As told by John Patrick Shanley in his play, Doubt: A Parable, doubt requires more courage than conviction does, and more energy; because conviction is a resting place and doubt is infinite (Stanley ix). Doubt: A Parable is about a priest named Father Flynn who is being shamed by Sister Aloysius for sexually assaulting a young boy, Donald Muller. Donald Muller is black and also gay. The play causes the reader to question whether or not Father Flynn is guilty. Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s play, I conclude Father Flynn is innocent because Sister Aloysius is stubborn and lacking evidence, as well as the fact that Father Flynn is a good man and well-liked by the congregation. First, Father Flynn is innocent because Sister Aloysius …show more content…
He helps the schoolboys and looks out for them, including Donald. Flynn teaches the boys to play basketball and how to be a man. Sister Aloysius finds it suspicious that Flynn took only Donald out of class. She questions Flynn about talking to Donald alone in the rectory. Flynn’s reasoning is very credible: Donald Muller served as an altar boy last Tuesday morning. After Mass, Mr. McGinn caught him in the sacristy drinking altar wine. When I found out, I sent for him. 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. (Shanley 33, …show more content…
Sister Aloysius has lots of power in this situation, and Flynn is afraid of the consequences. This position is flawed because Flynn simply does not want his reputation ruined. Once Sister Aloysius tells the Bishop and the public, she will be unable to take her words back. Since there are no actual facts whether or not Flynn is innocent or guilty, he would not be able to clear his name from the accusations. His name would always be associated with harming children. Flynn is pleading his innocence to Sister Aloysius one last time before it is too late, which is why he is trying to sound
No one ever knows who is telling the truth. It is difficult because of the evidence needed to convict someone along with taking long periods of time to properly, or not so much, evaluate the case. [5] Allison wanted to pursue a case, as a result of her wanting to go through with the case her lawyer told her to "prepare for the hardest, nasties fight of your life." (34) This is not a comforting thing to hear when every time Allison returns to her home town she realizes "I 'm mad at myself for not reporting the situation." (35) The question then becomes to do nothing and try to forget what happened, or to seek justice? Either battle is difficult but it turns into what that person can stand. In this case for Allison she reported it to the police station and although unsure at first she later continued to make a case out of it. She decided to fight this battle not only for herself but for justice for others as well. Her rape kit was still available, she still had proof that Beau had admitted to raping her. That was evidence but even so the case was to be
The play is pretty clear that Father Flynn is innocent. Father Brendan Flynn is a very conservative priest, who wants to help the students. He also tried to make changes such that student would use ball pen and sing frosty the snowman. In the other hand, Sister Aloysius is a progressive nun, who does not like the school to change. Father Flynn caught Donald drinking wine, and to save the boy from getting discharged as an altar boy, he made a promise to Donald to not to tell anyone. Sister Aloysius drove Father Flynn to the point that he had to tell the truth about Donald drinking the altar wine. The church will now have to discharge Donald as an altar boy, which Father Flynn had been trying to avoid this entire time. Before leaving Sister Aloysius’s office, Father Flynn tells her that, “He is displeased with her handling of the situation.”(Shanley 35)
This form of accusing holds zero form of justice. The accusers weren’t even able to explain what happened themselves, so instead of worrying about t...
``In criminal law, confession evidence is a prosecutor’s most potent weapon’’ (Kassin, 1997)—“the ‘queen of proofs’ in the law” (Brooks, 2000). Regardless of when in the legal process they occur, statements of confession often provide the most incriminating form of evidence and have been shown to significantly increase the rate of conviction. Legal scholars even argue that a defendant’s confession may be the sole piece of evidence considered during a trial and often guides jurors’ perception of the case (McCormick, 1972). The admission of a false confession can be the deciding point between a suspect’s freedom and their death sentence. To this end, research and analysis of the false confessions-filled Norfolk Four case reveals the drastic and controversial measures that the prosecuting team will take to provoke a confession, be it true or false.
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 ...
I could not answer, “No Justine,” said Elizabeth, “he is more convinced of your innocence than I was, for even when he heard that you had confessed, he did not credit it.”
...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.
confession without implicating himself. We get a glimpse into the true character of the Friar,
John Patrick Shanley creates a movie as a whole I feel was more informative than the play. In the play you have 4 characters Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn, Sister James, and Mrs. Muller. While the movie introduces a few other characters, for instance the children. For me the children made a difference because they for one made me understand what kind of kids Sister James was dealing with. I really thought that being able to see the way Father Flynn interacted with all of the young boys including Donald Muller was really helpful when trying to draw your conclusion of Father Flynn versus when reading it your left to imagine for instance; what some of the kids are like. The way the book sets you up your left leaning to Father Flynn being exactly what Sister Aloysius accuses him to be. We also get to see how sister James interacts with the kids and how Sister Aloysius influences her to change the way she deals with and teaches her class.
“’The fact is, Mr. Ellet, …we are both church memebers; and the churches to which we belong have a way (which I think is the wrong way, but that’s neither here nor there) of meddling in these little family matters. It would not be very pleasant for you or me to be catechized, or disciplined by a church committee; and it’s my advice to you to avoid such a disagreeable alternative; they say hard things about us. We have a Christian reputation to sustain, brother Ellet,’…” (72).
... 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.
Subsequently, the Director John Patrick Shanley who is also the screenplay writer created the film Doubt, and I believe the film was made to shed the light on individuals who abuse their powers. In the film Doubt we see the possibility that Father Flynn may have abused his powers, and took advantage of his position as a priest. I also believe the film had a purpose beyond entertainment, I am sure there are many people of power that take advantage of it, and this film portrays it perfectly. I believe the film doubt serves as social needs and religious needs because we really get to see how priests may act or how sisters may act, the movie gives us insight into their world, and I like the fact that we get to take a break from our reality and enter their reality. I also truly believe it questions ideas in the moral realm of that time period because we can truly see how much the characters doubt
All in all, no matter how harsh the world is to the Church, or how kind they may be, the Catholics must stay strong, for Jesus endured so much, and not only for the believers, but also for all of Creation; and what is better than for the leader to stay strong? No matter the controversy, the ‘Elderly Man of the Vatican’ will conserve his right to maintain his responsibilities.
Our observations took place at Newman’s Catholic Church. In particular, we observed the interactions of a priest for an hour and thirty minutes. We began by observing how he interacted with members of the church for the first fifteen minutes before service began. Then we focused on his interactions with the assembly during service and finally, we witnessed how he interacted with others after mass. During this time a few noticeable differences occurred.
I attended Mass at my local parish, the Parish of St. Francis de Sales, on Sunday, October 9th, in order to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. This also happens to be the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time because the priest of the parish, Father Phan, wore green in order to symbolize life, anticipation for the coming of Christ, and hope. The liturgical season of Ordinary Time is also significant because it focuses on the fruits of Jesus’s three-year public ministry, his educational parables, and his extraordinary miracles. The season of Ordinary Time also serves as a reminder that the Church’s mission, our mission, is to not only share the life and hope of Jesus