Earnest

The symbolism of moving from one place to another is significant in the play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde because there are the "people", Bunberry and Ernest, who are fictional characters which the real characters, Algernon and Jack, use to leave the city. The whole point of the movement is that the two real characters are not socially acceptable because they value other things besides the "norm". Using the pseudonyms allows Jack and Algernon to escape the strict lifestyles they are living and just be themselves. However, during the one movement from place to place the play actually takes us through, which is to Cecily's house, the characters meet face to face as the other person's aliases, therefore causing a big mess. The assumed names and the transport is important to the play because before, Bunberry and Ernest were secrets that no one but them knew about; then suddenly everyone in the story figures out the names they thought were real were all false. There really was no Bunberry or Ernest ever. The journey from place to place ties into the meaning of the work as a whole because the only way Jack and Algernon can escape their oppressive lives is to become someone else. Their manners, their attitudes, and what they value do not correspond to what society at the time thinks is correct.