However, the playwright argues in his preface, "deep down, under the chatter we have come to a place where we know that we don't know...anything. Our, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. This, she believes, is irrelevant. You have to stop this campaign against me! (d) Fear of being misunderstood. What do you do?

They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. (11/20/04 New York Times, interview with David Cote). She also addresses her concerns to Donald's mother, who, surprisingly, is not horrified or even shocked by the allegations. Flynn promised not to punish the boy if no one else found out about the incident and if he promised not to do it again. What does Sister James tell Sister Aloysius she can't believe in Scene 9? This time, however, he seems more desperate than intimidating, since what she claims to have done is out of his hands. It’s no surprise that she doesn’t like Flynn. The naive young teacher Sister James (a timid, anxious Rebecca Soltau) embodies this uncertainty, resenting the suspicion that Sister Aloysius has awakened in her and wanting to believe the best of Father Flynn.

Now, Sister Aloysius suspects that Father Flynn has made a sexual advance on a 12-year-old boy. The early scenes which feature Flynn show him in performance mode. Furthermore, she believes that Donald’s time at St. Nicholas School will help him continue on an upward trajectory.

(She does not indicate that the priest was arrested.). “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. (He comes in and slams the door behind him. Although she doesn't have the allies she'd hoped for, Sister Aloysius is determined to get Father Flynn removed from her parish and from her school. (Mrs. Muller is more concerned about her son getting into high school and avoiding a beating from his dad.)

You are attempting to destroy my reputation! However, it’s likely that he’s trying to claim that he can’t bring himself to fully confess to what he’s done, since doing so would make him feel too guilty. Eight years before the beginning of the story, Sister Aloysius was responsible for detecting a sexual predator among the priesthood. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our. It’s 1964, and the school is keeping a close eye on things to make sure that its first African-American student isn’t being hassled too much. When Father Flynn upholds that he “can’t say everything,” it’s not immediately clear what he means. Sister Aloysius recruits a young, naive nun (Sister James) to assist her in monitoring the suspicious yet charismatic Father Flynn. Literary Devices. Being saddled with a clueless, near-senile old pastor, Monsignor Benedict, Sister Aloysius decides to bring Father Flynn down: "There's no man I can go to, and men run everything. (c) He's embarrassed.

---John Patrick Shanley, explaining why audiences are left to decide for themselves whether Sister Aloysius is wise or overly zealous in her determination to expose the charismatic Father Flynn as a pedophile. Unlike Sister Aloysius, Flynn is moderate in his beliefs about discipline and tradition. FLYNN. However, playwright John Patrick Shanley reveals his true motives in the play's dedication: "This play is dedicated to the many orders of Catholic nuns who have devoted their lives to serving others in hospitals, schools, and retirement homes. Accordingly, she would rather have him finish the eighth grade under seemingly any circumstances, just so he can go on to a good high school and secure a better future for himself. The play concludes with a one-on-one confrontation between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn as she attempts to get the truth out of the priest.

Is Father Flynn a child molester? How? "Doubt" is a drama written by John Patrick Shanley. Sister James says that Donald Muller is crushed, yet Sister Aloysius obtains his mom’s expression, saying it’s “simply till June” (57).
Director John Tranchitella gives the play an effective, low-key staging at the small Fremont theater.

Scene 4: Father Flynn, Sister Aloysius FLYNN. In the end Flynn suffers no consequences from Sister Aloysius’s suspicions. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. His second appearance, another monologue, is delivered to the boys on the basketball team he coaches. It is about a strict nun who believes that a priest has done something terribly inappropriate to one of the students. 14. Unfortunately, because she is a woman, she does not have the same level of authority as the priests; so instead of reporting the situation to her superiors (who will probably not listen to her), she reports her suspicions to the boy's mother. In the spirit of the above statement, Sister Aloysius seems so harsh because she ultimately cares about the well-being of the children in her school.

Confess and resign. (a) That Father Flynn molested Donald. But I had Monsignor Scully then… who I could rely on. In some ways, Sister Aloysius might fit the stereotype of the angry Catholic school nun who slaps the hands of students with a ruler.

