It is agued that Father Flynn is indeed guilty. He is so worried about how he looks to others he might do or say anything to cover something up. “I feel as if my reputation has been damaged through no fault of my own” (Shanley 39). Flynn states that he shouldn’t have to worry about a damaged reputation because Sister Aloysius is the one damaging it. Still, he is worried about how is image will be perceived by others.
Imagine being interrogated about a mundane and orthodox day, one month ago, that you have little recollection of; this was the case with Adnan. Unable to provide sufficient evidence, and with the aid of Jay’s claim to being a witness of the murder, Adnan was arrested shortly
Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is guilty because of his desire to help boys and his ability to hide his past. Father Flynn has a strange liking of boys. He is the basketball coach at the school and loves spending time teaching kids how to play basketball. Although he is suppose to be teaching the boys about basketball, He tends to boys how to be men. When talking to the boys Father Flynn says, “I’ve noticed several of you guys have dirty nails.
Butler, as the guilty one, which he did without having all his facts right. After Mr. Stephens identified Mr. Butler as the one who committed the crime the police took Mr. Butler to the police station where he was practically coerced to confess to a felony he knew nothing about. But when the case reached the court chambers, and aware they had no case to prosecute, the police officers chose to give forceful confessions, which further weakened their case (De Lestrade, 2001). The attorney of the accused (Mr. Butler), Patrick McGuinness, knowing that the prosecution’s case had reeked to high heavens, framed a powerful defense that exposed the false confessions given by the police and the shoddy investigations done by the detectives involved in the case (De Lestrade, 2001). In the end, Mr. Butler gained his rights and freedom back, which were denied to him when the police, the media, and public sentenced him wrongly.
Within the Ted Talk, “For Argument’s Sake,” Daniel H. Cohen does an effective job at proving his claim that arguments are thought of as war-like situations with winner and losers instead of as an opportunity to gain knowledge. For example, Cohen states, “But the war metaphor, the war paradigm or model for thinking about arguments, has, I think, deforming effects on how we argue . . . It magnifies the us-versus them aspect of it” (TedTalk). In this assertion, he does a prominent job at explaining that the common thought of an argument is a battle in which one side wins which proves his point. The speaker continues to support his statement by expressing this idea: “Think about that one -- have you ever entered an argument thinking, ‘Let's see
Father Flynn gets very defensive and works very hard to defend his case to Sister James, which seems like he is trying to get more people on his side. This is almost too much effort to just keep his reputation and prove his innocence. He also leaves the parish when Sister Aloysius claims to have contacted his old parish. Sister Aloysius never truly did this, however Father Flynn still left. The fact that he left when she brought up his old
I believe Father Flynn is innocent because of Sister Aloysius’ paranoid demeanor and he has reasonable explanations for everything he is accused of.
Throughout John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt, Sister Aloysius tries to expose the truth about how Father Flynn could be having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Muller. Sister Aloysius becomes aware of this possibly inappropriate relationship after Sister James tells Sister Aloysius that Father Flynn had a private meeting with Donald. Then, Sister Aloysius talks to many people to see if her speculations are true, and by doing that, she hopes that the truth will cause Father Flynn to leave St. Nicholas. After reading the play Doubt, I believe that Father Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Muller because of Father Flynn’s behaviors and Sister Aloysius’ conversations with many
Reflecting back to his situation with Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn knows that the damage has already been done and ignoring it would no longer be an option he had to prove his innocence, but Sister Aloysius doubt is so strong he is uncertain that he would be able to change her mind on what she thinks of him. When someone’s doubt is as clear to them as certainty they act without rationalizing the situation. This scene occurs after Sister Aloysius had accused Father Flynn of conducting inappropriate things with Donald Muller. In his sermon, Father Flynn says, “You ignorant, badly brought- up female! You have borne false witness against your neighbor, you have played fast and loose with his reputation you should be heartily ashamed” (Shanley 35).
When a person is trained to hate or fear something, it is common to dread becoming what is hated. Often even a little piece of doubt can cause the person to worry and question themselves. Adolescent girls and women, even those who have never had sexual intercourse, often find that when their period is late they will panic and wonder if they are pregnant. That little bit of doubt can easily well up inside and become a formidable monster of despair and self-doubt. Phil Resch’s spiral into a state of self-doubt after simply considering the thought that he could be an android parallels the struggle young women face with a late period.
Although Sister James felt like Sister Aloysius was just trying to destroy her spirit and love for history it is actually nothing like that. Sister Aloysius is trying to teach her how to strong in this world that oppresses women to dial down their intelligence and to bow at the feet of men. As displayed through the conversations before between Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius, Sister Aloysius stood up against him acting as if she was questioning her authority and she was the boss or they were on the same level. She is one of those women who would stand against a man and question him without feeling threatened or
Also, the main theme that is underlined by the playwright of Doubt: A Parable is the abuse of the power. Shanley suggested an up-to-date topic, considering several scandals about the Catholic Church’s priests who had had sexual relations with young parishioners. This play with no proofs and it ends with an open-ended. Although in the play Sister Aloysius and Sister James try to judge whether the priest –
Reasonable doubt proves that critical thinking is important when someone’s life is in someone else’s hands. “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose, is a play about twelve jury members who must deliberate and decide the fate of a man who is accused of murdering his father. These twelve men must unanimously agree on whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty without reasonable doubt. Just like the jurors, the readers of this play have not witnessed the crime that took place before the trial started. Everyone, but the writer, is in the dark about who committed the crime.
Although some people believe Father Flynn is innocent, I have reason to believe that Father Flynn is guilty. In the parable Doubt, Flynn is the priest and a gym teacher who is accused of abusing boys in the Nicholas school. The Principle thinks Flynn has abused Donald Muller, the only black boy in the school, and possibly William London. I believe he is guilty because of his interactions with the boys, how defensive Flynn acts when he is accused, and then explain a counterclaim of his guiltiness. One reason I believe he is guilty is the way he interacts with William London and Donald Muller.
Doubt, a film taking place in New York during the 1960s, focuses on the accusation of a priest, Father Flynn, being a child predator by a nun, Sister Aloysius. The credibility of Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn are often brought into question throughout the film. As the evidence gathered was mostly circumstantial and created through assumptions, Father Flynn did not harm Donald Miller at any instance despite the constant pressure from Aloysius to admit his guilt by leaving the parish. Sister Aloysius is displayed as old fashioned and spiteful towards change. Her denial of change stems from the smallest and pettiest of objects: ballpoint pens and Christmas songs.
