DOUBT In Doubt by John Patrick Shanley is a short play that takes place in a catholic school. The main characters of this play are Father Flynn t the priest at the school. Sister Aloysius Principle of the catholic school and the head nun. Sister James a young nun and teacher at the catholic school. Lastly Donald Muller the first black student to enter the catholic school. The conflict that arises is if Father Flynn is having sexual relations with Donald Muller. Sister James is worried when Donald Muller arrives back to class after Father Flynn called him to the rectory. Donald seems uneasy as if something happened to him and sister James said his breath smelled of alcohol. …show more content…
She decided to bring the matter up to sister Aloysius because the situation didn’t sit easily with her. Sister Aloysius immediately believes Father Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with Donald because it has happened before. She feels since Donald is black and beaten by his father, father Flynn is taking advantage of him. Sister James doesn't want to believe an act like this would be carried out by the father, she believes he is a good man. Sister Aloysius decides she will confront father Flynn but with sister James present. The meeting doesn’t go well. Father Flynn is enraged and tells sister Aloysius the “truth.” He tells the sisters that Donald Muller was caught drinking altar wine. Being caught drinking is an Automatic disqualification to be an altar boy. Father Flynn said he did not want Donald Muller to be kicked off of the alter boys because he felt bad. Father Flynn decided to keep the secret so Donald Muller would not be kicked off the altar boys. Father Flynn said “There were tears. He begged not to be removed from the altar boys. And I took pity on him. I told him if no one else found out, I would let him stay on.”(Doubt Pg.34) Sister Aloysius was not convinced this was the case, she decided that she would get to the truth on her own.
“Did Father Flynn commit the unspeakable act?” I believe Father Flynn committed the act. One main factor that sticks out to me is what I saw in the movie. When sister James is in the rectory with the other students, she sees father Flynn putting something white in the lockers. When Father Flynn leaves sister James goes to check the locker. She finds a white button up. It looks exactly like the button up Donald Muller was wearing. She stated is smelled of alcohol as well. Why would father Flynn have a young boys shirt in the first place? I feel father Flynn was giving Donald Muller the wine and it fell on him and they had to change his clothing so no one would find out. I don’t believe Donald Muller drank the win on his own One thing that doesn't make sense to me is something I stated above. Father Flynn claims Donald drank altar wine and was caught by Mr. McGinn. This doesn't make sense because Donald Muller returned to class smelling like wine coming back from being with Father Flynn. Another idea I have is Donald Muller mom indirectly point out her son is gay. Mrs. Muller stated “Maybe what you don’t know maybe my son is … that way. That’s why his father beat him up. Not the wine. He beat Donald for being what
he is.” (Doubt Pg.48) Mrs. Muller is happy Father Flynn is there for him because Donald Muller's father isn’t. Mrs. Muller even said, “That priest, Father Flynn, been watching out for him.”(Doubt Pg.44) . Shockingly she is very aware of the situation but chooses to ignore it. All she wants is for Donald to graduate from the school. In the back of her mind, she knows what’s going on and is choosing to ignore it. To me, this connects to why Father Flynn chose Donald Miller. What if Father Flynn is gay. Being gay in that era was not accepted, so he became a priest. Donald Muller, I feel opened up to Father Flynn and Father Flynn may have felt a connection towards Donald Miller. In the movie Doubt, Donald Miller tells Father Flynn he wants to be a priest too. I feel he said this because he saw father Flynn was gay and a priest and was happy as well. This conspiracy also makes me believe that father Flynn did commit the act because he felt Donald Muller was just like him and or he knew he could take advantage and no one would care. Another theory to me that makes me conclude that Father Flynn committed the act was how he reacted in the end and his exit from the church. When Sister Aloysius confronts Father Flynn. The conversation begins to get heated but Father Flynn is standing his ground. That is until sister Aloysius says she spoke to a nun from his past church. What sticks out to me is when she tells him “this is your third parish in 5 years.”(Doubt Pg.53) An unknown user from Yahoo Answers states something I couldn’t agree with more. This person stated “If I were innocent I would be 100% sure and calls her bluff without hesitation. Also what sorts of incidents will cause him to transfer 3 times in 5 years.”(Yahoo Answers Anonymous) I feel the same, if I were innocent I wouldn’t let a nun bully me. I would fight for myself tell the end. It is also very fishy that this is his third church, seems to me he is running from problems. Many of the big pictures point to Father Flynn being guilty of all charges. Doing research I have found arguments that made me second guess my opinion, but I have decided to stick to my argument. One argument that was pointed out to me by Professor Brach was, what if sister Aloysius wants him gone. This clicked in my head and made sense. She is the only one who seems to think he is guilty. During their final confrontation, father Flynn said: “you have to stop this campaign against me!”(Doubt Pg.50) Sister Aloysius replies saying “you can stop it at any time.” (Doubt Pg.50) She also tells him “confess and resign.” (Doubt Pg.50) This showed me she was pressuring him and maybe he had no choice but to leave because he didn't want his image to be tarnished. Father Flynn even said, “ you are attempting to destroy my reputation!”