Theme Of Deception In The First Scene

Deception and misunderstandings are important sources of humour throughout the play and both comedy features are predominately evident in Act 1 in the ‘cigarette case’ scene. In this scene, the audience is exposed to deceit and lies created by the main protagonist Jack (also known as Ernest in the city) and the deuteragonist, Algernon; which creates humour for the audience because of mistaken identity and deception together with dramatic revelation, chaos and confusion.

The opening act introduces the audience to a “morning-room in Algernon’s flat in Half-Moon Street”, known for being a very wealthy street situated in West London, set within the Victorian era. The characters are gradually introduced throughout this opening act and all leave the audience believing that there is an interesting story behind each of their characters. The two main characters in this particular scene are ‘Ernest’ and Algernon. When Ernest enters the scene, the tone of the previous conversation changes dramatically from being very light-hearted and cheerful to secretive. This is the first introduction to deception within the play. Algernon withholds a cigarette case addressed to an “Uncle Jack” (of whom he is aware belongs to Ernest) from “little Cecily” which was left during Ernest’s last trip to the city. The audience become aware of the fact that Algernon is pretending to be curious due to the puzzling inscription found in his friend’s cigarette case. “This cigarette case is a present from some one of the name of Cecily and you said you didn’t know anyone of that name” illustrates Algernon’s desire to reveal Jack’s secret, making Jack feel uncomfortable. The audience laugh at Jack attempting to explain himself yet he always seems to be tripping up ove...

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...ld be seen as eating the muffins to satisfy his sexual hunger which again is evidently humorous through the use of inversion.

In conclusion, the play relies on deception and misunderstandings to a certain extent to create its humour however these themes also introduces other comedy features such as conflict and dramatic irony. Deception and misunderstandings contribute to the play’s humour through the absurdity of the situations that have been discussed, most apparent in the cigarette scene where Jack has deceived Algernon and other characters. Also, it is predominantly seen in Act 2 through the use of Cecily, who deceives herself and creates misunderstandings for others in this particular act. This shows that there is a strong correlation between humour, deception and misunderstandings and without these comedy features the play wouldn’t have the same comedic charm.