A Man Of No Importance Alfie Character Analysis

A Man of No Importance Essay
A Man of No Importance is a musical about a young man, Alfie, and his journey of self discovery. Alfie realizes that he is gay, when at the time the play was set, this was a very unpopular idea. Alfie’s story mirrors that of Oscar Wilde, Alfie’s hero.
A Man of No Importance is set in Dublin, Ireland in 1964. This impacts the characters in many ways. There are small cultural aspects that are affected by this. For instance, the characters speak with a Dublin accent, use slang from that time period and place (such as use of the word “mates”), and other cultural aspects, such as clothes and architecture. Irish pubs are common there, and the design of the bus is very much the same as buses in Dublin, Ireland. Larger, more crucial aspects of the play are also affected by this place and time. For instance, the treatment of the gay community at the time of the conflict for the main character, Alfie, is harshly different from today’s acceptance. Were the community more openly accepting, he doubtless would have had a much easier time coming out to his friends and family, and he would not have been beaten by Brenton Beret and his …show more content…
Religion still holds a powerful grip over people in Georgia, because it is in the Bible Belt. There are still large amounts of discrimination against the queer community. Whether this is shown in laws forcing transgendered people to use bathrooms associated with their birth gender or in individuals prejudices and feelings, the gay community is still not accepted in an equal way as their straight and cisgendered counterparts. Families still show varying amounts of support towards their gay family members. Friends have been known to leave their gay friends once they come out, feeling awkward and wondering whether the person was ever attracted to them, much as Alfie feared Robbie would