ipl-logo

Sister Aloysius In John Patrick Shanley's Doubt

1869 Words8 Pages

Have you ever felt doubt in your life? In John Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt, he says “It is Doubt that changes thing.” His play is about a strict nun, Sister Aloysius, who believes that a priest, Father Flynn, has done something terribly inappropriate to one of the students. Shanley set his play in a Catholic school in the Bronx. Sister Aloysius is the principal of the school, overseeing many teachers, including young Sister James. Sister Aloysius has doubts about Father Flynn, a priest who coaches basketball and tends to the spiritual needs of the children and their families. Aloysius believes Father Flynn is a little too friendly with Donald Muller, the school’s only black student. However, one’s question is never answered due to the …show more content…

Father Flynn is now uncomfortable; he claims its Sister Aloysius’s tone. “Well. I feel a little uncomfortable. [Sister Aloysius asks why] Why do you think? Something about your tone”(32). However, Sister Aloysius hits back with “This is not about my tone or your tone, Father Flynn. It’s about arriving at the truth” (32). It is reasonable for Father Flynn to claim his business is none that concerns Sister Aloysius however this is clearly her business. It’s her school! “Perhaps you [Father Flynn] are mistaken in your understanding of what concerns me. The boy is in my school and his well being is my responsibility”(32). If Father Flynn has nothing to hide then why keep avoiding the subject and even say “I don’t wish to continue this conversation at all further”(33) when Sister Aloysius simply asked to know what happened in the rectory? As he is about to step out of the office, Sister Aloysius tells him about the alcohol in Donald’s breath. Flynn reluctantly claims Mr. McGinn caught him drinking the altar wine and since Donald begged to stay in the altar boys he took pity on him. The ever so innocent Sister James is relieved with this story and believes Father Flynn. Of course Sister Aloysius is not satisfied even though she tells Father Flynn she is. She tells Sister James, “These types of people are clever. They’re not so easily undone” (35). While Sister James insists she’s convinced and wants no part in this anymore, Sister Aloysius tells her “You’re not [convinced]. You just want things to be resolved so you can have simplicity back. . . I’ll bring him down. With or without your help”

Show More
Related
561 Words | 3 Pages

(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.”

Read More
1074 Words | 5 Pages

Aunt Alexandra, teaches Scout, what a lady is and when it is the appropriate time to be strong and have an opinion and what the family roots are. Aunt alexandra, found out Tom, died while she was attending the missionary circle. “If aunty could be a lady at a time like this,so could I.”(Lee,237)Scout, now understands that sometimes being a lady and understanding the proper etiquette of one at times like that is extremely useful. Alexandra, acting strong proved to Scout, that being a lady is

Read More
851 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
411 Words | 2 Pages

Levon and Satenig were heavy based Christians and in a way forced all three of their children into practicing Christianity. However, Jack had a hard time practicing Christianity because what he believed conflicted with this religious practice. Jack would question God’s existence and eventually stopped attending church at age twelve. Not only were Levon and Satenig strict religious parents, they both challenged all three of their children to achieve high excellence in the classroom. However, schoolwork came easily to Jack and excelled so greatly that he often got in arguments with his teachers at school, in which at times, he humiliated them.

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

This incident shows the reader that she wants to be taken seriously by her colleagues. It also displays that Hilly deeply treasures her reputation because of her reaction towards the situation. On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra has also shown the reader signs that she values her family’s reputation. In chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra did not allow Scout to play with Walter Cunningham because of his poor background. She said, “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him.

Read More
489 Words | 2 Pages

Miss Strangeworth, a kind old lady in a small town where everybody knows each other. Living all by herself, known for her attracting roses in front of her house. Turns out she isn’t the lady everybody had in their mind, she was more than just an old lady. She is a bully, hurting other people by sending letters anonymously. Miss Strangeworth hurt other people with her colored paper letter that she sent all around town.

Read More
797 Words | 4 Pages

Through the second half of the second chapter of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Nanny’s story of being born into slavery and later her brutal assault, rape, and birth of her daughter Leafy -- Janie’s mother -- as a product of the assault of her white master is revealed. Nanny hoped for her daughter Leafy to live a life of freedom and become a successful school teacher, however she is raped at her won school and succumbed to alcoholism. Because of Nanny’s past trauma, an everlasting mark and instinct is left in her worldview which accounts for why she feels the need to have a plan set out for Janie’s life. Nanny strives to provide Janie with protection from a world full of racism and mistreatment of black men and women in which Nanny experienced first hand. Nanny hits Janie not from a place of hate or hollowness of heart, but rather from a place of fear: fear that Janie will grow up to experience the racism and hatefulness of the world that Nanny experienced.

Read More
1486 Words | 6 Pages

First off, Father Flynn is being victimized by the fixated principal Sister Aloysius. She accuses him of inappropriately having relations with a child. Every action Father Flynn makes, Sister Aloysius seems to have a certain reprisal for his decision. Sister James, the history teacher for the 8th graders realizes that Sister Aloysius is adjudging Father Flynn’s opinions and calls her out on it: You just don’t like him!

Read More
1169 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
1766 Words | 8 Pages

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).

Read More
845 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More
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 –

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

In act III, Lady Bracknell admitted to knowing Jack is Algernon's cousin:”Yes, I remember now that the general was called Ernest. I knew I had some particular reason for disliking the name” (108). Lady Bracknell had a sense

Read More
1094 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

More about Sister Aloysius In John Patrick Shanley's Doubt

Related Topics

Open Document