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John Stanley Doubt

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In different times of life, we are faced with people and circumstances which we can trust or doubt. Trust is a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone, but some people do not know how to handle it very well. Some people argue that trust may be very sensitive because once a person lose it, it might be very hard to get it back. Doubt is a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. It is a central factor of the play Doubt by John Patrick Stanley. In the play, there are two main characters that show the contrast between trust and doubt. The nuns, Sister Aloysius and Sister James, have opposing personalities and self-confidence. Firstly, Sister Aloysius and Sister James both work for the service of God, but they are not similar …show more content…

Even though she could never find the evidence that Father Flynn was committing atrocities, sister Aloysius continue to blame him. On the other hand, Sister James who was optimistic in finding a coherent answer to this mystery and although she had seen evidence from the child, she did not trust herself to accuse the priest definitely. Sister Aloysius shows us how life for her was so hard and self-confident, because she would rather trust in her instinct than anyone else. Sister James chooses to believe in the good faith in people, but sister Aloysius prefers to doubt others and trust only herself. It might seem that Sister James and Sister Aloysius have explored different experiences that have showed their characters. The first experience shows compassion and concern, but the second experience gives hardness and countless doubts. In fact, it is because of her that we, the public, end up thinking that she was right because the mystery all left us in doubt. The doubt that sister Aloysius do not have pieces of evidence makes the play very

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If the accusations were not true, there is no reason that Father Flynn should be so nervous. Then we come to find out that Sister Aloysius did not actually call the parish: “I was lying. I made no such call” (Shanley 58). This creates more suspicion around Father Flynn because if he were innocent, he would have no explanation for his leaving. Even though I believe Father Flynn is guilty, the case for Father Flynn’s innocence is also

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(Shanley 32). After all the arguing, Father Flynn threatens Sister Aloysius and Sister James starts to believe Flynn. A common argument against this position is that Father Flynn was really trying to help Donald be successful in school. Father Flynn may have been helping the only Negro in the school. Flynn says, “That back boy needs a helping hand or he’s not going to make it here!”

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The play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley is impressively structured play about the very title. It pins two monumental characters against one another over accusations of possible child molestation of an altar boy by a high ranking church official. Sister Aloysius is the principle that accuses Father Flynn of these actions and is relentless in her accusations of Father Flynn even without any hard evidence, but she has no doubt that he is guilty. Doubt is the title of the play and it shows you why it is titled this throughout the play. John Patrick Stanley did not only make a play about doubt, but leaves his readers in doubt themselves after the rollercoaster that is the play is titled after.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

Comparison between nuns James and Aloysius The film “Doubt” is set in a Catholic school in the 1960’s and centers in the goings-on of the children that attend the school and their caregivers. It follows the story of a nun, which is helped by another Sister to confront a priest, whom she suspects has abused a student. In the course of the film it’s shown how very opposite individuals interact towards a same topic; even though they both have the same vocation and work in the same place, they react in a different manner to the issue of suspicious. Although Sister Jane and Aloysius, both main characters of this drama, are two devoted nuns who are passionate for education, these two characters differ in their personalities, the ways of educating children and how they interact with people.

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Sister Aloysius finds it odd that Father

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328 Words | 2 Pages

After Sister Aloysius confronts Father Flynn and he denies any wrongdoing Sister James says “Well. What a relief! He cleared it all up” (Shanley 1029). It takes almost nothing to get Sister James to not only doubt her original suspicions and those of Sister Aloysius but to completely disregard those suspicions. Soon after that Sister James goes from doubting Sister Aloysius’ suspicions to doubting Sister Aloysius herself after a conversation with Father Flynn.

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1446 Words | 6 Pages

Though they have been much maligned and ridiculed, who among us has been so generous?” (10), implying that he agrees with Sister Aloysius. Sexism is an important theme throughout the play, specifically how Sister Aloysius’ gender hinders her credibility. The nuns are at the bottom of the Catholic Church chain of command and have to obey the roles above them, all of which are limited to men only. She struggles with these restrictions, since she knows the monsignor likes Father Flynn and is inclined to believe him over her.

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Trust is very important in relationships. It is the basis for relationships. It influences what you think about others. When just beginning a relationship there is a lot of initial trust. In The Great Gatsby the beginning tells of Gatsby, and how he is shrouded in mystery and gossip.

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Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novella about the past experiences of African American women ‘passing’ as whites for equal opportunities. Larsen presents the day to day issues African American women face during their ‘passing’ journey through her characters of Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. During the reading process, we progressively realize ‘passing’ in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s becomes difficult for both of these women physically and mentally as different kinds of challenges approach ahead. Although Larsen decides the novella to be told in a third person narrative, different thoughts and messages of Irene and Clare communicate broken ideas for the reader, causing the interpretation of the novella to vary from different perspectives.

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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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It reveals how people commit cruel acts out of selfish intentions. In this situation, the girls claim to “come to Heaven’s side” by pointing fingers at others for witchcraft, although they were only doing so to get themselves out of their own trouble. These acts of cruelty reflect upon the evil motives of the perpetrators that become more common after it is done once, as seen through the continuous trials and suspicions, which acts as one of the most major conflicts in the play. Without these cruel accusations, there would be neither plot nor ending. With this same situation, it can be concluded that accusations become more frequent during an interval of time when there are more people accusing.

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713 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the whole story Anne appreciates and respects her father. And Anne prefers to go to her father with problems rather than her mother. Compare and contrast the relationship between Anne and Peter at the beginning of the play and later on in the play. At the beginning of the play Anne did not pay attention to Peter.

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1181 Words | 5 Pages

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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887 Words | 4 Pages

Trust is what makes the world go round. Without trust, people wouldn’t know how to live. Sometimes trust can cause a person’s downfall. In Macbeth, trust fools plenty of citizens in Scotland. Although some people may become skeptical too quickly, people should be careful who they trust because people can have bad intentions and betray each other no matter what.

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

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)

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