People rely on a number of factors for motivation for their thoughts and actions. Whether it be their upbringing, training, environment, or something else to develop their own personality. Differing ideas surrounding familiar concepts can be found when analyzing the differences between John Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt, the short story, “Good People,” by David Foster Wallace, and William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning.” Doubt takes place in a small Catholic school in 1964. The play highlights the suspicions of one of the sisters of a priest’s inappropriate relations with a student. “Good People” takes place near a lake where two unwed, Christian teens are deciding how to move forward after they find out that the girl is pregnant. William Faulkner’s …show more content…
They also emphasize how people handle uncertainty differently. Each of the narratives display a different mechanism to handle their doubt. In Doubt, Sister Aloysius decides to consciously repress her uncertainty about Father Flynn, while the other two stories show what can happen when a decision is avoided. In order to decipher how the stories face these ideas with different approaches, we must ask, what are the different motivations driving the main characters thoughts and actions?
These works set up the idea of religion, or lack thereof, as a definite motivating factor. In Doubt, the church is the main part of their lives and they live everyday trying to embody the principles that people have come to expect from nuns and priests. When Sister Aloysius sees Father Flynn as a wild card who doesn’t seem to hold himself to a high enough standard, she immediately has her doubts about his faith and inner morals. As for “Good People,” the main conflict
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Through the works the main characters’ ideas are formed based on how they were raised, their training, their environment and numerous other factors. However, in each work, some new, unforeseen circumstance challenges these ideas and cause them to face varying degrees of doubt. For example, in Doubt, Sister Aloysius is quite certain about her accusations towards Father Flynn. As the storyline progresses, however, it is evident that she truly did doubt what she had initially thought. She even confesses to Sister James that she has doubts (Shanley 52). Even though she doesn’t explicitly say that they were about her actions, it is clear that this is the meaning she intends. Similarly, in “Good People”, Lane Dean begins to have doubts about whether they should go ahead with the procedure or if he could find a way to solve his situation without going against his morals or religious values. He feels stuck between a rock and a hard place because he has already gone against these morals once to end up where they were, and now he doubts his ability to stay on course and make good decisions in the future. As for “Barn Burning,” Sarty cannot decide whether to tell people about his father or keep what he knows a secret (Faulkner 3). Soon after they move to their new dwelling, Sarty does not want to see his father do wrong and burn another
Both involved how assumptions can create judgement, false facts, confrontation, and change. People make assumptions every day, but no assumption should have the power to affect an individual unless if the individual allows it. Assumption was an important theme in both The Scarlet Letter and The Minister’s Black Veil. In The Scarlet Letter, assumptions led to people judging Hester for her sin which dragged along throughout the entire book. It’s important because it created an image for Hester, and it was dependant on how she would handle it. The community had a hard time accepting Dimmesdale’s death and the reality of what happened, and it's important because it showed how people in that community had thoughts. in The Minister’s Black Veil, assumptions led to people believing that Mr. Hooper was frightening, but it was important because they were all being hypocritical to each other. The people that got affected the most in both stories were the townspeople because it opened up a new world and possibilities for them. Their opinions didn’t affect anyone but themselves. Which is why assumptions lead
he enduring debate is a book that was written by John J. Coleman. It outlines the issues and the existing readings in the history of American politics. The politics of America have been defined by a number of great articles from great philosophers. Some of the writers who wrote about the constitution in America include former presidents such as James Madison. Chapter 3 of the book talks about federalism. Federalism is a form of government that advocates for two or more units to contribute equally to the control of one geographical region. Federal government advocates for sharing of power between the central government and the other units of governance. The discussion below is the summary of the readings on federalism.
Wright grew up in the Jim Crow South where everything about his life was socially and culturally inferior to the white masses. In Bloom’s Modern Critical Views Richard Wright, Qiana J. Whitted wrote about Wright’s life as a kid, shedding light on how his grandmother forced him to partake in religious in order to be saved from “religious execution” (123). It was this type of religious interpretation held by his grandmother, that was a “cultural marker” for Wright, reminding us, “that in his life, as in his writing, Richard Wright wrestled with his faith” (122). This struggle can be seen in Wright’s male character, Big Boy, in Big Boy Leaves Homes. Big Boy and his friends go to swimming creek where they see and are saw by a white woman. With the woman, was a white man who shot at Big Boy and his friends. Big Boy wrestles with Jim over the gun and ends up shooting and killing him. In panic, he runs home to retell the story of the murder he committed and the ones he witnessed. As he tells the story, his father sends for some of the religious members in the community. During this time Big Boy’s mother calls out several times for mercy, “Lawd Gawd in Heaven, have mercy on us all!” (36). The religious community members become a fist around Big Boy and come up with a plan for saving his life. In the midst of this Big Boy experiences an internal conflict with his actions and how they look in the eyes of God.
