Doubt: A Parable

John Patrick Shanley

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2005

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Download PDF

Summary

Scene Summaries & Analyses

Preface-Scene 2

Scenes 3-4

Scenes 5-6

Scenes 7-9

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Essay Topics

Do you think that Sister Aloysius always experienced doubt about her suspicions, or does it come on suddenly at the end of the play? Why?

How is innocence portrayed in the play? Is it a virtue or a vice?

Father Flynn, is his opening sermon, says that “doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty” (6). How does doubt bond characters together in the play?