Even though the universe is filled with destitute every bit good as disease struck topographic points, Mother Theresa tries to do a difference. While populating a basic life in India, she fights to assist the hapless, bring around the sick, and ignoring her owe wellness for others. Some might state that she is traveling to be a saint and others might state she is already one. Her unselfish actions have made her a symbol of love and entire devotedness to the people. A saint is considered to be a adult male or adult female chosen by God to take and one about free of human failings. The priest in “ The Power and the Glory ” can decidedly non be classified as a saint and he is the entire antonym of Mother Theresa. Since the whisky priest is the best representation of human failing, therefore he can be called a evildoer. The novel is clearly seeking to estrange the readers by bespeaking to readers the wrongs of the human existences and exposing the incorrect behaviors to readers. By uncovering those Acts of the Apostless, the readers are non inspired by their ain human failings and therefore are repulsed by them. Through the usage of the actions by the whisky priest, Graham Greene ‘s book, “ The Power and the Glory ” has failed to pull readers to God and alternatively has distanced readers from God.
In their communities, priests are considered to be a function theoretical account or an illustration of what a Christian should be. They are representations of Jesus Christ in the universe to learn the Word of God to others. In the novel, Chiapas, Mexico is under an anti-religion remotion and it sensible that priest is scared to make his responsibilities as a priest. The whiskey priest must rip off, steal, every bit good as prevarication to last and avoid being caught by the authorization. He would acquire money for the people he baptized and “ two pesos is the usual charge ” ( 167 ) . Even though the adult female said that her household
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was hapless, the priest still insisted on acquiring some money. The priest can be defined as an ordinary criminal who steals from households who can hardly set nutrient on their ain tabular arraies. The money that he gets from the baptisms is for his brandy. He wants “ three bottles. For 11 pesos ” ( 170 ) . As a priest who is called to function the people, he merely serves himself. When the old adult male asked the priest, the priest answers, “ Ca n’t you allow me kip for five proceedingss? “ ( 44 ) .The whiskey priest does non desire to hear the confessions, but it is his responsibility. That responsibility is non for himself but for God and His followings. After the old adult male ‘s confession, the priest begins to cry for himself, because he now has to hear the confessions of the villagers alternatively of acquiring his slumber. He cries in understanding for himself, non for the villagers ‘ wickednesss. These illustrations outline the priest ‘s selfishness and are contrary to what Jesus has taught his people.
The responsibilities and services of a spiritual adult male are non merely for the people but for animals, worlds and animate beings likewise. When the priest returns to the land owned by Captain Fellows, the supporter finds the house abandoned and the injured Canis familiaris. He thinks to himself, “ her ( the Canis familiaris ) life has no importance beside that of a human being ” ( 144 ) . The priest does non care about the Canis familiaris ‘s life and merely cares about his ain. The priest thinks that “ a adult male ‘s demand was greater than a Canis familiaris ‘s ” ( 145 ) . His clemency and concern for the Canis familiaris is slender to none. He is merely disquieted about himself and his hungriness and non of the Canis familiaris ‘s hungriness. God created adult male to care for the animate beings but the priest wholly ignores it. The whisky priest besides commits one of the worst wickednesss: fornication and on top of that he is a priest. He created a kid than he can non care for. When he saw her, the priest idea that “ it was doing visible radiation of his mortal wickedness ” ( 65 ) , intending that he wishes that his wickedness was non so bad. It is and ne’er will alter. This wickedness makes the priest less than that of the treachery of the half-caste. The whiskey priest knew that he was in the presence of “ Our Lord ‘s informer ” ( 91 ) , another Judas so to talk. The ladino betrays the whisky priest for money, merely like Judas did to Jesus, and the priest betrays God for lecherousness and fornication. These
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illustrations summarize the priest ‘s inability to command his ain ego. He does non hold to self-discipline to halt his lecherousness and to believe of others before himself.
The whiskey priest gives in to the cognition that God forgives people right before the individual dies. If you are genuinely regretful for what you did in this universe, so God will forgive you. The whiskey priest knows about this and therefore in the prison, the priest prays to God and asks for forgiveness. He is a priest for the incorrect grounds and besides forgets that it was pride that made Lucifer autumn. When he realizes that he is traveling to decease the following twenty-four hours, he starts to atone stating, “ I have committed fornication ” ( 207 ) . Even though he says this, it has no significance because he does non truly atone for making it. ‘It was like a sentence in a newspaper: you could n’t experience penitence over a thing like that ” ( 207 ) . His penitence was non true and he kept imbibing brandy, doing him imbibe while he was seeking to atone. In the forenoon before he gets shot, he realizes that if he had used “ a small temperateness and a small bravery ” ( 210 ) , so possibly he would non be the individual he is today. He would so cognize what it felt like ‘to be a saint ” ( 210 ) . It was the usage despair that led the priest to pray that dark and it was the usage of pride that made him believe that he can be saved by atoning. The whiskey priest is human and has failings merely like ordinary people. He has forgotten what it means to be a priest and has disgraced the career. The whiskey priest best exemplifies the failings of adult male and can merely be saved by God.
To the villagers in the novel, the whisky priest could be called a sufferer. The priest refuses to abdicate his religion, unlike Padre Jose who married after hearing about the purging, and populating the life of a fleeting, executing confessions and multitudes when his services are wanted. However, the villagers merely see the tip of the iceberg so to talk. They do non see what the whiskey priest ‘s true purposes are. As the readers, they can feel the true world of things. The people think that the priest cares for the people and that the priest is put on the lining his ain life for what he believes in. But in actuality, the priest is selfish and lone attentions for himself. Graham Greene
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exposes the true actions of the priest to the readers and therefore stating them what our human failings are. The human failings are selfishness, lust, and merely turning to God in despairing times. Greene is stating readers what we can non command and this makes the readers distance from God because we do non hold power to halt it. Graham Greene has failed to pull readers closer to God ‘s sanctity and really made people separate themselves from God. This book has failed to animate people to cognize more about the religion because of what the priest did so that he can obtain forgiveness for God. Greene as sent the incorrect message to the readers about God ‘s clemency and love.
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Work Cited
Greene, Graham. The Power and the Glory. New York: Penguin Classics/Penguin Group, 1940. Print. Book.
