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Doubt: A Parable: Character Analysis

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John Patrick Shanley's work, Doubt: A Parable, is a thought-provoking play that makes the reader question his or her thoughts. The story takes place in 1964, at St. Nicholas, a Catholic school and church, where accusations against Father Flynn start to arise. Main characters, Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn get into a dispute over Donald Mueller, the first and only black student in the school. The interactions between Aloysius and Flynn creates the question every reader is dying to figure out: is father Flynn guilty of sexual abuse or innocent? Gaining evidence from the play, Doubt: A Parable, I infer that Father Flynn is guilty because of his past and mannerisms. Father Flynn's unfortunate past magnifies his guilt greatly by adding to Sister …show more content…

Sister Aloysius spends her entire time trying to prove Father Flynn guilty where she also tries to persuade Sister James into thinking he is guilty too. She criticizes Father Flynn for his nails, the amount of sugar he takes, and his request for “Frosty the Snowman”. Aloysius sounds certain throughout the play that he is sinful, but changes her mind at the end: "I have doubts! I have such doubts!" (Shanley 58). Sister Aloysius, who doubts herself, consequently, proves his innocence. Confessing that she has doubts, significantly contradicts her claims of him being guilty of sexual abuse. However, when gaining all the facts, Father Flynn leaves the church once again because of a promotion making it his fourth parish. The substantial evidence verifying Flynn is guilty is when he leaves: "His resignation was his confession" (Shanley 58). Once again moving to another church, he confirms that he is guilty of sinning and runs away to avoid any consequences. Father Flynn accepts the promotion right away before the situation gets even more out of hand leaving with a clean slate. Nonetheless, I believe that Father Flynn is indeed guilty taking into account all the evidence the author

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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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(Shanley 6). Father tells the congregation that he has done something wrong but he does not tell anyone what he did. This sermon is right before Sister James finds out about Flynn and Donald’s relationship. When Sister James and Sister Aloysius confront the situation to Father Flynn, He denies everything. He says, “It was a private matter.”

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For example, while it is obvious that Sister James is comprehensive, optimistic and delicate, because she wants the approval from her superiors and students; Sister Aloysius, on the other hand, presents herself as determined, strict and a calculating person, due to the fact that she presents extreme care about details and thinks they are very important for knowing the truth. Maybe age plays an important role on defining how both of them behave. Sister Aloysius is an older woman, which makes her more experienced than Sister James; perhaps, this is why it was easier for Sister Aloysius to find Father’s Flynn sermon quite suspicious and instructs her fellow nuns to address her if they know of anything shady about the priest actions or behavior, while Sister James didn’t though that there was something behind the sermon about

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Sister Aloysius finds it odd that Father

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The most common, widespread epidemic in adolescent is the lack of self-esteem. If a teen loses confidence, they may engage in self-destructive views. To try to combat the lack of personal confidence, Canada and other individualistic countries emphasize being unique. In the short story, The Metaphor by Budge Wilson, Charlotte lives under the rule of her stern mother. Through her mother’s criticisms, her lack of confidence, and her desire to fit in with the community, Charlotte is shown to be insecure.

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His flaws have started to prevail over his mind but he holds strong This is a serious burden as father Flynn struggles to meet the criteria for being good. Throughout the movie, the nun named sister Aloysius constantly views Father Flinn as a curse to her church. Flynn shows his attentiveness to the church by preaching to the people and connecting with the boys. He’s a mentor and coach

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Truth Comes From Doubt Doubt may be irrational, but it can also reveal the truth. 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 her 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 guilt of having an inappropriate relationship with Donald Muller because of Father Flynn’s behaviors and Sister Aloysius’ conversations with many people.

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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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Aloysius tells Flynn she called a nun from his past, and: “found out his prior history of infringements” (Shanley 58). This causes Father Flynn to leave the church, which shows some doubt in the case between purity and wrongdoings. This position is flawed not only because she was lying, but also the made up infringements could just be other mistakes. Again, there is no evidence that his histories of violations are sexual assaults. Instead, they might be relationships with nuns, breaking of the Church Laws, or just a speeding ticket.

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In the story Wonder, by R.J Palacio, the protagonist Auggie is going to a traditional middle school for the first time, despite his facial differences and learns many valuable lessons while he is there. Even though Auggie has a lot of bumps in the road, his experiences in Beecher Prep are an overwhelming positive in his life because he gains new friends, learns how to deal with tough situations, and finds new strength to deal with bullies. First off, Auggie meets a lot of people at Beecher Prep, many that he can call his friends, such as Summer, Jack Will, Amos, The Maxs, and others that stand with him at the end of the year and change his perception of how people can be. These friends are very important to him as shown in the text on page 77. “I knew the voice.

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Ka’s father, however, is not the only one with guilt. Ka’s mother, Anne, is struck with the guilt of knowing as well and living with the man

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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 –

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(Shanley 58) She is not sure if her own claims were the truth or not which leaves us to wonder if Father Flynn was innocent or guilty. I believe that Father Flynn was falsely accused and never actually committed those kinds of acts with Donald Muller. With the lack of evidence and the small habits that can cause Sister Aloysius to dislike someone it is hard to believe that she actually had any reason to accuse him other than personal dislike towards Father Flynn.

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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.

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However, his true morals are revealed when the narrator shows signs of guilt like “My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears.” The narrator’s transition from superiority to guilt represents the reality that the acknowledgement of wrongdoings can either be done consciously or unconsciously, and that the latter has considerable negative

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