How do Joseph Andrews and Parson Adams expose hypocrisy in the novel?

In Henry Fielding’s 1742 novel Joseph Andrews, the protagonists Joseph Andrews and Parson Adams serve as catalysts for social criticism. While the work begins as a burlesque of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, it evolves into a sophisticated exploration of irony and morality.12

Joseph and Parson Adams expose the hypocrisy and affectation of the people they encounter through their own inherent innocence and guilelessness. By maintaining their integrity in a world often defined by pretense, they force the moral failings of others into the light. Parson Adams, in particular, is portrayed as a "positively good man" whose virtue is made convincing precisely because his guileless nature often renders him somewhat ridiculous to those around him. Through these characters, Fielding effectively satirizes the social norms and moral posturing of his time.12