oscar Wilde was able to establish the meaning of The Importance of Being Earnest, that lies and deception may lead to one's downfall.