The Power and Glory, Essay Example

There are several themes that derived from the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. The first theme in the story is the priest personal persecution of himself and rejecting the significance of rituals such as communion. The conflicted priest has problems with the meaning of communion however, the priest believes it is about living a life of compassion for people. He has an internal battle with the way he has lived his life running from the law and infidelity which is not in line with living the life of a priest. The priest constantly faces religious expectations which the priest often engages in unethical activities for a priest, such as being wanted by the police and refusing to turn himself in to face his accusers. The priest is contradicted about the meaning of communion which the author makes clear that this theme of communion is important to the priest state of mind. The priest suggest that communion in relationship with religion is concentrating on an act of praising God. The priest believes the religion act communion spends so much time worshiping the act of communion, that is forgets about helping his fellow man maneuvered through life with compassion.

Government against Church Theme 2

The government is the Lieutenant who the antagonist and the Whisky Priest, priest who represents the Catholic Church is the hero. The plot has the lieutenant and priest in a game of cat and mouse as the people help the priest avoid the police. The setting is in Mexico which lends to believe that the communities are religiously attached to priest. The entire novel has scene when the priest is running away from the police to avoid execution or jail (Greene, 2014). However, the priest is shown as human the way he talks honestly with people to show he has many faults. The lieutenant goals was to destroy the Church while the priest wants to destroy himself but still believes in his faith to his death.

Fathers Theme 3

This theme was about the failed relationships of fathers. The Padre Jose was forced to married against his will which made him a bitter man or father. In addition, one of themes is how fathers failed the priest in providing them with enough faith to understand the perils of the world. The Padre life would never be a good father because of his true feelings of never wanting to be her husband or a father. Luis’s father did not live up to his responsibility of manhood because he left his wife all alone to raise three children. The twist on the words by the author is a metaphor for the father as God, the father as the priest and the father as the man. The parables represent the characters the father as the priest is the whiskey priest and the father as God is the Catholic Church. The father as the man represented all the men in the story that failed their families and God.

Priest and Lieutenant

The priest and the Lieutenant was the opposite forcing fight to understand themselves as well as the Catholic Church. The author’s goal was to create a following of the priest but not to create a following for the Lieutenant. The author purposely did not say why the police were looking for the priest only that he broke the law but Green shared how the Lieutenant executed people who harbored the fugitive in the name of the government. The story clear showed that the Lieutenant was taking out his own frustration of eliminating the presence of the church. The priest represented that threat which caused the lieutenant to become obsessed with killing the last priest left in Mexico. The adversary relationship set the tone for the entire novel which giving explanation of why the priest was conflicted with himself.

The novel has several scenes of mistaken identity between the Priest and the Lieutenant

The protagonist of the story, the priest is waging a war on two fronts: haunted by his sinful past, he struggles internally with deep qualms about himself, and pursued by the authorities, he works to evade capture by the police for as long as he can. The Lieutenant not recognizing the priest identity was the author Greens way of exposing perceptions about people. The Lieutenant had perception perceptions of what the Catholic Church would look like and how he would support the Catholic Church influence. The priest was the opposite of his expectations thus he let the priest go. In addition, the meeting at the police station between the lieutenant and the priest was metaphoric way the author Greene compared these men that could be considered both serving a purpose. The Lieutenant was acting on the authority of the government to protect and uphold the law against criminals. The Lieutenant listens to people’s complaints, the Lieutenant comforts and the Lieutenant cares about the people over the Catholic Church power. The contrast is the priest indicated that he was not for communion because servitude should be about the having compassion for people. The priest protects the souls of people and the priest listens to confessions.

Why would Greene have his characters meet this way?

The author Green had to create that adversary for both characters. In addition, Green knew the pace and rhythm of the story needed that unthinkable relationships for total two different worlds. It was necessary for the flow of the story for the priest who was running from the police and the lieutenant who was executing people for hiding priest. It set the stage for the religious beliefs and reflections between both men. The lieutenant was a man that despised the power of the Catholic Church which he transferred that hate to the priest. The plot was excellent with priest running from the law and conflicted about his faith. The relationship theme of this story create excellent moments to understand the psychological make-up of both characters. Greene set the theme rich in conflict making sure the antagonist and hero theme would meet under stressful circumstances.

How do they help us understand the characters?

It help us understand the hatred the lieutenant has for priest and the Catholic Church and what they represented. The lieutenant was a rugged man of the law that beliefs of faith was damaged. In contrast, the priest was torn between his duty as a priest and his own shortcomings in life. The priest believe the persons hardship in life prepare those with faith for the afterlife. The relationship and meetings of the priest and the lieutenant help the reader understand the struggle on both sides the policeman and the priest. The plot was developed clearly for the readers with personal explanations of the characteristics of both characters. The characters are understood much better because the lieutenant does not understand the imperfections of the world and his faith in the church is lost. Yet, he upholds the law based on the laws of the land even though he does not believe in all the laws. In contrast, the priest is facing his own demons believe in the Catholic Church religion but does not believe in how it applied towards help the people. In addition, the priest is conflicted about his on inability to follow the Church. The priest character is humble while facing a certain death with the faith of hardship in life prepares for heaven.

One of the most clearly exposed themes by the author was the priest character being torn by his responsibility as a Catholic Church follower that held communion, performs last rites, and listen to confessions. The priest is ashamed with remorse because he is not setting an example for other to follow. The priest has found humility in the midst of the conflict but also he has found peace preparing for his death by the government. The author gave the reader the chance to understand the mind of a priest that was serving God but was a sinner like everyone else. It humanize the priest character to root for him to live.

Reference

Greene, G. (2014). The power and glory: Plot. Retrieved from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/powerglory/summary.html