Food In The Importance Of Being Earnest

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Pages: 3

In the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde (rpt. in Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 12th ed. [Boston: Wadsworth, 2015], 1407-1456), food is represented as both a weapon against another character and a way to show another character who is actually in control. The characters use food many times in the story to symbolize other things in the story. These references are seen with Algernon and the cucumber sandwiches, the ladies and the tea with cake, and both men and muffins. When Algernon Moncrieff is waiting on Lady Bracknell to come visit, he is eating cucumber sandwiches. When John Worthing reaches for one of the sandwiches, Algernon pulls them away and says they are special for his Aunt Augusta. However, Algernon continues to eat them. When John then asks Algernon why he cannot eat any of the sandwiches, and Algernon says that he may eat the cucumber sandwiches because they are for his aunt, so it is different. Algernon soon eats all the sandwiches, and the butler has to make up a reason for why there are no sandwiches when Lady Bracknell arrives. This shows how Algernon uses the sandwiches as power …show more content…
When both women find out about the terrible situation, they become bitter toward each other. Cecily asks Gwendolen if she would like sugar in her tea; Gwendolen then responds with a rude comment about how sugar is unfashionable. Because Cecily is unhappy about the present situation, she put a few sugar cubes in Gwendolen’s tea. Cecily then asks if Gwendolen would prefer cake or bread and butter. Gwendolen says another rude comment about how cake is not seen in the best houses, so Cecily slices Gwendolen a piece of cake and hands it to her. Cecily uses the sugar and cake as a weapon to be rude to Gwendolen to show her that she is in