Guilty Until Proven Innocent “What do you do when you are not sure?” Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, centers around the theme of doubt and how people react to it. In the Play, the three main characters Sister Aloysius, Sister James, and Father Flynn struggle with their doubts. When Sister Aloysius accuses Father Flynn of molesting a boy named Donald Muller, the first black student of St. Nicolas Church School, doubt begins to flare inside them. Sister James is caught in between believing Sister Aloysius, who demands Father Flynn is guilty, and the Father pleading innocent. Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is indeed guilty on account of his behavior with his students and the students’ …show more content…
His compassionate character and the fact the Sister Aloysius so strongly disagrees with many of his practices may induce one to believe his innocence. Sister James, caught in between believing Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn, confronts Sister Aloysius about her repugnance of Father Flynn: “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!” (Shanley 35) Sister James is sure that Sister Aloysius is biased in believing Father Flynn’s culpability solely because she detests his contemporary approach to church. But in fact, it is particularly unlikely that Sister Aloysius would stake her position as principal and go out of her way to expose him. After Sister James refuses to take part in bringing Father Flynn down, Sister Aloysius explains there are no limits to what she will do to bring him to justice: “I will bring him down. With or without your help” (Shanley 35). Her devotion to revealing Father Flynn is too engaged to be purely out of personal dislike. Certainly, Sister Aloysius is confident in her judgement of Father Flynn due to her vast
Alyss concludes, “This marriage would please her mother, for her family’s sake” (Beddor 171). Alyss acts as a people pleaser when she accepts Leopold’s proposal. She doesn’t love Leopold, but accepts his proposal only to make her mother happy. Alyss has decided to no longer stand out and become like “every women” (Beddor 191). Alyss desires to conform and submit to ideas of society. She becomes normal and no longer stands out like odd Alyss. Mrs. Liddell exclaims “ The dress she had purchased months before, but which Alyss had always refused to wear it because she feared it would make her look normal”, Alyss now wears it ( Beddor 151). Alyss starts to dress like everyone in England. She no longer looks like a former Wonderlander, but becomes by all appearances a proper young
The problem: A disgusting creature by the name of Bob Ewell claimed that a colored man assaulted and raped his 19 year old daughter, bruising and hurting her badly. He demanded justice for this crime, which he pronounced was a hanging. The father of our main character, Atticus, was the defending lawyer in the case. He proved well and thoroughly that the young colored man, Tom, was innocent of the crime. Not only that, but he proved that the perpetrator was none other than the girls father, Bob Ewell. Unfortunately, Tom did not believe that this was enough to r...
“I thought that I had worked it all out in the book, “ she says. “But seeing this play has had a cathartic effect.” The skeletons no doubt, are out of the closet.”
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.
Traditionalism and conservatism have always threatened the “rights” and easily strengthened the “wrongs” of society. Liberal ideals allow some people to see past the norms of the time into the heart of the matter or to predict a better future. Victimized people may be forced to see things differently even if they are not naturally liberal. The Crucible shows how these people—the liberals, victims and liberal victims—fought to stand by what they knew to be right, even when all of the voices and norms of society were against them. In the Salem in the play people who were accused were urged to confess based on the testimonies of others and the traditions of severe religious consequences and
Despite the unwavering dedication of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the absence of evidence, and a moving courtroom speech, Tom Robinson is convicted of a crime that he did not commit. What would have been the outcome if Tom Robinson's trial was held in the 21st century? A jury today, presented with the same evidence, would find Tom Robinson not guilty. Atticus did a good job and proved that Tom could not have beaten Mayella because his left arm was injured. The only eye witness was Mayella, whose own statements were conflicting; she claimed that Tom both did and did not assault her. Her testimony also differed from that of her father. There was never any specific testimony concerning the rape, only assault. The prosecutor would never have been allowed to repeatedly refer to Tom as "boy" during this trial with the lack of tolerance held for racism in today’s society. The most obvious form of discrimination in To Kill a Mockingbird is racism; however, there are other types of prejudice and discrimination that typify relationships among the novel’s characters.
