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First Confession

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Faith is a constant struggle here on earth due to lack of understanding, wealth of experiences, and influences that sometimes outweigh our own. In the story “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor a young boy named Jackie is in a struggle of faith. O’Connor uses first person to immerse the reader in the young boy’s thoughts and situation. This young boy must balance his lack of understanding, his own experiences, and the influences of others to find hope that he can still be redeemed in his first confession. O’Connor sets the scene with a young malleable boy at the center and a swirl of influences and inexperience to show a struggle to understand faith. Jackie is scared to go to his first confession and he can’t even imagine what it will be …show more content…

Jackie is at a place of vulnerability and needs a place to turn, however instead of a warm shoulder to cry on, he gets his sister. His sister saw through his fake sickness and decided to bide her time and take him to confession the next day. With all joy in her devious little heart she spat curses and wove her spider web of deception about confession until she had pitiable Jackie under her palm. Then with great haste she dragged Jackie to confession to face his impending doom. Nora, Jackie’s sister, ensues with more torment in saying: “There you are... I hope he’ll give you the penitential psalms, you dirty little caffler” (O’Connor 281). Her influence over Jackie was so great that not only did he not want to go to confession, he was scared half to death at the very thought of his verdict. Nora placed thoughts of Jackie being irredeemable into his head to a point where it became a real thought and in his own …show more content…

Jackie after being drug to confession, tormented by his own thoughts and the constant nagging of his sister, was now at the one place where his judgment would be weighed and finalized. This was the precipice of Jackie’s story, the moment of truth, face to face with the priest who would consult with God and hand him his penance. Instead of condemning Jackie to hell or sending him to the bishop for further reprimand, the priest says: “Someone will go her with a bread-knife one day, and he won’t miss her…You must have great courage Jackie… I’ve thought of doing the same” (O’Connor 283). Here was a priest confessing to Jackie that at one point or another he had the same thoughts, the same sins, and had sat exactly where Jackie had. Jackie and this priest in this moment bonded for life, to the point where Jackie didn’t even want to leave. With a gracious judgment and only the penalty of three Hail Marys, and some candies for his journey home, the priest sent Jackie on his way. Now this influence was unlike the rest for Jackie. Jackie had a treacherous and mean grandmother whom he attempted to kill, a conniving sister whom he tried to slice, a condemning teacher, and an absent father, but here is a priest that showed love and kindness. This influence outweighed the others. This influence not only affected him and his view on faith, but lightened the burden of the struggle, and

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