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The view of the Catholic Church, was that "the latter element" -- that is, human wretchedness -- had appeared "to carry the day" in a way that did injury "to certain priestly characters and even to the priesthood itself." Moreover, the novel portrayed a state of affairs so "paradoxical" and "erroneous" that it would disconcert "unenlightened persons" who formed "the majority of the readers."
Summary and Conclusion
Greene was not disconcerted by the view of the Church and simply remarked that he did not own the copyright and therefore could do nothing to change what was already written. The following quote from the work is quite poignant and after having read about the life of Greene can just as easily be assigned to come from within him as from within the mind of the nameless priest in the novel:
What a fool he had been to think that he was strong enough to stay when others fled. What an impossible fellow I am,...
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 had 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." (Graham Greene: "The Power and the Glory")
After his writing of this powerful and controversial work in which he explored his deepest spiritual self he wrote other less powerful and less controversial works and lived until the year of 1991 where passed peaceably away on the French Villa.
Works Cited
Schlosser, Stephen (nd) "Altogether Adverse" - American Magazine Issue 388. Online available at http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?articleTypeID=1&text ID=2311&issueID=388
Greeneland (2005) Online available at http://www.amywelborn.com/greene/greene.html.
Graham Greene "The Power and the Glory" Online available at http://members.tripod.com/~greeneland/power.htm
Graham Green's "The Power and the Glory"
Works Cited
Schlosser, Stephen (nd) "Altogether Adverse" - American Magazine Issue 388. Online available at http://www.americamagazine.org/gettext.cfm?articleTypeID=1&text ID=2311&issueID=388
Greeneland (2005) Online available at http://www.amywelborn.com/greene/greene.html.
Graham Greene "The Power and the Glory" Online available at http://members.tripod.com/~greeneland/power.htm
Graham Green's "The Power and the Glory"
Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory (1940) is one of his works that the author himself identified as a Catholic story, and it is clearly concerned with issues of Catholicism in both theory and practice. The novel is set in Mexico in the 1930s at a time when the Church was in conflict with the political powers in Mexico. Greene gives his story an allegorical structure, with the
Greene's the Power and the Glory Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory is believed by some to be his finest work. The book addresses a variety of social, religious and personal issues that lay close to the heart of the author. The Mexican situation and the Catholic faith are for example two prominent issues addressed by the work. Below is then a consideration of the context and inner truths
Power and the Glory": A Critical Analysis Graham Greene's book "The Power and the Glory" is about a "whiskey priest" who is heavily and sinfully involved with alcohol but still has some of his faith left. The authorities in Mexico have banned the Catholic religion, and they have sentenced individuals such as the main character to death. Still, however, he stumbles his way across Mexico, in an attempt to escape
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