Father Flynn In The Parable Doubt

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. The principal, Sister Aloysius, saw Father Flynn touch William’s wrist and then watched William hand dart away. Sister Aloysius is the principal so it

Sister Aloysius and Sister James talk to Father Flynn who soon becomes very defensive. Father Flynn was asked about why he and Donald had a secret meeting after gym class. Flynn states, “It was a private matter.” This statement is concerning in the Sister’s eyes, because what can a private meeting be about with a 12 year old boy. This exemplifies that Father Flynn has something to hide because why would he hide the fact that a 12 year old kid drank he church wine from the principal. Father Flynn also tries to stop and changer direction in his conversation with the Sisters. If Flynn had nothing to hide he should have just told the Sisters the truth. Flynn stands and tells the Sisters that he does not wish to continue the conversation when in my opinion; he should try to clear his name here and now. I believe whether or not he abused the boys in the Nicholas school, he definitely had a secret to hide. Sister Aloysius lied and told Father Flynn that she had called his last parish and she spoke to one of the nuns. Flynn states that Sister Aloysius should have spoken to the pastor not the nuns in his last parish. Why does it seem like he doesn’t want Sister Aloysius to talk to the nuns? Did he really have a secret? It makes me very suspicious when he says, “You have no right to go rummaging through my past!” (Shanley 53) If you truly have nothing to hide then you should be fine with

Although it may look like he is guilty because he doesn’t want Sister talking to his other parishes, he could just be trying to save his name. You only have one name and your reputation can make or break someone. If it gets out that Flynn might be abusing boys he could be stuck with that title for the rest of his life. This could be the reason why he is being so defensive and wants the Sisters to just drop everything. He might also want to save Sister Aloysius’s reputation. He said a few times in the story that it would be better for this not to get out so Sister Aloysius can save her job. Father Flynn might actually be looking out for Sister Aloysius and trying to help her keep her job as the principal. Another reason Father Flynn could be innocent is maybe he was just trying to give Donald Muller a friend. Donald is the only black kid in school and has no friends. In the conversation with Donald’s mom and the principle it is known that Donald gets beat by his father. Maybe Father Flynn is just trying to be an admirable male figure to Donald and help him in school. It could also be possible that he is trying to cover up his meeting with Donald to save him from getting kicked off from being the alter boy. This is the example that Flynn uses to defend himself in the parable. Mrs. Muller said that Donald really enjoyed and wanted to continue to be