In the importance of being sincere, Wilde used food to show hidden messages throughout the work, some that could reflect the personal transition of some characters and others that follow the conflict between two personalities. Every instance in which food is mentioned – from Algernon's initial discussion about wine with his servant, to the girls' insults over tea – is fraught with conflict. The struggle for something as basic as food shows that it could represent another carnal desire: the comedic effects and the harsh impression of society to judge. The food messages within the work that counter stupidity and mistaken identity are almost always discussed about food, which creates the link of importance; which can make or break the situation. Cucumber Sandwiches In the opening scene of Act I, Algernon consumes every cucumber sandwich prepared for Lady Bracknell. He covers his gluttony by shouting, "Good God! Lane! Why aren't there any cucumber sandwiches? I specially ordered them," here Algy seems genially surprised, with short sentences and dramatic punctuation separating his amazement. However this may be an act of exaggeration as we already know that Algys ate them all while denying he had any. This is also reflected in the class difference between the characters, "especially" suggesting that Algy went out of his way to buy them for his aunt Augusta. She is upper class and cucumbers are seen as a luxury. While Jack is not very classy and was denied the specially ordered sandwiches. Algernon's obsession shining so early in the book foreshadows that his character will develop into a character who can symbolize the messages Oscar Wilde wants to be shown. Lane, Algy's servant, then go... middle of the card... it's very funny, the audience can't ignore the symbolism that the food exposes: two men who find themselves relatively unsuited to living in such a worldly environment high class. Even during this scene, the men seem to have a competition to see who hates tea cakes more than others. Immediately after Jack states that "I hate tea cake", Algernon raises an argument, asking "Why on earth do you allow tea cake to be served to your guests?". Both men who showed hatred for practically everything were both abnormal and uncivilized during their time period. The symbolic note here is that tea cake is a much cleaner snack, where muffins are messy and, if one were to categorize food this way, less civilized than tea cake. The fact that both characters much prefer muffins to tea cake is a clear indication that they are having difficulty adapting to the "civilized" society they currently find themselves in.