Skepticism is a main theme throughout the play. The play starts with Father Flynn’s sermon about doubt, telling his congregants that it can be one of the most powerful, sustaining, and bonding experiences that a person could face during the course of their lifetime (1696). He shows this in a couple of ways. He first refers to the common feelings of hopelessness and despair felt by Americans following the assassination of John F Kennedy. He gives his congregation contrasting views from the sense of shared loss and bewilderment that occurred from the devastation, to the parable of a sailor who’s lost at sea and truly alone in the world. I think that Father Flynn felt all alone in the world, which was part of his “crisis in faith”. I think that …show more content…
his sermon on doubt, partly stemmed from John Kennedy’s assassination, but also maybe because of his repressed nature (sexual or otherwise). As a priest, he was held to a higher standard than the average man, but still wanted to live his life as a regular person, unstifled and free from his position. I think that he longed to share his feelings of insecurity and doubt, but didn’t feel that he could be open with anyone. Sister James is another character who is constantly in doubt.
Because of sister Aloysius’ relentless criticisms, she doubts her capabilities as a school teacher, and her kindness and compassion she had always felt for her students. She is caught in the middle of the opposition between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius. Through her innocence, she is manipulated by both sides. Sister James is at the mercy of two superior forces, and has no sense of control. They are both manipulative and try to sway her to their points of view. Sister Aloysius often berates her for her weak constitution and lack of perception where others are concerned. Her life becomes more complicated, trying to discern between the truth and reality. Sister James’ thoughts and feelings are consistently disregarded by anyone with whom she has a conversation. She never has the power to sway anyone to her point of view based on her insight. She becomes more powerful and confident towards the end of the play, maybe because she has lost some of her innocence. Sister James has bad dreams. She is confused and alone, and feels and though she has “lost her way”. She longs to be heard and …show more content…
understood. Throughout the play, Sister Aloysius believes without a doubt that Father Flynn is guilty, while admonishing Sister James for not being skeptical where others are concerned.
She lowers herself to the point of even lying to Father Flynn about getting information about him from a nun at his previous parish. She does everything in her power to persecute him without having any evidence, just as she had done to a previous priest. Sister Aloysius uses any means necessary, even if that means she has to turn away from God, to ruin Father Flynn. Sister Aloysius said, “When you take a step to address wrongdoing, you are taking a step away from God, but in his service.” (1701) “I will step outside the church if that's what needs to be done, through the door should shut behind me! I will do what needs to be done, Father, if it means I'm damned to Hell!” (1711) At the end of the play Sister Aloysius is overcome with emotion and confesses to Sister James when she says, “I have doubts! I have such doubts!”(1712) Sister Aloysius needed to confide in Sister James, and finally share her personal struggles with
someone. I believe that doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. Certainly doubt can bind together as a community, and even bond two people together in friendship. We all struggle to make sense of events that happen all around us. Doubt makes us work on our own issues, and seek out knowledge, in order to understand and compartmentalize our thoughts and feelings. A good example of this happened during post 9/11. This horrifying event brought all Americans together through our grief and confusion. Everyone wanted to help in some way, and for a while, we were even patriotic. It was a time when I felt a strong bond by despair within the community. Our doubt brought us all together, which gave us a sense of comfort, and helped us through the recovery process.
Alyss has changed and transformed throughout this novel. Alyss was introduced as a mischievous little girl playing pranks. Throughout the novel she learns how to become a strong proper young lady. Alyss went through many obstacles to prepare her for battle. In The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor uses conflict to transform a naive, mischievous, and endearing little girl into a confident, leading, and boss so she can save the queendom from Redd’s rule.
