Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory

Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory is a humanistic study of the Catholic Church as represented by the priest/protagonist of the novel. It is likely that the leaders of the Church themselves looked at the "whisky priest" without a name and concluded that Greene was primarily writing a book about the weaknesses and corruption of the Church and its religious authority. In fact, however, Greene's humane portrayal of the priest as a man rather than as a saint is a ringing endorsement of the man's (and the Church's) role as bringer of God to the people.

Greene does not want to write simple propaganda for the Church. At the same time, it is clear from his loving portrayal of the flawed whisky priest that he has a real respect for the representatives of that Church and the good that they do in the world, with all their flaws and shortcomings.

Therefore, his novel brings the Church down to earth, shows this single corrupted individual priest is a man who struggles mightily against his own devils and against the devils haunting the people of his country. He does drink and indulge his other desires, to be sure, and if this were all he did he would be a thoroughly corrupt priest and man indeed.

However, he also risks his life---and finally pays with his life---in bringing the word of God and his own care and love to the people he serves.

The basic story of the priest is simple. The land is ruled by a socialist/atheist police official and the Mass of the Catholic Church

Related Essays

Literary Views of Women .... Graham Greene's The End of the Affair is a moral work .... Greene presents the male and female point of view by .... takes its lead from Charlotte Bront?'s Jane Eyre by .... (1937 8 )

Novels Reflection of How Society Views Women .... Graham Greene's The End of the Affair is a moral work .... Greene presents the male and female point of view by .... takes its lead from Charlotte Bront?'s Jane Eyre by .... (1937 8 )

Women and the Civl War .... named Colonel Kirk, born in Greene County, Tennessee .... Graham's interpretation of these incidents characterizes the .... For example, Mrs. Caroline S. Alligood writes .... (9049 36 )

the priest were merely unwilling to do his duty, to minister to the people, then the novel would not be compelling as it is. What makes the priest's struggle fascinating is not merely that he is tired, not merely that he is flawed, not merely that he does what he does with a certain measure of unwillingness. What makes his struggle compelling is that he harbors a great deal of bitterness, even rage, at the position he is in. This response is often incited and intensified by the alcohol he consumes. The priest is angry at the woman who he must go minister to. He is angry that he is going to miss his boat. When Tench suggests that if he is not a doctor there is nothing that the priest can do for the woman if she is dying, the priest barks back at him: You know nothing," the stranger said fiercely. "That is what everyone says all the time---you do no good." The brandy affected him. He said with monstrous bitterness, "I can hear them saying it all over the world" (17). But this bitterness is not long-lived, and it is replaced in this instance by gratitude to Tench for allowing him to rest for a moment out of the sun. Still, there is always the underlying notion that the priest is doing his work in a world which does not apprecia

Category: Literature - G