South Bay theater companies offer online cheer with virtual holiday shows, 7 incredible Bay Area things to do this weekend, Bay Area arts: Smuin Ballet, Disney Museum, a ‘Trying’ drama, Celebrity cast revisits ‘Old Times’ to benefit Los Altos Stage. During the play's finale, Aloysius and Flynn confront one another. While the play does not show the substance of this conversation, it seems that Father Flynn is making use of the Catholic Church’s power structures, effectively trying once again to use his position of authority to escape accountability. As a result, Mrs. Muller thinks Donald should simply endure whatever is happening to him until he can leave St. Nicholas School in June. Get it from the Apple app store or the Google Play store. This is because she sees Father Flynn as a positive figure in Donald’s life—an idea that is no doubt fueled by the fact that Donald’s very own father is violent toward him. Going through the proper channels seems useless, because you know the people officially in charge of checking his authority will just accept anything he says and won’t take any action against him. In this moment, Mrs. Muller clarifies why she doesn’t want to pursue the possibility that Father Flynn is abusing her son. Though they have been much maligned and ridiculed, who among us has been so generous?". She contends that good teachers are cold and cunning, creating a bit of fear within the hearts of the students. However, Sister James doesn’t know what she’s talking about, so Aloysius simply tells the younger woman to pay close attention to her class and to report anything that seems out of sorts. But as tempting as it is to see this as an embodiment of the cliché about women holding the real power in the Church, the story, like the real world, doesn’t bear this out. Once again, then, Shanley suggests that the power structure of the Catholic Church enables people like Father Flynn to avoid being held accountable for their misdeeds. Trying to impress this upon Mrs. Muller, she points out that Father Flynn will continue to molest young boys if he isn’t stopped—an idea intended to weigh on Mrs. Muller’s conscience and ultimately convince her to stand up to the priest. She doesn't state exactly what she thinks happens next, but the implication is that Father Flynn is a pedophile who must be dealt with immediately. While charming and good-humored, Louis Schilling’s Father Flynn is so shifty and defensive that it seems like it would be more of a surprise if he turned out to be innocent than if he was guilty. The play is called “Doubt” for a reason, and we’re supposed to be questioning the whole time whether he’s guilty or not. They build up that Father Flynn is gone, moved to St. Jerome’s. However, Father Flynn firmly claims, "I have not done anything wrong." My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. (b) Sister Aloysius told him to. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. About midway through the play, Sister Aloysius explains to Sister James how the Church’s “old boy network” necessitates their taking great care to gather evidence against Father Flynn: SISTER ALOYSIUS: Eight years ago at St. Boniface we had a priest who had to be stopped. (d) He is frightened. SISTER ALOYSIUS. This, it seems, is exactly what Monsignor Benedict would do if Sister Aloysius brought her concerns to him. Ultimately, it is up to the audience to determine guilt or innocence, or whether or not such rulings are even possible, given the sketchy bits of evidence delivered by Shanley's drama. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. Mrs. Muller demonstrates her understanding of the unfortunate fact that Sister Aloysius is at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to challenging Father Flynn in the male-dominated world of the Catholic Church. Yet, Father Flynn, a progressive priest, entered the Catholic school and imbued ideas that triggered Sister Aloysius’ temper. In this way, he tries to use his conception of doubt against her, suggesting that one can never be sure about anything. Father Flynn is a cool priest who coaches basketball and wants the church to be a friendly, welcoming place. The audience learns much about Father Brendan Flynn, yet most of the "information" is hearsay and conjecture. Calling Father Flynn to her office, she tells him that she will not stop until he resigns. She thinks he'll believe anything Father Flynn says. It serves as a tidy visual metaphor for the divided feelings of faith and doubt in the play, and yet both the garden and the office are Sister Aloysius’ turf, with only the pulpit in the center being Father Flynn’s domain. The play is set in the Bronx, New York in 1964, and takes place mostly in the offices of a Catholic school. (c) Father Flynn seduced him. Reading this on your phone?
But who isn't? In this way, their confrontation begins with a display of just how much their ideals clash with one another, as Father Flynn tries to lord his power over Sister Aloysius while she tries and fails to use the power of the Catholic Church to keep him at bay. Sue Trigg is brisk and no-nonsense as Sister Aloysius, vocally disapproving of any perceived softness in her subordinates, but there’s never any question of the caring and kindness underneath. She believes that while having a private conversation, Father Flynn gave the boy wine. First, he is speaking to his congregation about dealing with a "crisis of faith." Once more, Father Flynn references the Catholic Church’s chain of command, trying to devalue Sister Aloysius’s ability to hold him accountable for his actions. One thing seems certain by the end of the play: Father Flynn is concealing something. She knows Monsignor Benedict would simply ask Father Flynn about the incident and then naively believe anything he might say in his defense.


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