Nicolas Roselli
In literature, power needs to be balanced or else peace will cease to exist. The play Doubt is a parable written by John Patrick Shanley in 2004 depicting realistic fiction. This play consists of Shanley’s characters engaging in a struggle for power, each character advancing and retreating strategically similar to warfare. Shanley uses a variety of literary devices including metaphor, conflict, and symbolism to prove Sister Aloysius’ superior effectiveness over Father Flynn using her resourceful thinking and relentless effort toward her cause.
Sister Aloysius proves more effective than Father Flynn as demonstrated by Shanley’s use of metaphor in her strive for justice. In the play, Shanley shows how exceptionally effective Sister Aloysius actions as are demonstrated by the metaphor of forcing Sister James to eat something unpleasant, similar to how she forced her first suspicion about Father Flynn’s first sermon on doubt. Sister Aloysius describes her duty as “Outshining the fox in cleverness” (22). She compares a fox and her cleverness in this statement, this skill is used to gain an advantage over Father Flynn.
Father Flynn proves to be less effective apparent in his speech to the boys of St. Nicholas where he metaphorically compares doing something wrong to shooting from the foul throw line. Flynn explains being at the foul line as it being “You against yourself” (16). This can be interpreted as Father Flynn indirectly talking about his own personal life, perhaps his acknowledgement of inappropriate behavior with Donald Muller of which Sister Aloysius accuses him. Father Flynn creates a sermon with indirect connotations to Sister Aloysius’ accusations.
He believed that through his sermon he would have the power to halt Sister Aloysius from taking action based on her suspicions. Shanley brilliantly uses metaphor as Father Flynn compared the damage created by gossip to the feathers lost in the wind by a torn pillow. This could be interpreted as his attempt to demonstrate his sense of power over Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius’ effectiveness is exemplified when Father Flynn’s confidence is proven to be false as Sister Aloysius had already been in contact with Donald Muller’s mother.
When Father Flynn attempts to show Sister Aloysius their similarities, Shanley uses metaphor again as Sister Aloysius denies a bond between her and Father Flynn as she compares him to a “dog that bites” (54). Flynn tries to create a bond between Aloysius and himself so that he might appeal to her sense of charity to cause her to doubt her suspicions. Aloysius is not deceived by his attempt and breaks the connection he is trying to make by clearly stating the difference between the two.
John Patrick Shanley uses symbolism in the play Doubt to demonstrate Sister Aloysius’ superior effectiveness in her pursuit for justice over Father Flynn. In the play, Shanley grabs the attention of the audience from the beginning by including Father Flynn’s sermon on his guilt. It questions whether Flynn is speaking of himself or the community in general. He spoke in first person saying, “Im sick. No one knows I’ve lost my last real friend. No one knows I’ve done something wrong” (6). This symbolized doubt and created suspicion in Sister Aloysius at the beginning which is the premise of the parable.
Shanley uses a crow symbolically in a scene where Sister James became self conscious when the crow appeared. Father Flynn simply yelled at the crow when it cawed. This crow may symbolize the threat lingering over Father Flynn, which is created by this power struggle. Shanley symbolizes Father Flynn’s long nails as indulgence, which proves to be a weakness. Sister Aloysius tells Father Flynn to “Cut his nails” (56) after she explains her unsympathetic attitude toward him. Attempting to demonstrate her control over Father Flynn.
In the movie, when Sister Aloysius invites Father Flynn to her office to confront him about her suspicions, she opens the blinds so that the light shines on Father Flynn. Shanley includes this because light symbolizes truth, which is what Sister Aloysius is seeking from Father Flynn. In the final scene, when Father Flynn had been sent to a new parish, the setting was the garden with snow covering the grounds. The white snow symbolizes innocence. Shanley includes this to symbolize the return of innocence created from the banishment of conflict in St. Nicholas School.
This is the result of Sister Aloysius’ campaign against Father Flynn. Shanley creates conflict to demonstrate Sister Aloysius’ effectiveness in her campaign for justice against Father Flynn. In the beginning of the play, Sister Aloysius had developed suspicion that Father Flynn had committed an inappropriate act from his sermon. However, she “was careful not to create something by saying it” (15). By not being forthcoming with her suspicions, a sense of underlying conflict was established. Sister Aloysius then gave Sister James a directive “to be alert” (15) of peculiar behavior in her classroom, creating suspicion.
Sister James reported to Sister Aloysius that Donald Muller “looked frightened and.... he put his head on the desk in the most peculiar way and there was alcohol on his breath” (22) after he had come back to class from the rectory, alone with Father Flynn. This information created conflict that fueled Sister Aloysius’ campaign against Father Flynn. When Sister Aloysius revealed her suspicion, Sister James suggested that she should contact Monsignor Benedict and follow protocol. She then reputed this advice and took the situation into her own hands.
She chose this route because she believed that Monsignor Benedict would not have agreed with her accusations as she felt his opinion was that the “sun rises and sets on Father Flynn” (23) and would support his innocence. After the conversation in which Sister Aloysius confronts Father Flynn regarding the incident with Donald Muller, she decided to reveal her suspicions to the boy’s mother. This decision escalates the conflict, setting in motion the call for Father Flynn’s resignation and ultimately her hopes for his confession.
Her determination to prove her accusations true lead to her final confrontation with Father Flynn when their battle for power over the situation ensues. Sister Aloysius demands he “Confess and resign” (50) yet Father Flynn rebuffs that “the result of all this is going to be your [Sister Aloysius] removal, not mine” (50). Throughout the play, Sister Aloysius was effective in her power and ability to prove her suspicions of Father Flynn true. In her quest to use her power to seek justice for Donald Muller, a battle for control ensued.
Both parties fighting as if at war against each other. Sister Aloysius using the resources in Sister James, Father Flynn using his authority and sermon as his ammunition and war plan. She was successful in creating a significant conflict through this use of Sister James’ access to information and circumstance to gather ammunition against Father Flynn. Father Flynn’s sermons and use of authority backfire on him as they prove to fuel Sister Aloysius’ campaign without his realization.
She was portrayed as effective through Shanley’s use of metaphorical examples to characterize Father Flynn in a manner against what his position stood for. Shanley used a brilliant sense of symbolism to create an environment to give credibility to her suspicions. His use of metaphors in sync with symbolism created an aura of conflict. While Sister Aloysius was triumphant in creating the conflict, the power struggle had yet to be resolved. Her pursuit for justice and ultimately gain the control she seeks is unsuccessful as she herself remains in doubt.
