Monsignor Quixote's Ideal Form Of Love example essay topic

Literary works classified as satire often take everyday experiences, and exaggerate the situations surrounding them to create humour and further develop characters. In this genre, however, social commentary is nearly always present. The author generally seeks to express views, or opinions on the behaviour of people in society. Graham Greene successfully accomplishes this task in his novel Monsignor Quixote.

In this book, Greene explores the concepts of beliefs and ideals through the interaction of his main characters. The story revolves around the misadventures of two unlikely allies - Monsignor Quixote, a Catholic priest, and his friend Sancho, the Communist ex-mayor of El Tob oso. This juxtaposition ing of ideologies, seems destined to instill conflict between the two, but contrarily it creates an environment where Greene can easily express his opinions on aspects of faith. Monsignor Quixote is a novel that develops many ideas regarding beliefs and ideals.

It shows how beliefs can be affected by context and opinion, how ideals rarely reflect actual example, and how both are often tainted by the individuals claiming to uphold them. Beliefs are the building blocks of faith, and in turn are the foundation of religion. They are certain truths that individuals hold in their minds and hearts, that serve to guide them in life. However, because of their nature, beliefs often become subjective depending on their basis. In Greene's novel, Monsignor Quixote and Sancho spend a good deal of their journey discussing their ideologies - namely Catholicism and Communism. In their discussions and debates, the two often revert back to the written sources on which both their "religions" are founded.

The reader soon finds that through skillful manipulation, any such belief can be altered into one far different from its original form, depending on its context and the opinions of the interpreter. For example, early on in their adventures Sancho retells the story of The Prodigal Son, but from his own communist perspective. He describes the son as one who "feels stifled by his bourgeois surroundings - perhaps even by the kind of furniture and the kind of pictures on the walls, of fat kulaks sitting down to their Sabbath meal, a sad contrast with the poverty he sees around him". (pg. 49) and recounts how the young man did not in fact squander his inheritance but "that he was so disgusted by the bourgeois world in which he had been brought up that he got rid of his wealth in the quickest way possible - perhaps he even gave it away and in a Tolstoyan gesture he became a peasant". (pg. 50) This modified version of the parable, although completely different in intention, deviates very little from the concrete occurance's of its original. Biblical stories, though, are not the only writings that are modified within the novel.

Monsignor Quixote, after reading the Communist Manifesto, finds meanings that are the exact opposite of the common interpretations. From one passage of the work, Quixote infers that Marx must have had "occasional admiration for the bourgeois" (pg. 111). Sancho denies this exclaiming that Karl Marx despised the bourgeois. However, the priest defends his point of view saying: " 'Oh, hatred we know is often the other side of love.

Perhaps, poor man, he had been rejected by what he loved. Listen to this Sancho. "The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal production forces than have all the preceding generations together". ... 'It makes one almost proud to be a bourgeois, doesn't it?' " (pg. 112) By way of these reinvented accounts, the reader is shown the impact that personal perspective could potentially have on belief. The foundations of these beliefs can be easily altered to serve purposes quite opposite to their original intentions, resulting in skewed applications of their meaning.

When one possesses strong ideals without example, reality often has a disillusioning effect. It is rare that these paradigms of belief ever present themselves in practice, and so, people often lose faith in what they held as truth. This "fact of life" is exemplified by Monsignor Quixote's ideal form of love. Early in his journey with Sancho, the priest recounts how " [he] had always believed that human love was the same in kind as the love of God, even though only the faintest, feeblest reflection of that love... (pg. 124). However, this ideal is swiftly discounted to him, after he and the ex-mayor watch an "immoral" film called A Maiden's Prayer. To Quixote, the film depicts love as somewhat ridiculous, and his first instinct is to laugh out loud.

Seeming disappointed and somewhat saddened by this revelation, the Monsignor admits to his friend that " [he] always imagined it to be a great deal more simple and more enjoyable" (pg. 122). Here we see how the priest's ideal form of love is considerably different from the one society is presented with. It greatly worries Quixote, and makes him wonder whether he possesses the capacity to love at all. On the other hand, the skeptical Sancho holds ideals of his own regarding politics.