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.
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...
Twelve Angry Men, is a play written by Reginald Rose. The play is about the process of individuals and a court case, which is determining the fate of a teenager. It presents the themes of justice, independence and ignorance. Rose emphasises these three themes through the characters and the dialogue. Justice is the principle of moral rightness or equity. This is shown through juror number eight who isn’t sure whether or not the boy is actually innocent or guilty, but he persists to ask questions and convinces the other jurors to think about the facts first. Independence is shown through both juror number three and ten. They both believe that the defendant is guilty until they both realise that they can not relate there past experiences with the court case. Ignorance is shown throughout all the jurors during the play, it is also brought out through the setting of the play.
Guilty or not guilty? This the key question during the murder trial of a young man accused of fatally stabbing his father. The play 12 Angry Men, by Reginald Rose, introduces to the audience twelve members of a jury made up of contrasting men from various backgrounds. One of the most critical elements of the play is how the personalities and experiences of these men influence their initial majority vote of guilty. Three of the most influential members include juror #3, juror #10, and juror #11. Their past experiences and personal bias determine their thoughts and opinions on the case. Therefore, how a person feels inside is reflected in his/her thoughts, opinions, and behavior.
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.
These injustices have begun long before Tom’s trial, but it is his trial which epitomizes the problems with our society. The first witness was simply just a misguided fellow named Heck Tate who it seems didn’t have much to offer to the case. Next, Atticus Finch called Bob Ewell to the stand. When I saw Ewell take the stand such a fierce hatred rose within me that I began to shake and tremble. Ewell wrongfully accused Tom of raping his daughter Mayella, however, with the grace of God, Atticus Finch had shown that it was very possible that it was Bob Ewell who because he was a lefty could have beat Mayella. If it were not for great men like Atticus Finch I would have lost all hope for this world. As I watched Mayella take the stand I wondered how such a kind looking person could be someone of such poor character. Her words seemed to paint a picture of a sad life; one where a father neglects her and she has fallen under hard times. Atticus, after pointing out it was probably Bob who beat her, asked Mayella who it really was that beat her. Mayella made it clear it was Tom Robinson, upon which Atticus asked Tom to stand. To the astonishment of the court Tom was handicapped! Tom was then called to the stand where he laid open for all to see the truth, explaining that it was Mayella who came on to him (that treacherous woman!). Soon enough the trial ended and every one awaited the verdict of the jury. The next few hours were the most nerve wracking of my life.
“Miller’s characters and their actions serve as a warning to the play’s audience. Danforth refuses to admit his own error. He says, “While I speak God’s law, I will not crack its voice with whimpering.” If a group of young girls coached by a mistaken respected adult could manipulate the entire town of Salem, Miller seems to say, then what is it to stop similar manipulations in other locales in the present time? He wants us to fear the power of the group. He wants us to fear coercion. He wants us to question the “bandwagon effect” in society.” (56)
...ngagement, their re-engagement. Cecily is not the natural country girl. She possesses the self-assurance of the experienced woman. Without being cynical she makes her desires clear. And when Gwendolen and Cecily discover that their Earnests are impostors whose names are Jack and Algernon they decide that love can be restored only if Jack and Algy christen themselves Earnest.
Dearest Lady Macbeth With each passing moment, my heart seems to yearn for our reunion with even greater ardor, despite my prior belief that my love for you had already reached the zenith of human emotion. Over the course of our long and painful separation, I have experienced and endured more than I ever thought I would within the vicinity of my time on this earth, and have been forced to drastically revise my interpretations of both pure bliss and anguish. I do not believe that my experiences in war against the Norwegian invaders are in need of additional dramatization, as my recollection of the events has been blurred and warped with the trauma of battle, and word of the happenings has most likely already been transmitted to your ears. They told us that the king had requested our audience, and that he was to befit us both with a sort of great honor, the type that could not yet be disclosed.