Father Flynn's Parables

Sister Aloysius quickly made up her mind that Father Flynn was guilty of doing something to Donald before consulting with him. Although, before being told about the incident, Sister Aloysius had already been keeping a close watch on the two males. She seen Father Flynn grab a child’s wrist, and suspected something would happen to Donald due to race. Sister Aloysius is uncomforted by affection so she becomes concerned after the incident between Father Flynn and the child’s wrist, which creates some suspicion toward Father Flynn. In the end, of the play she tells Sister James about how she doubts herself because there was no actual

Furthermore, Hughes uses the rhetorical device of allusion when he writes about his aunt’s bringing him to the church for a special meeting. When he writes, “Then just before the revival ended, they held a special meeting for children, ‘to bring the young lambs to the fold’’’ (1), he attempts to correlate his invitation to salvation to a Biblical parable. Along with his reference to the Bible, he conveys the church member’s excitement with vivid imagery. He illustrates the church’s setting as being infuse with “all moans and shouts and lonely cries and dire pictures of hell”, and he also describes the preacher’s sermon as a “wonderful rhythmical sermon” (3). Conjointly, Hughes presents imagery of the churchgoers and alludes to a Biblical story in order to demonstrate the magnitude of the religious enthusiasm of the members of the church.

The situations and informal diction or vernacular in the play create an atmosphere of familiarity with the audience, and this familiarity helps the audience to realize that Troy, Rose, and Cory are just like them. Wilson’s technique of drawing the audience in is a method of breaking down social and racial barriers that existed during the time depicted in

Through the use of the second parable, Tan shows how they use parables to teach kids to

In perhaps the greatest addition to the credibility of Sister Aloysius, Shanley ascribes dialogues to her that states, “When you take a step to address wrongdoing, you are taking a step away from God” (20). In this, Aloysius appears to accept that chasing after someone who does wrong can be wrong in and of itself. She acknowledges the idea that fixing a problem can occasionally only be accomplished by working outside of the parameters set as morally or ethically good. She understands that by going after Father Flynn, she may sin. However, she proceeds anyways. She continues to attempt to protect the boys of her school and bring Father Flynn to the justice she believes he should be brought to. Through these words, she shows she is more than willing to put herself in harm’s way in order to protect her students. Self-sacrifice is oft times viewed in light of good moral standing. Through having Aloysius be

Nicholas. She asks Sister James how he is doing on several occasions. Her concerns seem justified at first, seeming like she wants to ensure his safety at school proclaiming “There is a statue of St. Patrick on one side of the church alter and a statue of St. Anthony on the other. This parish serves Irish and Italian families. Someone will hit Donald Muller.” In this statement she admits that the church is predominantly white and Donald is out of place. Her true intentions become clearer when Sister James replies “He has a protector” explaining that Father Flynn has taken interest in Muller. This threw Aloysius completely off balance. She starts interrogating James about Flynn and Muller’s relationship and implies there may be something wrong going on between them. Sister Aloysius doubt about this kind of sin was placed in her eight years prior at St. Boniface School, where a priest had committed these unspeakable acts with a student(s) there. After telling James about this, Aloysius decided Father Flynn must be stopped by the two of them alone, thus beginning her

Parable, as defined by the dictionary, “A short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth,religious principle, or moral lesson.” The dictionary has a second definition for it, “A statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like” (Collins English Dictionary). The use of parables dates all the way back to the time of Jesus, between 4 BC and 30 AD. They are a way of simplifying complicated ideals into a lesson people of all ages can understand and look to for guidance. Patrick Shanley’s play, Doubt, is set in Bronx New York in the year 1964. Around that same time, many aspects of the United States were changing and moving in a direction that left many Americans feeling uneasy.