Along the trail of self-discovery, challenges often present themselves as opportunities to grow and change intellectually. Time and again, personal judgments are necessary to overcome these challenges. In the novel The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain ably showcased the hypocrisy of the society by exposing the adventures of Huck as a young boy in searching for freedom with a runaway slave Jim. Twain bared the reality of human society by significantly contrasting Huck and Jim’s life on the river to their dealings with people on shore, and also displaying the compelling difference of the relationship between Huck and Jim at both locations.
Power is earned, not given. There are many different types of power that people can earn. Power becomes a problem when it is not questioned or tested. Therefore, the one with the power would have total control over anything or anyone they wanted, or they would feel that way. People with power feel invincible when it is not questioned. Throughout history it has been proven that this creates a problem. For example, Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal is similar to the scandal with Father Flynn in Doubt. Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, exemplifies an underlying message that unquestioned faith leads to abuse of power. Specifically, shown in Father Flynn’s reputation, cover up, and resignation, which all correlate to Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal.
Hulga, or Joy as her mother calls her, is the protagonist of Good Country People. Being an atheist, having a doctorate in philosophy, and a wooden leg, is the outcast of her family, the dull diamond in both Mrs. Hopewell’s life and mind for she believes that Hulga shall never be up to her expectations. When a Bible salesman by the name of Manley Pointer visits the house, he woos the heart of Hulga to the point that she agrees to meet him the following day to take a walk down in the luscious fields of rural Georgia. Believing that Pointer is a good, Christian man, she strolls with him to a secluded barn to which they start getting comfortable. After many minutes of persuasion, Hulga removes her wooden leg, along with her glasses, to which she cannot she, nor can she walk. Oddly carrying his briefcase, he retrieves a hollowed out Bible containing condoms, cards, and a bottle of whiskey. Then, abruptly, he snatches her aiding wooden leg, and scurries away telling her that he name is not Manley Pointer, he collects prostheses, and that he is an atheist, similar to Hulga/Joy. This moment in the short story is her revelation, and it represents to her not only that people have more faults than those that are ap...
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.
In the article “Reading and Thought” the author Dwight MacDonald provides criticism and disagreement with Henry Luce’s idea of “functional curiosity”. Luce developed the term “functional curiosity” defining it as an eagerness of people to know the latest news happening around the world. On the other hand, MacDonald concludes that functional curiosity only strengthens reader’s practice in reading rather than in providing invaluable information. He underlines that literature nowadays is deficient and insubstantial since there is no deep meaning in the texts. Modern printed literature is simply being skimmed through by the reader as the reader nowadays tends to avoid too much information resisting thinking in such a way. Because of the new nature of the printed materials, MacDonald considers today’s reading behavior and the way people think as flimsy and indifferent. I agree that our thought has definitively changed since we are paying less time to serious critical thinking losing connections with society and awareness of it.
The battle of good versus evil is present in all aspects of life. Actions taken by people can determine how others view them. Some choose to do what is right and good, while others choose what is wrong and evil. Many characters are forced to choose between the two, and some do not foresee the consequences of their actions. In the book Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, actions committed by the Davy, Jeremiah, and Jeremiah’s friends, both good and evil, always have consequences.
In I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, the main character Ed is a nineteen-year-old cab driver in Australia who has never amounted to anything. One day, while with his three best friends, an event occurs that forever changes his life. While in a bank, they are held up at gunpoint. Ed ends up stopping the criminal and saving the day. Days later, as the bank robber’s trial is ending, he tells Ed that he is “a dead man… [And to] [r]emember it every day when [he] look[s] in the mirror” (Zusak 38). This overlooked statement by the reader comes back in the end of the novel to reveal an important message that “everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of” (535). Before attending the trial though, Ed begins to receive playing cards with addresses, names, times, and movie titles on them that require him to complete tasks, which challenge him in more ways than he could ever imagine. In the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, the two characters, Lane and Sheri, are faced with a situation that changes their lives as well; Sheri is pregnant with Lane’s baby. Even though Lane’s and Sheri’s situation is a little different than that of Ed’s, they relate greatly as all the characters are forced to make decisions that can alter the rest of their lives. In the novel, morality is used to accomplish self-discovery and growth of Ed’s personality by pushing his boundaries, and in the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, morality is used to accomplish growth and the realization of consequences of one’s actions by placing the young couple in a faith questioning situation no adolescent wants to face.