(Doubt Pg.50) What if she really is out to ruin his reputation because she wants to be in charge. Many things father Flynn did she was very against, like using ballpoint pens and having long fingernails. She didn’t like the children writing in ballpoint pens or having long fingernails. In the meeting she had with father Flynn and sister James, she noticed his nails were long. Father Flynn said “ I wear them a little long” (Doubt Pg.27) after she pointed them out. He didn’t care for her opinions it was his show and he was running it. Little things like that can add up and make you dislike someone and in this case, it happened. This to me would be enough for Sister Aloysius to want him gone. Sister James also believed father Flynn was innocent and confronted sister Aloysius which was shocking because this is the first time you see Sister James stand up to Sister Aloysius. Sister James tells her “ you just don't like him! You don't like it that he uses a ballpoint pen. You don't like it that he takes three lumps of sugar in his tea. You don't like it that he likes “Frosty the Snowman.” And you’re letting that convince you of something terrible, just terrible!”(Doubt Pg.35) This goes to show that Sister Aloysius had so much hatred for him she was convinced herself that he is a cruel man by any little thing and that he was involved with Donald Miller, even though she had absolutely no evidence what so ever. In conclusion, both arguments are valid but I will stand by he is guilty. Yes maybe sister Aloysius can just be jealous and the only thing standing in the way of her controlling the catholic school is him, but I think sometimes it only takes one person to not be blind and see the truth. I feel sister James didn't want to believe that her fellow worshiper of god would commit this act. It was easy for her to believe the lies and not face the truth. Sister Aloysius was a harder women and I feel she out of anyone was not blind from the real world and was aware one day it could happen. She was a more experienced women and decided not to turn away. She knew even if he was a priest he was only human as well and could and did commit the unspeakable act with Donald Miller. Work Cited Shanley, John Patrick. Doubt: a parable. New York, NY: Theatre Communications Group, 2010. Print. Doubt. Dir. Scott Rudin. Perf. Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. N.p., n.d. Web. "Doubt the movie, Flynn guilty or not. Your opinion?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.
...The repetition of the speech that ‘he will confess’ shows how it is shocking that Proctor would do something like that. To show he is a good man he admits to something that he didn’t do to save the lives of others.
The play “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley began with a sermon by Father Brendan Flynn, a well liked and enlightened neighborhood priest, who says, "Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty". (Shanley 6) Sister Aloysius Beauvier is a strict traditional nun, who was declared to protect and secure St. Nicholas Church School. Father Flynn seems to be the protagonist in the play and Sister Aloysius is the antagonist. The whole play, sister Aloysius Beauvier suspected Father Flynn of molesting a 12-year-old boy named Donald Muller, who is the first African-American student in the St. Nicholas Church School. I think that Sister Aloysius’s overreacting, because Father Flynn is innocent. In the middle of these two characters, Sister James is a young and innocent teacher who wants to be neutral between the conflict of Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn.
The differences between the movie doubt and the play have significant differences that would influence ones opinion about certain characters and situations in the story. Though the differences are few one would agree that at least one of these differences are game changers or at the very least they get you thinking and having doubts of your own.
The plot, Jackie navigates the life of a preteen in New York during the 1960s. This plot begins late in Jackie’s life since her story begins 12 years prior which is when she was born but begins at the most present moment in the play which is the now. Although all of the characters are being depicted through one phenomenal actress, the characters are limited to her parents, Perespone and her family, and the friends she makes along the way. As well as the scenes and locales are fairly limited all of the scenes take place on a geographic scale in New York, and on Erickson Street or Manhattan at her private school. This shown the privileges of a small set reaffirms the focus and tightness of the
A reputation can be so well established that if one person in power does a wrongdoing people will not believe it. For example when Mrs. Muller says, “Let me ask you something. You honestly think that priest gave Donald that wine to drink?” (47). Donald’s mother is questioning sister Aloysius because she does not believe Father Flynn would do something like that. He has a reputation of being a great priest and his reputation is better than Sister Aloysius’. Mrs. Muller states, “You’re not going against no man in a robe and win, Sister. He’s got the position.” (47). Just by Father Flynn being a male he has a higher reputation than a nun, which he knows and can accumulate for his actions. In the hierarchy of the Church, the head male priest is the most dominant. Therefore, nobody questions what he is doing; he has a reputation of being this influential priest who gives great sermons. He knows that he has the power to do what he wants and has his fellow Monsignor and other men in the ...