The play’s inciting incident would be the murder of Matthew Shepard. Some of the major incidents of conflict were the protests at Matt’s funeral and sentencing of Matthew’s killers. The climactic incident would when Matthew’s dad delivered a heart-wrenching statement reminiscing his son’s bravery and resilience, while also addressing that he will never forgive his son's murderers, granting them life rather than the death sentence. The denouement would be when Matthew’s parents and the people of Laramie honored a bench in Matthew’s honor, on the campus of the University of

While Sister Aloysius sets strict guidelines for her school, in secret she has habits that could be said are against the guidelines of what is seen as appropriate behavior for nuns, such as listening to the news on her transistor radio. This radio is a connection to her past life as a wife to a man in the military, as she used to listen to it for news of the war. It also shows that she is a habitual and sentimental person. Sister Aloysius’ more public habits, however, such as dressing conservatively, using her fountain pen, and encouraging others to engage in more traditional lessons and hobbies, back up her outward appearance that she works hard to keep on display as a distinguished principal.

Since the circumstances are similar, Sister Aloysius creates this close-minded judgment from a previous experience and imposes it onto Flynn with no actual proof. Flynn on the other hand does not outright admit whether he is guilty or not. He chooses to avoid the answer a few times.

However, some critics may argue that Father Flynn is actually guilty, and there are numerous reasons that lead to this indication. For example, Father Flynn does express traits of denial and defensiveness throughout the play. While Sister Aloysius is questioning Father Flynn about the incident with Donald, Father Flynn does try to change the subject to other ideas. He changes the subject from the accusation about him and Donald to the Christmas pageant and Sister James’s brother. Additionally, Father Flynn also walks out on some of the meetings with Sister Aloysius because he might be scared to accidentally make a mistake and slip up, which would than rile Sister Aloysius to claim that he molested Donald.

One would see the parables as a guide for living today and not in reading them as a message for when they were writing. In contrast, Snodgrass vision is that parables provide a way to understand the kingdom of God. It looks at the historic value within the parable. Further, Snodgrass (2008) tells us to interpret what is given, not what is omitted yet Capon (2002) claims that one must look beyond what is given and have faith in Jesus promises. Though their approaches are quite different, the two methods of Snodgrass (2008) and Capon (2002) are complementary.

She feels exasperated, certain that the Church hierarchy will not stand behind her should her suspicions about Father Flynn prove to be true. In the last act, however, after the priest's resignation confirms her uncertainties, she tells Sister James that she had to lie in order to snare him, referring to lying as a step away from God and the price that one must pay in pursuing wrongdoing. The last line of the play has Sister Aloysius telling Sister James, "I have doubts! I have such doubts!”.

There are three parables in Luke 15 and they are all talked about “lost”. The first parable is about a lost sheep, the second parable is about losing a dollar, and the third parable is about losing a son. When I was reading this chapter of Luke, I feel marveled with these three; because I think one parable is enough and wonder why Luke provided three parables? We need to understand the purposes of these three parables are not about the loss of people, but are focusing on how Jesus treats with these people. If Luke only wanted to talk about the loss, then one parable is enough. However, the main focus is how Jesus treats with these people, so three parables are indispensable.

In “How I learned to Drive”, Uncle Peck is not the only repugnant character in the play. Li'l Bit's relatives, including her mother, are ignore any indications of a lurking sexual predator. Her grandfather is bluntly misogynistic. The worst part is that Uncle Peck's wife Mary, Li'l Bit's aunt, is aware of her husband's incestuous affair, but does nothing to deter him (Vogel 1601). In “Doubt”, the St. Nicholas Catholic Church and school is like a family who (besides Sister Aloysius) does nothing to investigate Father Flynn over the accusations of child molestation. The church’s response to the allegations was to promote Father Flynn by sending him to another church (Shanley 1712). Donald's mother was not appalled or even slightly stunned by the allegations. She was more concerned about Donald getting into a good high school and protecting him from his dad’s physical abuse (Shanley 1709). Li’l Bit’s mother knew that Uncle Peck was more than a little attentive, and yet, allowed her to continue to see him anyway (Vogel 1606). In both plays, the families each had a hand in the destruction of a child’s