Throughout the book Alyce proves to be a very empathetic and caring young girl. One of the times Alyce shows her empathy, the Midwife was trying to help a woman give birth, but the lady was having some trouble and Jane tried so much that in the end she just gave up to go help someone else she knew would pay her more, deciding to abandon the woman who was in need of help. Alyce decided that it wasn’t fair, and that a lady shouldn’t be left like that when she needed help, “The memory of the proud, frightened, Joan of a moment ago kept her there. And she asked herself, What would the midwife so if she were here? … Alyce took a deep breath and returned to Joan’s side” (59), so she decided to help Joan even though the midwife was too selfish to do so. Alyce also respects the people who don’t respect her, so when the village boys that had recently stopped teasing her were doing something that would have definitely gotten them in trouble if the midwife had seen them, she knew they’d have been in trouble so she went up to the midwife and talked to her to hold her off so the boys could get away. Alyce likes helping people that need help when no one else will help them, for example when she’s found a job at an inn after she’s given up her career as a midwife’s apprentice and a few people ride to the inn asking for help because they claim the lord’s wife is being eaten by a stomach worm but Alyce immediately realizes the lady is pregnant and decides to help her even though she’s a bit uncertain at first because of her recent failure.
... If anyone is being accused of molesting a child, the reputation that they’ve got will be ruined forever. There’s no going back, she leaves him with nothing, other than a dirty slate, whether or not he is guilty. This nun gets her way, and her certainty drove her to believe something that was never proved to be true. Her authority and the wall she’s created between herself and everyone else makes her credible. His compassion was mistaken for something that he didn’t do. She had the upper hand, with her manipulation skills. The Sisters are her puppets as she remained in control of her parish. Father Flynn’s leave does affect Sister Aloysius, her certainty vanishes but the only thing that somewhat puts her at ease, is that she wants to believe that his leave, was his confession. Sister Aloysius has doubts that crush her in the ending scene. She caused her own demise
Another scene I believe is important that is missing from the play is the scene where sister James sees Father Flynn putting the white t-shirt back in the locker which is pivotal to the whole premise of the story, without Sister James seeing that she would have never brought it up to Sister Alyosius and we would been left to question Sister Alysosius’s accusations even more.
... Nonetheless, the signs also point to Father Flynn hurting him, because he was violating him. People’s assumptions are based upon personal experience and gut feeling, also on their upbringing; nature and nurture. Shanley uses inference in this play to create doubt in the audience’s minds'. The verdict is never in, on Flynn; guilty or not guilty. Shanley’s audience is left to be the jury.
Despite being a minor character in the novel All the Kings Men, Anne Stanton plays a key in role in the development of the story as well the development of the characters. Anne’s loss of innocence brings about her brother Adam’s death, her lover Willie Stark’s assassination and self destruction, and towards the end of the novel the narrator, Jack Burdens happiness. Whether Anne knows it or not her decisions and reactions are vital to the other character’s progress whether it be emotionally or mentally. Without Anne, the storyline of All the Kings Men would lack substance and maturation.
The fourth component of faith is that we need to understand that faith can act as fear, fascination, or both of these qualities at the same time. The fifth component of faith is that doubt is a major product that will always exist with faith. The last component of faith is that we need a community in order to have a “language of faith”. In Flannery O’Connor’s short story
The Essay itself is telling you through the story, why would he do that?As the story pregesses on, It goes on making you think what if he had not lied to the church but would have gone with his obedience and not look for others to follow. But as the story goes on and the story gets to the end. You realize that the character that once lied to a crowd at the church to be maturing in his own way to figure out what he did was wrong.
Daisy lacks self confidence which made it harder to raise her fifteen year-old son Donny. There were many instances where Daisy pondered on what she can do better to help Donny in school, but as she put forth an effort, she always resisted. “She remembered when Amanda was born. Donny had acted lost and bewildered. Daisy had been alert to that of course, but still, a new baby keeps you busy of course….”(570) When Daisy saw this happening, she never stopped to reassure Donny that even though he had a sister, it was not going to change their relationship. Daisy should have reassured her son by correcting the problem as soon as it surfaced, then Donny should have understood. When Donny started to have problems in school, Daisy gave up without trying, and let a tutor dictate her son’s activities especially when the teacher questions Daisy about Donny’s actions, Daisy replied, “Oh I’m sorry, Miss Evans, but Donny’s tutor handles these things now…” (572) In school Donny’s behavior changed soo drastically that he started to stay out late and Daisy just sat back and let this happen. “The tutor had sat down so many rules![She] were not allowed any questions at all about school, nor were to speak with his teachers…,Only one teacher disobeyed…”(572) Because Daisy didn’t believe in herself or her word, she let others control and therefore his behavior worsened.
