Make up Work OR Extra Credit Opportunity

Due to time constraints, we will not read DOUBT. The final essay will be over THE CRUCIBLE.
If you failed to do a portion of a presentation and you need to do make-up work OR if you want to do extra credit work, read DOUBT, by Michael Shanley and answer each of the following quesions THOROUGHLY. To receive credit, these must be handed in by the last day of class (NOT the day of the final exam.)

1. The subtitle of "Doubt" is "A Parable." Parables are very simple stories in which
a character must face a choice and accept the consequences of that decision. In other words, a parable is a brief, realistic story that illustrates a moral or ethical choice. In some parables, the main character, or protagonist, makes the right choice, and in others, he or she takes the wrong path. Parables are metaphors; they make their point indirectly.

2. Father Flynn argues that skepticism can provide a sense of community that is every bit as nourishing as faith. Indeed, he ends his first sermon by saying, “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.” Do you agree or disagree? Support your answer with examples from the play and/or personal experience.

3. "Doubt" begins with a parable. In the course of a sermon (also called a homily), Father Flynn tells the story of a man who is lost at sea and clinging to the hope that he has set the correct course for home. What happens to the man? Father Flynn doesn’t say, and thus, the play begins on a note of doubt. In what way does the play END on a note of doubt as well?

4. In the “Preface,” Shanley criticizes the fact that “we are living in a culture of extreme advocacy, of confrontation, of judgment, and of verdict.” In what sense might the play itself be considered an attempt to remedy this cultural trend. Provide examples to support your stance.

5. The play’s preface ends with the statement that “The beginning of change is the moment of Doubt. It is the crucial moment when I renew my humanity or become a lie. Doubt requires more courage than conviction does.” Why would Shanley celebrate uncertainty? What does uncertainty give us that certainty cannot?

6. Why does Sister Aloysius favor fountain pens that must be dipped in ink rather than ballpoint pens? How are these two modes of writing symbolic? Why is penmanship important? What does it suggest?

7. What specific evidence does Sister Aloysius have to support her conviction that Father Flynn behaved inappropriately with Donald? How does Sister Aloyisius go about gathering her proof? What is her view on truth? Father Flynn reminds Sister Aloyisius that “even if you feel certainty, it is an emotion and not a fact.” What is your view on truth? Do you believe in absolute truth or relative truth?

8. Sister Aloyisius points out that the gardener “pruned this bush, which was the right thing to do, but he neglected to protect it from the frost.” How does this statement apply to sister Aloyisius’ own attempts to protect her students? Why is the action of pruning symbolic?

9. One of the principles of our legal system is that one is innocent until proven guilty. Does Sister Aloyisius abide by this? Should she? What is more dangerous in this situation: presuming innocence or presuming guilt?