Graham Greene Essay, Research Paper

The Power and the Glory

by

Rich Mullen

Dr.Clayton

English 102

May 5, 1999

I- introduction

II- Setting

A. How setting shows the main theme

1. the jail scene

2. the traveling scenes

III- Symbolism

A. How symbolism shows the main theme

1. liquor

B. How characters show symbolism

1. a quote

IV – Characters

A. How characters show the main theme

1. The lieutenant

2. Brigitta

3. The mestizo

B. Minor characters

1. Mr. and Mrs. Fellow, Mr. Tench

2. Towns people

V – Theme

A. What makes up the main theme

1. Setting

2. Characters

3. Symbolism

B. A quote from a book

VI – Conclusion

In the novel ?The Power and the Glory?, Graham Greene uses the elements of

fiction to show a main theme. Some of the elements he uses are them, characters,

symbolism, and setting. The way Greene uses these elements to show a main theme

for his novel, is very good. The elements come together to show the theme, which

is pity. Pity for a fellow human being.

Setting is a major element of fiction. The setting of a piece of literature can

set the mood of the scene. Setting, can also make the reader feel a certain way.

Some of the scenes in ?The Power and the Glory? evoke certain feelings in the

reader. In the scene when the whiskey priest was put the crowded jail, for having

liquor on him, Greene makes the scene so horrible that you can?t help but feel sorry

for the priest. As Kenneth Allott said, ?The crowded unseen figures in the dark

seem like shapes from a Dore hell.?(182). In the scenes when the priest is traveling

from town to town, the setting is very rough. Through dense forests and complete

darkness, he travels and again, the reader feels pity for someone he doesn?t know

but feels connected to because of being human. As Kenneth Allott said, ?There is a

blanketing sense of cruelty?s omnipresence … and very frequently this mood is

symbolized by a peculiar background of squalor …?(15). Some critics think that the

novel is ?a melodramatic thriller about a policeman chasing a priest, romanticized

by its religious significance and its exotic Mexican setting.?(Pryce-Jones, 58).

Another important element of fiction is symbolism. Symbolism in a novel

can bring some insight to what its theme might be. A lot of the characters,

atmospheres, and objects contain symbolism in the novel. The liquor that the priest

is drinking is highly symbolic. It is a symbol of how the priest pities himself. He

feels his life is not worth much, so he drinks. He makes himself feel worthless.

Neil McEwan said, ? The novel firmly connects the consolations of alcohol and

religion… those who need to suppress both have cut themselves off from

suffering.?(59). That statement shows the priests pity on himself. Another symbol

in the novel is the scene in the jail. This is a symbol of the priests lose of faith. He

feels as if his life has no more meaning and he might as well give up. Characters

are also symbolic in the book. As Allott said, ?There is a sense in which other

characters in the book can be regarded as symbols…?(174).

A novel wouldn?t be complete without characters. And, characters in ?The

Power and the Glory? play an important role to evoke pity for the priest. First is the

Lieutenant, whose relentless pursuit of the priest makes you pity him. The

lieutenant even starts to kill innocent people in hopes to find the priest. You can not

help but feel sorry for the priest because of the lieutenant. Another character in the

novel is Brigitta. Brigitta is the child of the priest, who obviously is illegitimate.

The priest wants badly to love the child, but he can?t. He is caught between his

child and the sin he has committed. She also,… ?Stands for the early corruption of

innocence.?(Alott, 174). This alone makes us pity the poor whiskey priest.

Another character in the novel is the mestizo. The mestizo, who follows the priest

to turn him in for a reward and then to get him to bless a dying criminal, represents

a … ?Judas figure…?(McEwan, 92). We pity the priest even more because the

mestizo is after him just like the lieutenant does. He represents ?…evil and

treachery…?(Alott,174). Some small characters play an important role in the novel.

The people in the towns, who have rejected the priest in fear of being killed, makes

us pity the priest because of their acts of rejection. Mr. Fench, Mr. Fellows, and

Mrs.Fellows, all show that most of humanity has given up hope. John Atkins said,

?Mrs.Fellows knew that death was coming nearer, and that she lived in a

cemetery…?(182). These are the people who the priest is trying to save, not

himself. This is why we pity him. He is trying to save people who do not want to

be saved. The priest can leave the state and be safe, but he chooses to stay and try

to save them. This eventually leads to his death. He try?s to save a criminal, but it

ends up to be a trap. This is why we ultimately pity him, because he knows he is

being set-up, but he gives in because he is tiered of running. He has given up hope.

Theme is another important element of fiction. There has been many themes

that people have put to ?The Power and Glory?. Some of them include life, death,

religion, sin, politics, and everything else you can think of. Pity is a major theme to

this book. Greene uses all the elements of fiction to show this. The characters,

setting, and symbolism all show the universal theme of pity. All of these elements

show pity for the priest as Kenneth Allott said best,

The whiskey-priest is driven to sin and

despair; he is made to lose everywhere

?something he had hoped to keep?. After the

night in prison, when his bargain with God

reveals his distrust, his discovery of

desolation in the Fellows? house signifies his

entry into a spiritual desert; the comparative

calm of his sojourn with the Lehrs is the

doldrums of self-deception; his return with

the mestizo to the banana plantation

represents his heroic reawakening to duty.

But, there is no operatic grand finale. The

martyr does not die in a blaze of faith. He

goes out wretchedly, smelling of the brandy

which he has failed to drown his fear, with

an enormous sense of anticlimax and a

feeling that he has ?missed happiness by

seconds at an appointed place?. The world

ends- it is the only conceivable ending- ?not

with a bang but with a whimper.?…(193)

This quote, though long, shows exactly why we pity the priest, and why pity is the

main theme of the novel.

The novel ?The power and the Glory?, by Graham Greene writes with the

elements of fiction. He uses them to show a main theme in his novel. The elements

come together to show a main theme of pity.

Works cited

Allott, Kenneth. ?Art of Graham Greene? 1963\

there is no publishing information due to the fact that the pages were

ripped out from the book

Atkins, John. ?Altogether Amen: A reconsideration of The power and the

Glory.?From ?Graham Greene; some critical considerations.?

Evans, Robert Owen

Again, there is no publishing information due to the pages being

ripped out.

McEwan, Neil ?Modern Novelists: Graham Greene.?

General editor: Norman Page. The Macmillisn Press Ltd.

London, 1988

Pryce-Jones, David. ?Graham Greene.? Oliver and Boyd LTD

New York 1967