Firstly, Father Flynn is much more modern than Sister Aloysius would like him to be. Father Flynn suggests that in the Christmas Pageant the school should, “include a secular song” (Shanley 28). The reader is now aware that Father Flynn is not a traditional priest. The reader now thinks that Father Flynn wants to modernize the church. This statement is significant because it reveals the gap in ideals between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius does not want modern ideas in the church because she thinks that the corrupt the good nature of the current traditions. Also, Father Flynn uses a ballpoint pen. Sister Aloysius found a ballpoint pen in Sister James’s room once and commanded Sister James to take away any ballpoint pens she found because ballpoint pens do not promote good penmanship. Because Father Flynn uses a ballpoint pen, Sister Aloysius has a hatred for Father Flynn. Finally, Father Flynn adds sugar to his tea. While this fact may seem insignificant, it is not that way at all. Sister Aloysius and Sister James do not add sugar to their tea because it is considered sinful. It is more traditional to drink tea without sugar. However, Father Flynn puts three spoons of sugar into his tea. This contemporary style to drinking tea enrages Sister Aloysius because she does not want any modern customs in her
Most fairytales and fables tell people that truth is essential in life. However, truth can ruin one’s life and lead to a fall of communities. In Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons, theKeller family is ruined by the truth that they buried a long time ago. Keller’s dark truth about the faulty parts and 21 pilots’ death haunts the family and leads to a tragic ending. Truth is important, but it can be lethal because truth causes Chris to nearly lose Ann, destroys relationship between Chris and Joe, and it eventually leads to Joe’s suicide.
...der further than what we have in front of us. We want to impose our opinion on everything. We want to relate to it in a way that can only be done through out imagination. So, due to this, when we are not given the flexibility, then the context no longer becomes entertaining. The viewers do not want to be told how to think. Given these points, if they are influenced to believe that Sister Aloysius is a cruel individual like the movie portrays, then at the end of the movie and book when Sister Aloysius says, “ I have doubts! I have such doubts!” they will take that as a confession from her, and be further lead to believe that the accusations against Father Flynn are false. I think John Patrick Shanley chooses specific diction to create a conflict that has no precise resolution,he wanted the reader get lost in story and enter into their own story manifested within.
At the beginning of the novel, Briony has a childish view on love and passion, derived from fairytales and her own writings. Although Briony’s mother loves her, it is a fruitless love because there is no clear benefit or care given. As an outsider in her own family, Briony does not feel normal childish emotions, only speaking of a “passion for tidiness” and “love of order” (McEwan 7). Her older sister, Cecilia, assumes the role of
Father Flynn tells Sister Aloysius, “Even if you feel certainty, it is an emotion and not a fact.” I think he means that without concrete evidence, you cannot rely on your emotions for the truth. In Father Flynn’s sermon he discusses doubt and truth. He says, “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.” Sister Aloysius treats her doubt as the truth, and ignores any uncertainty she has. Throughout the story, Father Flynn denies and wrong doing and cites that there is no evidence of any misconduct. Doubt becomes battle with two viewpoints. When questions are asked, they are answered with more questions, leading to more
Philip is not fond of his English teacher, Miss Margaret Narwin. He does not like her at all and thinks she is the meanest and dumbest teacher in the world. She always gets on his nerves. She wrote a letter to her sister, Anita, and told her that she liked Philip. She said he was intelligent and that he had potential, but he irritated her because he did not have the desire to learn. Philip studied for his winter term exams but did not bother to study for his English