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The Integrity In John Patrick Shanley's Play 'Doubt'

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The line between losing and keeping your integrity is extremely fine and small. John Patrick Shanley supports this statement in his play Doubt. The play Doubt outlines the accusation of molestation of Mr. Flynn who is a priest. In the play there are a plethora of details and inferences to be found that either support or refute Mr. Flynn’s guilt. Based upon the evidence I discovered in Doubt, it is apparent that Father Flynn is guilty due to his overfriendliness towards Donald Muller as well as the presence of metaphorical signs. To begin, Father Flynn appears to be guilty due to his fondness and overfriendliness towards all the boys. First, Flynn suggests attempting to strengthen bonds with the children of the school by taking all of them …show more content…

For example, Patrick Shanley inserts a crow into multiple parts of the play. After conversing with Sister James about his concerns with his reputation and the accusations, Father Flynn proceeds to write in his Sermon book, “He takes out his little black book and writes in it. The crow caws,” (Shanley 42). Authors do everything for a reason; every little detail no matter how big or small has a hidden connotation behind it. The presence of a crow is no exception because crows are often associated with dark and negative actions. Molestation is clearly considered a negative and an action deserving of disdain. The crow may signify the darkness present in Father Flynn’s heart and how he is trying to come to terms with it. This is evident as when Flynn notices the crow landed near him, he proceeds to shoo the bird away. Furthermore, Flynn is a priest and is viewed as graceful and goodness; the crow offers a clash between the virtuous of Flynn being a priest and the wickedness of the actions he may have committed. While Flynn is should be perceived as guilty due to some ominous signs, it is also understandable why some people may view Flynn as

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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.

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Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is guilty because of his abrupt leaving and his demeanor. In the play, Father Flynn does not seem suspicious in the very beginning, but along the play, there are little bits of evidence that lead me to believe that Father Flynn is in fact guilty. Sister Aloysius accuses Father Flynn of child molesting the new black kid Donald Muller because some of Father Flynn’s actions are questioning. Sister James explains the evidence that leads Sister Aloysius to believe her own story: “No.

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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.

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In John Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable readers ponder whether or not Father Flynn had a sexual encounter with Mrs. Muller’s son. Throughout Doubt: A Parable, Sister Aloysius continuously tries to find various ways to get Father Flynn to confess that he has had sexual relationship with the alter boy, Donald. However, Sister Aloysius already has a close eye on Donald Muller because of his continuous confrontation “with being bullied, criticized, and taunted by the other boys at school and has not a single friend to comfort him” (Doubt - Essay on Ap). Therefore, this one of the reasons why Donald Muller spends time with Father Flynn and well as time spent being associated with the alter boys.

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Integrity is an essential piece of heroism, this can especially be seen in the novel "The Crucible" as the two ideals of integrity and heroism collide. Many different conclusions could be made from reading this novel when it comes to both integrity and heroism. While there are characters like John Proctor whom exhibits heroism through integrity, selflessness, and bravery, there are other characters whom sacrifice their own integrity in order to preserve their own imagine. These characters are portrayed as dynamic villains like Reverend Parris and Abigail Williams and others like Salem's own Sheriff whom is less dynamic and a greater linear character. Each individual's integrity would change constantly throughout the story due to a constant stacking of lies, all of which is rooted to one's struggle to keep a good image by forfeiting her own integrity.

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INTEGRITY Integrity is important for many reasons. The author, Ethan Canin, uses integrity as the central idea of his short story, “The Palace Thief”. The narrator, Hundert, believes it's his job to mold his students’ characters,so that these boys could grow up to become powerful leaders with good morals.

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I gathered a lot of evidence throughout Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, and I conclude that Father Flynn is guilty due to Donald being a very easy target and Father Flynn acting is very odd ways. Donald Muller, the little boy in the story, seems to be a very easy target for a predator. Donald is very isolated in school. He does not have any friends, so he the fact that the priest would accept him would make him feel accepted in the school. Donald is also the only black boy within the entire school.

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In the scene where Sister James and Father Flynn are speaking in the garden, Sister James tells Father Flynn that she has “one bad dream” (38) and she has not “slept right since” (38). Since she cannot sleep she is supposed to be good according to the epigraph, this is juxtaposed against Father Flynn who says “I can’t sleep on occasion” (38). Since he can’t sleep on occasion this means that he is mostly bad and has very little conscience that can keep him

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The power of belief shapes events into hardline certainties and creates situations where opinions will define the term success. In John Patrick Shanley’s story Doubt: A Parable, Sister Aloysius forms doubts about Father Flynn’s actions and diligently tries to expose Father Flynn based off of negligible evidence. A Catholic school in the Bronx is stuck at the crossroads as a rigid disciplinarian nun and the liberal parish priest share different views pertaining not only to their religion. The principal, Sister Aloysius, accuses Father Flynn of having inappropriate relations with the school’s first black student. She goes on a personal crusade to expunge Father Flynn from St. Nicholas without a fragment of validation expect her moral certitude.

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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

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Throughout this passage, the crow has a voice. It is said to caaw and screech multiple times, scaring and intimidating Kingshaw. Another description of sound is the “silky sound of

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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).

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In “The Fire Next Time,” James Baldwin describes the racial injustice he has observed and experienced in America. He expresses the outrage, hopelessness, and faith that African Americans went through in the 1960’s. The first essay, “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation,” is Baldwin’s letter to his nephew James; as somebody who has lived through America at its worst, Baldwin warns his young nephew of the trials ahead in a young black man's life. Baldwin divides the second essay, “Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind,” into three parts. He first explains his life growing up in the Harlem ghetto and how he was eventually lead to the church, then continues onto the second part

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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.

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