1. Humor: Being dishonest gives Algernon and Jack time do do whatever they want. This leads to humorous situations. They get into crazy mishaps such as the one with Gwendolen and Cecily where they were both the same person.
2. Satire: "In marriage three's company and two is none." This quote shows that in marriage, dishonesty was common. Because they didn't know eachother very well when they were married, their spouse wasn't their first choice and they would seek other partners.
3. Earnest/Ernest: Being earnest is having characteristics such as honesty and seriousness but these situations they get in are far from that. They lie to their friends and families to get out of things they don't want to do.
4. Pleasure: The two men lie to their families to get out of things they don't want to do such as dinners and parties. Instead, they go off and do what they want. They couldn't do these things without lying.
Wilde shows that some small lies can be good once in a while. Some people want to hear only certain things and bending the truth for that isn't too terrible. An example of this is when Lane and Algernon lie to Lady Bracknell about the cucumber sandwiches. Some bigger lies can get you out of things you dont want to do which is ok sometimes but you have duties to fulfill. Also, these lies can escalate into something uncontrollable such as Jack and Algernon's lies to Gwendolen and Cecily about who they really are.
