5. Doubt

http://www.weathervaneplayhouse.com/Data/Sites/1/docs/doubt.pdf

Essay questions:

Who do you believe and why? How does that reflect your opinions about the Church? Gender? Power? Corruption of innocence?

Doubt can be seen as a battle between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn. Who wins? And how? Who loses? And how? What does each side represent?

How do the power dynamics of the characters symbolize the Catholic Church as an institution?

What is the difference between the "doubt" of Father Flynn's first sermon and the "doubt" that pervades the rest of the play?

John Patrick Shanley defines his play as a "parable". According to Google dictionary, a parable is, "a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels." What is the moral or spiritual lesson Shanley is trying to communicate through his play?

Read John Patrick Shanley's introduction to Doubt and write a response.

This essay should be written in class. If you do not finish it in class, it needs to be on turnitin.com by 11 pm on Friday.