Analysis Paper on "Doubt"

When I look at the title “The Essay, An Exercise in Doubt” I assume that the basis of the writing will be centered around doubt. It is not until I arrive at the midsection of the article that I learned the authors main ideal was influence the audience to except doubt and embrace it

One example of when the author causes us to be unsure of the truth is when he talks about the vietnamese man he killed. Then we find out that it wasn’t O’Briens fault from Kiowa to leave us in an even more confused state. He wrote this because he wanted to describe to us that even if he didn’t kill the man, it felt like he was responsible, because in a way he felt like the mysterious man was him. This particular event increases our understanding of the story because this is what it felt like to be in the war. You would blame yourself for the death of a fellow soldier or imagine your own self dead.

In the parable Doubt, Father Flynn’s innocence is very debatable. Sister Aloysius suspects that he is a child molester. He denies it when confronted but there is some evidence that points to his guilt. Sister James does not want to believe his guilt but is unsure as Sister Aloysius is so determined. Father Flynn is clearly guilty for several reasons, for one because of his actions early in the story, and also because of his decision to leave St. Nicholas Catholic School.

While Sister A is talking to Sister James she ends the conversations by saying, “I have doubts! I have such doubts!” (Shanley 58). During this conversation with Sister James, Sister A explains how she has many doubts with this situation with Flynn and how he has left the school. This is important because this has more evidence to why I think Flynn is innocent. Sister A explain show she has many doubts after this situation has gone through. A sub point to this argument is that Sister A explains that she lied about making a phone call to the previous church Flynn went to: “I was Lying. I made no such call” (Shanley 58). Sister James had thought that Flynn left because Sister A made a phone call that explained that Flynn had a bad history at previous churches. This is an example of why Flynn is innocent because Sister A had lied about the phone call she made, so there was no true evidence that Flynn did anything bad a previous churches. With these two context clues you can conclude that Flynn should be innocent because there is no clear evidence as to why he should be guilty.

The play Doubt written by John Patrick Shanley, revolves around the accusation that Sister Aloysius Beauvier makes toward Father Flynn. Father Flynn is accused of sexually abusing a student named Donald Muller. These accusations are fueled by Sister Aloysius dislike toward Father Flynn. Their different beliefs clash with each other since Father Flynn is open minded, and liberal while Sister Aloysius is the exact opposite, old school and conservative. All of these different beliefs and accusations lead about to a struggle power throughout the play.

“What do you do when you’re not sure...” so begins Father Flynn’s sermon near the beginning of the play Doubt. Father Flynn delivers his sermon to the people of St. Nicholas Catholic church in the Bronx in the year following President Kennedy’s assassination. His sermon builds upon a story of a sailor lost at sea who has doubts about the course he has set and his doubt becomes the metaphor for the community who has lost its certainty. So, in other words, when someone loses certainty they doubt about someone or something and want to belief the uncertain is true. To do so they make anything in their power to find out that their doubt is a belief even if it means to lie.

John Shanley’s “ Doubt” is a story illustrating a nun concern over a priest suspicious behavior inside the church. The nun sister Aloysodid is worried about the problem not being fixed as it can cause more problem s in the future. Sister Aloysius is determining to solve the problem but the priest Father Flynn is not being corrapertive to solve the problem. In the story we learn sister alyonsis cannot solve the problem by herself because of her ranking in the church. Father Flynn is uncomfortable because he has been open with the boys and is nervous of Sister Aloysius.

In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, doubt is one of the most important themes. In fact, the whole play is based on the story of a ghost who claims to be Hamlet’s father, and nobody can be sure if what he says is the truth. In this essay, I am going to focus on the theme of doubt throughout the play. I will first speak about the opening scene, and then I will talk about the ghost, which is a supernatural element used by Shakespeare to create doubt in the play. I will also analyse the passage in which Hamlet declares his love to Ophelia. Finally, I will briefly discuss Hamlet’s sanity.

