In the play, The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, the physical journey that is taken plays an important part in the meaning of the work as a whole being that no one is actually being earnest in spite of the title. As the main characters take this journey to Hertfordshire the lies that have already been established to get to this point continue to pile up. This is a main theme that develops throughout the play and this physical journey that the characters take only adds to it. The harder that Jack and Algernon try to be Earnest, the less earnest they are actually being.
The physical journey plays a part in this because traveling only brings more characters into it, which further complicates the situation. Their reasons for wanting to be Earnest were different but very similar in the way that both relate back to a physical journey. For Jack, he needs to be Earnest in order to get away from Hertfordshire. And for Algernon, he needs to be Earnest to go to Hertfordshire. Every lie that these men tell after that all start with this physical journey that both of them feel they need to take. Therefore, this journey causes Jack and Algy to be Earnest while not being earnest, which is exactly what one of the main meanings of the work as a whole is portraying.
