Doubt Shanley Doubt Analysis

C. Wilson
Com1102
Professor Green
April 7, 2014
J.P. Shanley’s Doubt: A Comparison
“In the pursuit of wrongdoing, one must step away from god.” (Shanley) These are the words that sum up the very being of our story. John Patrick Shanley wrote Doubt: A Parable (2004) and “Doubt” (2008), though the tone is vastly different throughout the stories. Comparing the play and the movie will show how much can be added within the visual realm of the silver screen as opposed to the mental world of written word or limited location of the stage. In 2002, the Boston Globe erupted with tales of priestly molestation, dominated by accusations of altar boy rapes and gay priests run amuck. (Culingford) One of Shanley’s cousins accused a clergyman of sexual abuse,
She is planting a seed of suspicion in Sister James using religious piety much the same as Iago did in Othello under the guise of friendship. Sister James comes back to Sister Aloysius with questions regarding Flynn’s private conversation with student Donald Muller, an African American student drifting along in an ocean of Irish and Italian families. Father Flynn appears to have taken an interest in Donald as a protector of sorts amongst the other boys. When Donald returns to Sister James’ class he appears out of sorts and has a distinct smell of “alcohol on his breath.” (Shanley) Sister Aloysius immediately jumps to conclusions regarding the circumstances and never once backs down from her allegations. The motions set forth for the rest of the play start right here as she says “I knew it.” (Shanley) Sister Aloysius determines then and there to “take down” Father Flynn and nothing will stand in her way. Though Sister James rebuffs Sister Aloysius’ suspicions to begin with, she is drawn as a pawn into the cat and mouse game that Sister Aloysius is determined to
When we open into the film, we see a boy waking up to get ready for mass. Children were completely missing from the play, so this change is drastic but helps to give more insight into the activities. Donald Miller, changed from Muller in the play for unknown reasons, walks into the sacristy to prepare for altar duties and asks his fellow altar boy, “Do I look fat?” This line is not in the play, so we have to wonder what the purpose for it is. We get to see Donald eyeing the altar wine before Mass. A majority of the major dialogue is verbatim from the play, yet it is the small differences that change so very much. In the play it is discussed where Father Flynn grabbed a boy’s, Jimmy London, arm only to have it pulled away. Here we see that Father Flynn is actually chastising the boy for dirty nails, not attempting some provocative maneuver on the boy. We are shown that the boy has a bad attitude and is prone to physical acts, such as grabbing a nun, or pulling away from a priest. In context, this maneuver is purely innocent, yet we don’t see that in the play. The play leaves much more to the imagination of the reader or viewer. The movie shows completely innocent activities that are wildly misconstrued by Sister Aloysius. The movie offers up