He opens with a strong statement about god, “As we are a nation under God, so I am sworn to uphold our laws with the help of God” (13). He strikes emotion while also sharing personal views as he states that we are a country unified under God and that he not only relies on himself, but on god, which tends to strike emotion in religious peoples. He states his belief that Richard Nixon should be pardoned of all accusations regarding the watergate scandal. He also speaks about how Nixon wouldn’t be treated fairly and how, if a trial was held, it could never be settled, and if it were against him, his punishment would be cruel and unjust. The expression of belief gets the reader thinking about the real overlook of the situation, and how it is all handled, the emotions striving to express forgiveness and a new outlook on Richard
... 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.
that Mary is a witch. In response, Proctor confesses his lechery to weaken the perception
A 21st century audience would look at the play from the perspective of needless hysteria and accusations and would be amazed that human nature when put into these situations reacts the way it does in the play. In modern time we are able to appreciate the play without being concerned with the parallels of McCarthyism. Although my selected scene is only three-quarters way through the play it is very conclusive in the way that it shows the ability of the court to accept the condemnations of people looking for vengeance and the girls’ lies throughout the trials. The historical background to the play, although quite old still relates to human life and behaviour. It shows the willingness of human beings to blame anyone but themselves.
Most people have had some sort of conflict affect their lives at least once. That conflict could alter a person’s views of the world around them. In the play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, conflict is used to grasp the reader’s emotions and cause the reader to rethink their preconceived notions about the characters in the play. Doubt takes place in 1964 in St. Nicholas, which is a school and Catholic Church in New York. The play focuses on a priest named Father Brendan Flynn and a nun named Sister Aloysius Beauvier. The conflict highlighted in this play is between these two characters. After Father Flynn starts taking an African American student under his wing, named Donald Muller, Sister Aloysius suspects Father Flynn is up to no good. She
Miller wrote The Crucible as a parallel to the anticommunist hysteria in the 1940's. It may also be seen as a mirror to Hitler's Germany, and the pseudo-science of the time which dictated "purity". Today, however, The Crucible shows a resemblance to an entirely different kind of social hysteria. Accusations of sexual-abuse against child-care providers and others are now sometimes referred to as "witch hunts" when the accusers are suspected of lying, as in Miller's play. Children's advocates will of course tell us that we must believe children's claims of abuse, because, tragically, it does occur. However, a recent trend has shown that more and more accusations are false, and even when the accused are found innocent, their lives can be changed forever. This paper will examine the similarities between Miller's The Crucible, and the sexual-abuse "witch hunts" of today.
In the parable Doubt, the controversial topics presented by John Patrick Shanley sparked differing views that the reader was torn between..It introduced a storyline revolved around a nun accusing a pastor of partaking in inappropriate engagement amongst the alter boys. Si...
life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
Doubt: A Parable follows Sister’s Aloysius, the principal in a Catholic School, as she investigates Father Flynn, who she suspects of molesting a student, Donald. Sister Aloysius is certain that Father Flynn is guilty, but does not have any evidence to prove that guilt. Shanley is depicting that one does not need evidence to be certain of one’s guilt. Sister Aloysius enlists in the help of a younger nun, Sister James to gather evidence and confront Father Flynn. However, Sister James finds difficulty in believing Father Flynn’s guilt, and harbors doubt and uncertainty. The characters’ position on doubt vs. certainty divides their personalities. Sister Aloysius is a strict and strong-willed character, while Sister James has an insecure and innocent
Doubt, do you doubt yourself? In the play “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley portraits the life of people in a uptight religious school in the 1960s’s. The doubt of the story is weather a priest has molested a child or not. Altering sides of the story can be easily seen weather Father Brendan Flynn committed the crime or not. Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley's play, Doubt: A Parable, I can conclude that Father Flynn is innocent because people are innocent until proven guilty. Especially in this case, there is no real cold hard evidence rather just little hints and clues.