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##s Of Hypocrisy In 'The Algerine Captive'

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Dr. Updike Underhill, the protagonist of Royall Tyler's The Algerine Captive, is a Caucasian, Christian male, and as countless Caucasian, Christian males before him, he has incredibly strong opinions. Many characters and events challenge him, but he remains steadfast in his beliefs. His two strongest opinions are those of slavery and religion. He believes that his god is the only one, and that slavery is wrong and inhumane. With these beliefs, he shows a great deal of hatred towards Islam since the people who enslaved him were Muslims. Even though he has these strong beliefs, he seldom suits his actions to his words. Throughout The Algerine Captive, Underhill exhibits high levels of hypocrisy in the areas of religion and slavery.
Underhill is hypocritical in the area of religion, especially with his comparison of Islam and Christianity. He says that if they follow the obvious dictates in the Bible and Koran that the Mahometan would no longer hate the Christian faith and the Christians would not despise the Mussulman creed (Tyler 183). Underhill makes this claim, yet does not show any indication of acting on his beliefs. During his conversation with the Mollah, Underhill became incredibly irritated as the Mollah boasted about his religion’s success compared to Christianity's (Tyler 133). This may seem like a simple act of annoyance or aggression; however, it also has a deeper meaning. If the two religions are to coexist, they need to be able to accept the other's views. They

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