Doubt: A Parable

48 pages • 1 hour read

Doubt: A Parable

John Patrick ShanleyFiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2005

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PREFACE-SCENE 2

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Reading Check

1. When does Shanley say the play is set?

2. What is the setting of the first scene?

3. Who is the principal of the St. Nicholas Church School?

4. Why does Sister James come to the principal’s office?

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Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the sailor in Father Flynn’s sermon represent doubt?

2. What advice does Sister Aloysius give Sister James?

3. Whom does Sister James bring up at the end of her meeting with Sister Aloysius? How does their conversation end?

Paired Resource

“No Doubt About It, Nun Inspired Playwright”

This article from the Riverdale Press connects the character of Sister James to the real-life nun Sister Margaret McEntee.
This connects to the theme of Hierarchy and Gender.
Who is Sister Margaret McEntee? How is she similar to and different from the fictional Sister James?

SCENES 3-4

Reading Check

1. Whom is Father Flynn addressing in Scene 3?

2. What does Father Flynn say about danger?

3. Where is Scene 4 set?

4. Who is Donald Muller’s protector, according to Sister James?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Who is Monsignor Benedict? Why does Sister Aloysius not take her concerns to him?

2. What has Sister James noticed concerning Donald Muller?

3. How does Sister Aloysius interpret Father Flynn’s behavior toward Donald?

Paired Resource

“The Confusing Hierarchy of the Catholic Church”

This episode by Intrigued Mind explores the structure of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
This connects to the theme of Hierarchy and Gender.
Who are the most powerful figures within the Catholic Church hierarchy? Where do women fall within this hierarchy?

Civil Rights Movement Timeline

This resource from the Library of Congress includes a timeline of the Civil Rights Movement in the US.
This connects to the theme of Isolation.
In what ways were Black Americans isolated in the 1950s and 1960s? How does this isolation remain an issue today?

SCENES 5-6

Reading Check

1. How did Sister Veronica hurt herself?

2. Whom does Father Flynn say can corroborate his claims about Donald’s misbehavior?

3. What is the sin of the woman in Father Flynn’s sermon in Scene 6?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What kind of song do Father Flynn and Sister James want to perform at the Christmas pageant? How does Sister Aloysius feel about this idea?

2. Why does Sister Aloysius disagree with Father Flynn’s suggestion that they should be friendlier to their students and congregation?

3. What is Father Flynn’s explanation for why Donald had alcohol on his breath?

4. Why does Sister Aloysius think Sister James is choosing to believe Father Flynn’s story?

Paired Resource

“Americans See Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse as an Ongoing Problem”

This article discusses the way sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church is viewed in the US today.
This connects to the theme of Innocence Versus Suspicion.
How has the US handled sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church? Why does this remain a prominent issue?

SCENES 7-9

Reading Check

1. Why does Father Flynn believe Sister James is against him?

2. With whom does Sister Aloysius meet in Scene 8?

3. When does Sister Aloysius say that her suspicions of Father Flynn began?

4. What does Sister Aloysius say happened when she told Monsignor Benedict of her concerns regarding Father Flynn and Donald?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What did Sister James see in her dream?

2. What does Sister James tell Father Flynn about how Donald is doing?

3. Why is Sister Aloysius unsuited to working in a school, according to Father Flynn?

4. Why does Mrs. Muller ask Sister Aloysius to stop pursuing the issue with Father Flynn?

Recommended Next Reads

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoyevsky’s final novel is about patricide and the relationship between three brothers as they grapple with questions on religion and life.
Shared themes include Suspicion Versus Innocence and Isolation.
Shared topics include religion and social issues.
The Brothers Karamazov on SuperSummary

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Set in an Italian monastery in the 14th century, this murder mystery novel features William of Baskerville and his assistant, Adso of Melk, as they decipher clues following a series of suspicious deaths.
Shared themes include Suspicion Versus Innocence, Isolation, and Hierarchy and Gender.
Shared topics include religion, secrecy, and the Catholic Church.
The Name of the Rose on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PREFACE-SCENE 2

Reading Check

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1. The 1960s (Preface, various scenes)

2. A sermon delivered at the church by Father Flynn (Scene 1)

3. Sister Aloysius (Scene 2, various scenes)

4. To check up on a student who had a nosebleed (Scene 2)

Short Answer

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1. After his ship sinks and he puts together a makeshift raft, the sailor in Father Flynn’s sermon uses the stars to set a course for home. However, clouds block his view of the stars for the following 20 days and nights, causing him to doubt the course he set. (Scene 1)

2. Sister Aloysius advises Sister James to be more suspicious, less performative and enthusiastic, and less innocent, especially when dealing with boys. (Scene 2)

3. Sister James brings up Father Flynn and his sermon at the end of her meeting with Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius questions her about the sermon and concludes their conversation by asking Sister James to be alert. (Scene 2)

SCENES 3-4

Reading Check

1. His basketball students (Scene 3)

2. That it is psychological (Scene 3)

3. In a garden (Scene 4)

4. Father Flynn (Scene 4)

Short Answer

1. Monsignor Benedict is the head of the rectory. Sister Aloysius does not take her concerns to him because she believes he is too “oblivious” (19) to do anything effective about them. (Scene 4)

2. Sister James saw Father Flynn take Donald into the rectory alone, after which Donald returned smelling of alcohol and looking upset. (Scene 4)

3. Sister Aloysius apparently draws the conclusion that Father Flynn is forcing Donald into an inappropriate relationship with him. (Scene 4)

Scenes 5-6

Reading Check

1. She tripped over a fallen branch. (Scene 5)

2. Mr. McGinn (Scene 5)

3. Gossiping (Scene 6)

Short Answer

1. Father Flynn and Sister James suggest performing a secular song at the Christmas pageant, an idea that Sister Aloysius finds highly distasteful. (Scene 5)

2. Sister Aloysius dismisses Father Flynn’s suggestion that the clergy be friendlier, stating that “the working class members of this parish trust us to be different.” (Scene 5, Page 30)

3. According to Father Flynn, Donald had alcohol on his breath because he had been secretly drinking altar wine, and Father Flynn had to take him into the rectory alone to confront him about his misbehavior. (Scene 5)

4. Sister Aloysius accuses Sister James of choosing to believe Father Flynn’s story “so that [she] can have simplicity back.” (Scene 5, Page 35)

SCENES 7-9

Reading Check

1. Because she has not come to him for confession (Scene 7)

2. Mrs. Muller (Scene 8)

3. On the first day of the school year, when she saw Father Flynn touch William London’s wrist (Scene 8)

4. The Monsignor did not believe her. (Scene 9)

Short Answer

1. Sister James tells Father Flynn that in her dream, she looked into a mirror and saw darkness instead of her face. (Scene 7)

2. When Father Flynn asks how Donald is doing, Sister James tells him that though she sees Donald regularly, she is not sure how he is doing and does not trust herself to be the judge of such things anymore. (Scene 7)

4. Father Flynn says that Sister Aloysius is very cold, but children need warmth from their caretakers and educators. (Scene 7)

5. Mrs. Muller prefers not to believe Sister Aloysius’s accusations in the absence of evidence, only wanting her son to finish the year and get into a good high school without further difficulties. She fears that if Sister Aloysius continues pursuing the matter, it will be Donald who is punished rather than Father Flynn. (Scene 8)