THE POWER AND THE GLORY by Graham Green - PLOT, MAIN CHARACTERS, SETTING AND TIME, MAIN THEMES

THE POWER AND THE GLORY by Graham Green

PLOT

In one state of Mexico on thirty years communists shot or chased all priests out of their state. Only one priest, called The wisky-priest because of his alcoholism, is left. The police is looking for him and a american killer. The people loved him, because he is the only who accepts to say mass: it was illegal. In spite of his vocation, he has had a daughter with a woman, Mary. He wanted to escape,but when he had the opportunity, he preferred come back to help invalides and patients;in fact, at the beginnig of the novel he tries to escape by boat, but before he left, he decides to visit a woman who's dying. To catch him, the lieutenant arrested innocent people from villages, but they didn't betray the priest when he introduced himself like a farmer and the police lets him go away. He ashamed of himself because he thought to have caused his people's suffering and death: he hope to be captured. Betrayed by the half-caste, he went to confess the american killer even if he knew the trap. The lieutenant arrested him and during last night of his life he asked God the grace of forgiveness.

MAIN CHARACTERS

The main character of this novel is the priest, a "whisky-priest" as he is named for his errors. He s an alcoholic and had a daughter: so he lives in a mortal sin. He made three acts of perfect charity. He is a weak man (mentally and physically), and so he acts: he pretends to be another person, he escapes and hides. Nevertheless, he still does in some way his duty as a priest, although it will lead some persons to death as he is persecuted by the law.

The Lieutenant is the opposite of the Whisky Priest. The Lieutenant knows exactely what he want to do. He's wants to create an ideal state by eleminating all priests and getting rid of Roman Catholic churches. He hates religion. The lieutenant is certain and full of energie.

The half-caste is the man who the Priest met on his way to Carmen. During the novel he seemed a Priest's friend, but at the end he will betray the Priest. The half-caste is the Judas ure in the novel, as he is devoid of any spiritual features. Moreover, he represents the lowest desires of the people, materialism. In addition, he is specifically the personification of greed (not only out of necessity), the greed of all mankind; and is the symbol of what we are capable to do when we are dominated by it. He is the only character that deserves to be considered evil, for he causes death by being selfish.

Padre Josè is a priest, but married so he could spare his life. He didn't want to go to the prison and listen to the Priest's confessions.

Mr Tench is the dentist; the whisky-priest meets him at the beginning of the novel.

SETTING AND TIME

The novel is set in Mexico during Chapas revolution. The duration of the narration is not clear. In this novel places are described with refinement. The property and the desoletion of the maxican territory change deeply all the landscape.

MAIN THEMES

Grace and Sin: in the priest there's a struggle between divine grace and human weakness. The main character of the novel is a weak and sinful priest, but because of his sins the priest seems to be closer to God than any other 'good' priest. At first human weakness seems win the divine grace, but it will triumph.

Symbols:

The escape from the police is a symbol for the escape for God;

The prison is a symbol for the world, society;

The vultures are a symbol of the death;

The mosquitos and the black-beetles are symbols of mexican property;

'The Power and the Glory' comes from the last line of the Lord's Prayer (het onzeVader). The power and the Glory of God which are invested in priesthood support the priest inspite of his sins. The priest knows that although he's a sinner he's still a priest.When the girl Carol asks him why he doesn't stop to be a priest he says: "It's impossible. There's no way. I'm a priest. It's out of my power".

The 'whiskey priest' reflected on his stay in the area, even when he knew that he would be shot if caught.]

If he left them, they would be safe, and they would be free from his example. He was the only priest the children could remember: it was from him they would take their ideas of the faith. But it was from him too they took God -- in their mouths. When he was gone it would be as if God in all this space between the sea and the mountains ceased to exist. Wasn't it his duty to stay, even if they despised him, even if they were murdered for his sake? even if they were corrupted by his example? He was shaken with the enormity of the problem. He lay with his hands over his eyes: nowhere, in all the wide flat marshy land, was there a single person he could consult. [e 65]

[The 'whiskey priest' as he was hearing the confession of a man.]

How often the priest had heard the same confession -- Man was so limited he hadn't even the ingenuity to invent a new vice: the animals knew as much. It was for this world that Christ had died; the more evil you saw and heard about you, the greater glory lay around the death. It was too easy to die for what was good or beautiful, for home or children or a civilization -- it needed a God to die for the half-hearted and the corrupt. [e 97]

[The lieutenant has just said to the whiskey priest that he marvels that the priest believes in miracles. 'Why, the first time they (Indians) see an electric light they think it's a miracle.']

'And I dare say the first time you saw a man raised from the dead you might think so too.' He giggled unconvincingly behind the smiling mask. 'Oh, it's funny, isn't it? It isn't a case of miracles not happening -- it's just a case of people calling them something else. Can't you see the doctors round the dead man? He isn't breathing any more, his pulse has stopped, his heart's not beating: he's dead. Then somebody gives him back his life, and they all -- what's the expression? -- reserve their opinion. They won't say it's a miracle, because that's a word they don't like. Then it happens again and again perhaps -- because God's about on earth -- and they say: these aren't miracles, it is simply that we have enlarged our conception of what life is. Now we know you can be alive without pulse, breath, heart-beats. And they invent and new word to describe that state of life, and they say science has disproved a miracle.' He giggled again. 'You can't get round them.' [e 201]

[The whiskey priest on the morning of his execution.]

When he woke up it was dawn. He woke with a huge feeling of hope which suddenly and completely left him at the first sight of the prison yard. It was the morning of his death. He crouched on the floor with the empty brandy-flask in his hand trying to remember an Act of Contrition. 'O God, I am sorry and beg pardon for all my sins crucified worthy of they dreadful punishments.' He was confused, his mind was on other things: it was not the good death for which one always prayed. He caught sight of his own shadow on the cell wall; it had a look of surprise and grotesque unimportance. What a fool he had been to think that he was strong enough to stay when others fled. What an impossible fellow I am, he thought, and how useless. I have done nothing for anybody. I might just as well have never lived. His parents were dead -- soon he wouldn't even be a memory -- perhaps after all he was not at the moment afraid of damnation -- even the fear of pain was in the background. He felt only an immense disappointment because he had to go to God empty-handed, with nothing done at all. It seemed to him, at that moment, that it would have been quite easy to have been a saint. It would only have needed a little self-restraint and a little courage. He felt like someone who has missed happiness by seconds at an appointed place. He knew now that at the end there was only one thing that counted -- to be a saint. [p. 210]

[The description of the whiskey priest's martyrdom.]

Of course there was nothing to do. Everything went very quickly like a routine. The officer stepped aside, the rifles went up, and the little man suddenly made jerky movements with his arms. He was trying to say something: what was the phrase they were always supposed to use? That was routine too, but perhaps his mouth was too dry, because nothing came out except a word that sounded like 'Excuse'. The crash of the rifles shook Mr Tench: they seemed to vibrate inside his own guts: he felt sick and shut his eyes. Then there was a single shot, and opening them again he saw the officer stuffing his gun back into his holster, and the little man was a routine heap beside the wall -- something unimportant which had to be cleared away. Two knock-kneed men approached quickly. This was an arena, and the bull was dead, and there was nothing more to wait for any more. p. 216]