Most adults would do anything to protect a child. Sister Aloysius did everything she could to make sure Father Flynn would not hurt anymore child. In the play Doubt: a Parable by John Patrick Shanley, Father Flynn, a priest at St. Nicholas, a Catholic church and school in the Bronx, New York, 1964 is questioned whether or not he has been in an inappropriate relationship with an 8th grade colored kid named Donald Mueller. One of the nuns at the school, Sister James tells the principle of the school, Sister Aloysius, her suspicions of the relationship between Father Flynn and Donald and that she smelt wine in his breath. Sister Aloysius questions the priest of the relationship but he denies it and tells her Donald, who was also an altar boy who had access to wine, took some and the priest told no one because he wanted to keep Donald safe. Sister Aloysius meets with Donald’s mother to inform her of the situation but she overlooks it because she needs him to finish 8th grade at the school and Father Flynn is the only one who is friendly to Donald. Father Flynn and Sister Aloysius meet again and she threatens Father Flynn to confess because of information she got from a nun at his last parish. Father Flynn still denies the relationship but he then goes to a different school to be a priest. Based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude Father Flynn is guilty based on his behavior and other evidence against him.

People are overwhelmed when stuck in between certainty and uncertainty. In the face of ambiguity, knowledge of the certain is required to obtain power, and only through the revelation of the uncertain can liberation be achieved. Despite the possibility of failure, success can be achieved and the rewards from succeeding are invaluable to the growth of character. This philosophy is solidified in André Alexis’, The Hidden Keys, through the character Tancred. Tancred is capable of finding the hidden treasure because he never let uncertainty get the better of him; he searches for answers without knowing if there are even any to be found., hHe is a man of principle which allows him to follow his morals, not let the opinions of others affect his, and persevere until he reaches the goal.

Innocent until proven guilty is a phrase that applies to our judicial system in modern times; however, when the play Doubt by John Patrick Stanley was written this phrase did not always apply. The play is a parable that makes you think about how gossip and rumors can cause havoc and potentially ruin someone’s career. In the play the rumors that are flying are rumors about whether or not Father Flynn is innocent or guilty to the crime of molesting a young boy named Donald Muller. Critics still argue whether he was innocent or guilty to the crime today, and no answer is known. However, based on the evidence in Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt: A Parable, one could conclude that Father Flynn is innocent due to the fact that he had reasonable evidence

Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1 provides the context for several of the characters' actions. It is a soliloquy about fearing the unknown that lies waiting on the other side of the grave (are we punished and/or rewarded according to our actions on earth?) and as Hamlet reasons, "Conscience does make cowards of us all" (3.1.2). In other words, Hamlet feels that he is unable to act because of the haunting voice of doubt inside him. He doubts that he would find peace in the afterlife should he kill himself. He doubts the events he sees before his very eyes and so cannot exact revenge as the spirit of his father urges him to do. Yet, as Hamlet begins to unravel, other characters expose their doubts as well, revealing how they too are troubled by the unknown. King Claudius reveals his troubled conscience after witnessing the play and wonders what he has done; Hamlet's mother tries to block out the reality of the situation she has entered into when Hamlet attacks her with what he knows (not knowing is better than knowing, she feels). This paper will examine the ways in which the unknown affects the actions of the characters in Hamlet and show that at the heart of each character is an unwillingness to confront the unknown (which is oftentimes themselves).

The novel “Doubt; A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley, creates doubts and mystery in readers minds that have us turning the pages, curious of what will happen next. “Doubt” creates a lot of different opinions and perspectives, and raises a lot of important discussions. You see that values play a big part in the way that we think, and the way that we see others. It blocks our perspective on people, and makes things seem very one-sided, in order to live life to it’s fullest potential you need to not just look at your own beliefs but others as well. It creates doubt in readers’ minds whether or not Father Flynn is guilty by showing us different sides of characters and making us feel uncertain about our beliefs.

The main theme of the play is to not fall prey to emotions and hasty suspicions. They are a bad combination and will ruin your life. If you ever get one of these you should try not to get the other or you are in trouble. So if you are ever having doubts about someone ask them, don’t listen to your friends. They might not know the truth or the whole

Epistemology is purposed with discovering and studying what knowledge is and how we can classify what we know, how we know it, and provide some type of framework for how we arrived at this conclusion. In the journey to identify what knowledge is the certainty principle was one of the first concepts that I learned that explained how we, as humans, consider ourselves to know something. The certainty concept suggests that knowledge requires evidence that is sufficient to rule out the possibility of error. This concept is exemplified in cases like The Gettier problem in the instance that we suppose (S) someone to know (P) a particular proposition. As Gettier established the Justified True Belief as a conceptual formula for knowledge, certainty