Father Flynn's Parables
Father Flynn’s Parables Father Flynn has a talent for telling a parable. He is forcefully open to specific events that he recently encounters. As the play opens he expresses main points in the theme using a parable, to teach a lesson of doubt, and to not fear doubt. This sermon foreshadows the dramatic ending to the conclusion of the play but throughout sets a tone for questioning each character and their opinion. As Father Flynn opens his first sermon with a question that insinuates doubt, by asking “What do you do when you’re not sure?” (p. 1939) I believe he is also asking the congregation to open their minds up to the fearful thoughts of someone who is isolated and doesn’t know where to turn for the right answer, because everything they have been taught has now brought them to a desperate and questionable place in their lives. He is seeking to bring them together even when they do not understand someone or a situation. He suggests despair can describe a type of doubt, and in despair, “Your bond with your fellow beings was your despair.” (p. 1939) The fear of doubt can isolate someone and seeking approval or guidance can be difficult when someone feels they are alone. He uses the example of “You seeing the world through a window. On the one side of the glass: happy, untroubled people. On the other side: you.” It is a difficult thing to hit a point in life and question everything you have ever been taught. The person that is growing into an individual with opinion and preferences is gradually realizing that the world isn’t black and white. There are rules that we follow in society or in a church community and as strict as those rules could be followed the human instinct to follow preference in life becomes more important. However, the fear of going against something that has always been taught to be the only way to achieve something in life or be successful in life can lead us back to the beginning. Where our roots began, which in this case
Cited: Shanley, John Patrick. Doubt: A Parable. Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 9th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 1938-1969. Print.