A collection of short stories published in 1907, Dubliners, by James Joyce, revolves around the everyday lives of ordinary citizens in Dublin, Ireland (Freidrich 166). According to Joyce himself, his intention was to "write a chapter of the moral history of [his] country and [he] chose Dublin for the scene because the city seemed to [b]e the centre of paralysis" (Friedrich 166). True to his goal, each of the fifteen stories are tales of disappointment, darkness, captivity, frustration, and flaw. The book is divided into four sections: childhood, adolescence, maturity, and public life (Levin 159). The structure of the book shows that gradually, citizens become trapped in Dublin society (Stone 140). The stories portray Joyce's feeling that Dublin is the epitome of paralysis and all of the citizens are victims (Levin 159). Although each story from Dubliners is a unique and separate depiction, they all have similarities with each other. In addition, because the first three stories -- The Sisters, An Encounter, and Araby parallel each other in many ways, they can be seen as a set in and of themselves. The purpose of this essay is to explore one particular similarity in order to prove that the childhood stories can be seen as specific section of Dubliners. By examining the characters of Father Flynn in The Sisters, Father Butler in An Encounter, and Mangan's sister in Araby, I will demonstrate that the idea of being held captive by religion is felt by the protagonist of each story. In this paper, I argue that because religion played such a significant role in the lives of the middle class, it was something that many citizens felt was suffocating and from which it was impossible to get away. Each of the three childhood stories uses religion to keep the protagonist captive. In The Sisters, Father Flynn plays an important role in making the narrator feel like a prisoner. Mr. Cotter's comment that "… a young lad [should] run about and play with young lads of his own age…" suggests that the narrator has spent a great deal of time with the priest. Even in death, the boy can not free himself from the presence of Father Flynn (Stone 169) as is illustrated in the following passage: "But the grey face still followed me. It murmured; and I understood that it desired to confess something.
The play, set in the 1600’s during the witch hunt that sought to rid villages of presumed followers and bidders of the devil is a parallel story to the situation in the US in the 1950’s: McCarthyism, seeking the riddance of communist ideologists. Miller sets this story more particularly in a village called Salem, where the theocratic power governed by strict puritan rules require the people to be strong believers and forbid them to sin at risk of ending up in hell. However, the audience notices that despite this strong superficial belief in God, faith is not what truly motivates them, but it is rather money and reputation.
Throughout the history of American Literature, the use of the ‘bad boy’ or the rebel in the literature has always fascinated readers. We may ask ourselves why would a bad person with typically bad morals and a bad attitude appeal to people in society? American society typically flocks toward certain characters in literature, based on their character. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, we are able to examine one of the most famous rebellious young men in the history of American literature. Huck reveals all the typical qualities of a ‘bad boy’, while retaining his inner compassion. Through analysis of Huck and other characters in American Literature, we can come to a conclusion that the ‘bad boy’ is usually a character that is non-conforming to society, such as in religion, school, and moral standards, while retaining their compassion inside. Although these rebellious boys may look tough and scary on the outside, on the inside they actually have a good heart and are able to have feelings such as remorse, regret, love, and compassion for others. In addition, there is a thin line between the American bad boy that we all know and love, and truly a bad person. Both come off tough on the outside, but it is the inner character that will separate ‘the men from the boys’. The rebellious boy we are fascinated boy has a good heart, while the other ‘bad boy’ is bad in all aspects. People are drawn to the inner moral fiber, not how bad people are on the outside. This is why Huck is so famous in literary history. It is evident that he has a tough outside, but a caring personality on the inside.
How can you rightfully justify a truth? Well there are some theories which contribute to the whole idea of understanding the basis of finding truth. The main fundamentals for determining whether something is right or wrong, one must first know there is a belief, one that is justified and that it is ultimately true. In many particular situations, conflict can build from justifying how well you know something is true due to evidence, supported claims and how much scrutiny is given by different, rather, opposing viewpoints. Throughout all history, humanity is personified by many different beliefs according their ways of seeing reality from their perspectives. Some may have a belief that they are strongly agreeing with but they do not necessarily
When trying to understand these particular characters’ experiences, it is very important to consider their worldviews, which promote “[th...