The Power and the Glory Essay Example

good conscience that bring the power and glory to him.

Even though the Priest lives in sin, people still see good in him, in that, “it’s good to see a priest with a conscience” (Greene 2003, 182), it shows the love that is comes out of him.The Priest finally learns to love, fulfilling many elements from the Sermon on the Mount. Glory is displayed through the way the Whisky Priest learns to love people. At one point in the novel, the Priest is looking back on grace and how he usually views the, “venial sins – impatience, an unimportant lie, pride, a neglected opportunity” (139), rather than his lack of love.

At this point, the Whisky Priest has made a complete change. His love is like a light seen in the Sermon on the Mount, in that he finally understands how to “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. :16). Greene shows the giving heart of the Whisky Priest, with examples such the Priest offering up a sandwich to a man who is hungry, even though the man is angry. The Priest shows kindness from the heart and unknowingly lives out a life of the beatitudes and characteristics found in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. The Whisky Priest looks at his life as a life of duty, that he must accomplish what God has planned for him.

The Priest reflects on the importance of his role in that, “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 space between the sea and the mountains ceased exist. Wasn’t it his duty to stay? ” (65). The Priest carries out this sense of praise to his God through his faithfulness to remain as a priest, bringing glory to God. He feels it is his “duty not to be caught” (40), because if he was caught, who would continue to spread the power and the glory of God? The Priest views these consequences as persecution and instead of running he looks at ways to persevere and presses on to spread the news of the power and glory as a priest.

With relation to, The Sermon on the Mount, the Whiskey Priest’s actions are representing that of the beatitudes, in that “blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:10). The Whisky Priest refuses to give up regardless of the opinions many people clearly state throughout the novel. The persecution was too much to handle for those people, so they gave up, but, for the Priest this is not the same story. The Priest will not runaway as many tell him to do, because he “understand[s]…it’s not what you want – or I want” (79), but what the Lord wants.

The Whisky Priest is asked on numerous occasions to take the easy road and “renounce [his] faith” (40), but instead he continues on with his journey proving his ability to stay righteous. Through the persecution that the Priest has endured, power and glory is given

to him by God because of his righteousness and faithfulness. A conflict emerges when the wants the last priest dead in order of the power to be given back to the government. The Lieutenant longs for the power to be restored to the government by finding the last priest.He wants the glory of finally putting an end to what he feels is treason, giving himself a majority of the power.

The Lieutenant is almost looking to attribute glory to his name by being an individual who is looking out for society. He agrees with the Whisky Priest in that “he hate[s] the rich and love[s] the poor” (199), yet this power he has is not one that would usually characterize in the Sermon on the Mount. The Lieutenant’s power and glory is one of a more earthly appeal, as he would rather gain all the power and authority on earth as possible, only to gain as much glory to his name.On the outside perspective the Lieutenant is a good person; because he does what he thinks is looking out for the people. He follows the rules and acts in a just manner, shown when the Priest asks, “with badly-affected ease, ‘Are you going to shoot me now? ’… ‘I am not a barbarian. You will be tried properly… for treason’? ” (190).

Although the Lieutenant can arguably be a good character in the novel, the power and glory he is longing for he cannot achieve until the death of the Whisky Priest. The announcement of the execution of the Whisky Priest brings forth mixed effects of the people who have interacted with him throughout the

story.The inquisitiveness of the people to see if he is the one to be executed shows he truly did have an impact on the lives around him because of his love. Finally the death of the Priest arrives, and with this he realizes the power he had and the glory now coming out of his fulfilling life. The death acts as symbolism of that of the life of Jesus, in that the Priest knows his time is over and that he is “no more good to anyone, so why should God keep [him] alive” (200), when the glory of God can only be fulfilled with his death.

Through his death The Sermon on the Mount is significantly shown in that he faces the ultimate persecution which is death for his righteousness, only leading him to a new life. He realizes that he has accomplished his duty and goal, and that there is a sense that all the power and glory will be given to God. Through his death, the Whisky Priest has accomplished his goals of fulfilling his call and achieves the power and glory shown in The Sermon on the Mount. Finally the Lieutenant fulfills his main goal of completing ultimate power in government.With the death of this last priest in the region, it gives the Government complete control over the people. The death shows the true meaning of power and glory represented in the title, in that with the death, the lieutenant and the priest grasp the power and glory they have been searching for.

The Lieutenant “had satisfied himself that morning” (220), and showed his pride in that, “there was something brisk and

stubborn about his walk, as if he were saying at every step, ‘I have done what I have done’” (220).The death now brought joy to the Lieutenant, because all the power now belonged in his hands. The lasting effect that the death of the Priest has had on people is evidence of his love and mercy he had for people. A boy asks his mother, “‘that one…they shot today.

Was he a hero too? ’ ‘Yes…He was one of the martyrs of the church’” (219). The mother even goes on to say that the Priest may one day become a saint. A lasting impact was made by the actions of the Whisky Priest and the exaltation to God was finally lived out with his execution.Living out the model given in the Sermon on the Mount, the Whisky Priest makes himself vulnerable to his enemies despite the sin he is living in. The Priest learns how to act in love and kindness to those around him even through areas in which he is still sinful. He shows mercy instead of retaliation, and fulfills his duty which portrays God’s power and glory.

The title of the novel connects many of the stories of the characters to the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.The Whiskey Priest lives out a life of blessedness according to the beatitudes, but does so unknowingly by acting through love of mercy and grace. The Priest pursues his calling and never gives up his duty to be a priest. Through persecution the Priest stays strong and does not flee in the face of his enemies. With the death of the Priest temporary power

is given to the Lieutenant, but the true power is kept in the memory of the Priest in the same way that glory follows his death.

Graham Greene sets up his readers to search for the power and glory not only in his novel, but, in the Sermon on the Mount.