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Summary Of The PlayDoubt : A Parable?

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In the play “Doubt: A Parable” by John Patrick Shanley, Sister Aloysius is a headstrong principal at a Catholic school in New York in the 1960’s. She is a person who speaks her mind, and she will take whatever means to ensure that she gets her way and keeps her school running in a manner she deems fit. It seems as if Sister Aloysius is almost afraid of change and new ideas, and she will try her hardest to keep progress from pushing old ideas that she firmly believes in aside.
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.
Sister James, another character in the play “Doubt” is a character who contrasts with Sister Aloysius in many ways. Where Sister Aloysius believes in keeping herself distant from her students, teaching more traditional subjects, and even goes as far as suggesting that students using ballpoint pens can be

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