The Admirable Priest
Adrienne O'Neil
Instructor: J. Wiley-Caughron
Composition II: First Confession
June 17, 2013
The Admirable Priest Leo Buscaglia, an American author and motivational speaker, once said “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which can turn a life around”. In “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor, a priest shows compassion when a little boy is scared out of his wits because of his first confession. After the confession is over with Jackie, the little boy feels better about his sins and, because of how the priest dealt with him, Jackie, is no longer stressing his past actions. When dealing with the scared boy’s fear, the priest handles the situation with humor, kindness, and by sympathizing with the young boy. Humor can change ones outlook on a situation as a whole. The priest senses that Jackie is fearful of his first confession and decides to lighten that fear by using humor. After Jackie tells the priest his arranged plans to kill his grandmother, the priest pretends to be shocked by this comment and starts to question his motives. This shows the reader that the priest has a humorous side to his character. In response, the priest leads Jackie to believe that he has seen lots of men hanged for killing their grandmothers too, but none of them said it is worth it. He uses humor in this way by steering Jackie clear of the direction of not killing anyone. Although Jackie cannot tell that the priest is only kidding, this gives off a humorous vibe to the reader because we can tell the priest knows that Jackie is just a child and he means no harm to anyone. The priest is very kind towards Jackie as he acknowledges the boy’s sins. He helps Jackie come to the realization that he is not evil, but that everyone has their bad moments. The way the priest talks to Jackie as if they are friends lightens the mood and gets Jackie to open up more to the
Instructor: J. Wiley-Caughron
Composition II: First Confession
June 17, 2013
The Admirable Priest Leo Buscaglia, an American author and motivational speaker, once said “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which can turn a life around”. In “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor, a priest shows compassion when a little boy is scared out of his wits because of his first confession. After the confession is over with Jackie, the little boy feels better about his sins and, because of how the priest dealt with him, Jackie, is no longer stressing his past actions. When dealing with the scared boy’s fear, the priest handles the situation with humor, kindness, and by sympathizing with the young boy. Humor can change ones outlook on a situation as a whole. The priest senses that Jackie is fearful of his first confession and decides to lighten that fear by using humor. After Jackie tells the priest his arranged plans to kill his grandmother, the priest pretends to be shocked by this comment and starts to question his motives. This shows the reader that the priest has a humorous side to his character. In response, the priest leads Jackie to believe that he has seen lots of men hanged for killing their grandmothers too, but none of them said it is worth it. He uses humor in this way by steering Jackie clear of the direction of not killing anyone. Although Jackie cannot tell that the priest is only kidding, this gives off a humorous vibe to the reader because we can tell the priest knows that Jackie is just a child and he means no harm to anyone. The priest is very kind towards Jackie as he acknowledges the boy’s sins. He helps Jackie come to the realization that he is not evil, but that everyone has their bad moments. The way the priest talks to Jackie as if they are friends lightens the mood and gets Jackie to open up more to the