her, Ernest, is a device he uses to escape social and moral obligations, and the character also allows him to appear far more moral and responsible than he really is (SparkNotes). Algernon has an imaginary invalid friend, Bunbury, who he uses to escape to the country, where he imposes on people who don't know him in the same way he imposes on Cecily in the play, while seeming to demonstrate Christian charity. The difference between what Jack and Algernon do is that Jack not only pretends to be something he is not, but also pretends to be someone he is not, which is very different. This sort of deception suggests a far more profound degree of hypocrisy through the various enactments of double lives than Algernon's deception of running off to visit a sick friend.
Algernon and Jack's creation of alter egos all
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