John Patrick Shanley's Doubt: A Parable

From the play written by John Patrick Shanley and titled Doubt: a Parable, the readers get a central question, asking whether certainty can be equated to truth or not. From one side, some hints outlining the fact that certainty can be equated to truth are evident. On the other side, there are doubts as to whether certainty can be equated to truth. The doubt is thus left unresolved. The play begins with father Flynn’s sermon lecturing regarding certainty as he claims, “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.”(871) The play was set in 1964, approximately one year after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In a way, it was a response to the dark times being experienced by the United States. In order to highlight this doubt,
Father Flynn’s first sermon was about doubt. When Sister Aloysius and Sister James meet in her office, Sister Aloysius demonstrates her doubts about the meaning of his sermon as she states, “ Well, Sermons come from somewhere, don’t they? Is Father Flynn in Doubt, is he concerned that someone else is in Doubt”(877). After being approached by Sister James, she learns that Father Flynn “ Has taken an interest. Since Donald went on the Alter Boys”(880), he took Donald for a private meeting in the rectory and when coming back to class there was alcohol on his breath and he seemed frightened. Sister Aloysius said to Sister James “ I told you to come to me, but I hoped you never would”(880). Sister Aloysius was already frustrated due to their different approaches to the traditional rules of a Roman Catholic Church. After hearing about Father Flynn’s interest in Donald she links her doubt to the truth and approaches him in an unacceptable manner. Sister Aloysius is convinced that she is right as she says, “ But I have my certainty, and armed with that, I will go to your last parish, and the one before that if necessary. I will find a parent, Father Flynn! Trust me I will. A parent who probably doesn’t know you are still working with children!”(901). Sister Aloysius’ doubts seem truthful, however Father Flynn’s explanations also seem truthful. The play therefore questions how far doubt is from the truth. Sister Aloysius
Sister James was a fairly young nun at St. Nicolas School and she played a pivotal role as she brings her suspicions to her superior. The readers are obligated to make conclusions based on Sister James’ doubt and uncertainty. The mother of the Alter Boy’s name is Vila Davis. When Villa hears about Sister Aloysius doubts about a sexual relationship between her son and Father Flynn she states, “ Things are in the air and you leave them alone if you can…My boy came here because they were gonna kill him at the public school… But do I ask the man why he’s good to my son? No, I don’t care why. My Son needs to some man to care about him and see him through to where he wants to go”(898). This quote shows that Mrs. Muller believes that the uncertainty of ones suspicions are better not said or looked over. She rather provide her son with a better future then take someone’s suspicions to a greater extent. Consequently, the central disagreement in the play Doubt is limited to ones views of the world and capability to admit the ambiguity in day-to-day living. In this case, we will never know many things regarding this world, while at the same time we will not be in the position of controlling much regarding our futures. The best thing for us therefore, is that of anticipating and expecting the worst and therefore, preparing so as not to be caught unawares when the worst comes.