George Bernard Shaw said that "a happy family is but a former paradise" and while this may be true it is reasonable to ask whether being alone is better than being with people who they love you and accept you for who you are. In the play Afterimage, adapted by Canadian author Robert Chafe, originally written by Michael Crummey, he shows the importance of being able to fit into a society rather than being isolated and alone. The show strives to answer the question surrounding the strength of family affiliations and its ability to resist the influences of the societies that influence it. Through the use of tropology and character, the strength of relationships within families and how it is above everything else is shown from start to finish in the show. Afterimage is based on the life of Lise Lacoeur, a fortune teller who is not accepted by society because of the way people assume she instigates bad events to occur, and her husband Winston Evans, a burn victim with scars all over the face, who was also taunted due to his damaged face. These characters are often tormented by their physical characteristics and strange but unique abilities throughout the play, which leads them to be socially isolated. The isolation phase that all the characters go through shows a decrease in their self-esteem and self-confidence, which can be seen mainly through the character of Leo, Evan's middle child. Leo does not have the same physical characteristics as his brother Jerome and his sister Theresa, nor does he have any of his parents' characteristics that make him feel like he doesn't belong with them. Leo also has difficulty connecting with the rest of the family because... middle of paper... that Leo would be better off staying isolated because he doesn't feel like he's a member of the family. Overall, the play Afterimage shows the difference between being socially isolated and the importance of being part of a family. It also shows how sincerity plays an important role in families, because without it problems could occur. Through the use of tropology and characters, the message of how being part of a family is much more important than being socially accepted is also portrayed. Robert Chafe was able to illustrate a clear picture in the readers' heads through the thoughts, actions, and events the characters went through to show how being socially isolated is nothing compared to having a family you can count on. CitedAfterimage work by Robert Chafe, adapted from the 1998 short story by Michael Crummey