A full-fledged member of the Communist party, the ex-mayor believes religion to be nothing but pure fantasy. All along their journey to Salamanca, Sancho vehemently defends Communism, and what it has done for the world. Despite its failings, he holds it with the highest respects for what it's intentions were. However, by the end of the novel Sancho seems to have undergone a change of heart: " 'Would you have toasted Stalin's intentions?' the mayor demanded. 'One can't know a man's intentions and one can't toast them. Do you think that the monsignor's ancestor really represented the chivalry of Spain?

Oh, it may have been his intentions, but we all make cruel parodies of what we intend. ' " (pg. 200) Monsignor Quixote recognizes this altered behaviour in his friend, reflecting that " [there] was a note of sadness in his voice which surprised Father Quixote. He had been accustomed to aggression from the Mayor... but regret was surely a form of despair, of surrender, even perhaps of change". (pg. 201) In this passage, Sancho seems to have realized that his true Communist ideals could not exist in practical terms, and thus has lessened his rigid stance on the matter. With almost a sense of defeat, he seems to accept that a "perfect" world cannot be created by any ideal, no matter how noble the intentions. Though disillusioned by their experiences, their understanding of the world and themselves is strengthened. These instances clearly reflect how in reality, idealism is often misleading of the truth. Despite the aims of any utopian or divine ideal, they are rarely viable because of inherent flaws that humanity possesses.

From the comments above, one comes to the conclusion that an individual can have a strong influence on both beliefs and ideals. Unfortunately, when put into practice this influence is often a negative one, tainting intent and application of both. At the very beginning of the novel, Monsignor Quixote and the ex-mayor Sancho discuss those individuals who had abused their respective faiths: " 'There are traitors in every party, In your party too, Father Quixote. There was Judas... ' 'And in yours there was Stalin. ' 'Don't bring up that old stale history now.

' 'The history of Judas is even older. ' 'Alexander the Sixth... ' 'Trotsky (... ) ' " (pg. 21) Through this clever example, Graham Greene comments on the similarities between Communism and Catholicism by showing how both have suffered from their share of "traitors". All of those named misused their respective ideologies to the detriment of their people. Later on, Sancho recounts the story of a man named Marquez who sought to use Jone's Moral Theology as a loophole. His elaborate scheme to have his butler make a timely arrival in order to avoid impregnating his wife was based on Jones' ideology that " '... - the arrival of a third person does make a coitus interruptus permissible'". (pg. 72) Although this scheme was quickly discounted by his friend Diego, who informs Marquez that " 'Jone qualifies the arrival of a third person by classing it as "an unforseen" necessity' " (pg. 73), the reader can plainly see how written doctrine regarding belief can be manipulated for personal needs.

Perhaps the most vivid description of how individuals can abuse faith and religious ideals, is Greene's account of the Mexicans. Near the end of the novel Quixote and Sancho discover that Galician priests are taking advantage of the Mexicans by extorting their money with offers of redemption and the chance to carry a statue of the Virgin Mary. When the Monsignor arrives at the scene he discovers the statue is covered in peseta notes, and he is overwhelmed by this form of blasphemy. Following the confrontation with the corrupt priests, and Quixote's disruption of the procession, Greene uses vivid imagery as a metaphor for the neglect of religion for personal gain: " The Mexican lowered the pole of the statue's stand which he was supporting and the whole affair reeled sideways so that Our Lady's crown tipped drunkenly over her left eye. The weight was was too much for another Mexican who let go his pole and Our Lady went crashing to the earth. It was like the end of an orgy". (pg. 208) This reinforces the novel's commentary by showing how selfish intent destroys even the purest forms of belief.

The abuse of power and doctrine taints the ideals of any "religion" be it divine or political in nature, consequently resulting in the decay of faith and its foundations. Monsignor Quixote is a novel that deals with many aspects of humanity, and how it effects faith and doctrine. By using characters from such different ideological backgrounds, Graham Greene is able to present the reader with contrasting perspectives that fully develop his social commentary. Through clever manipulation of the plot, he puts his characters into situations that vividly show how ideals are rarely implemented successfully, and that beliefs are often misused. The stories and conversations shared between the priest and ex-mayor, provide anecdotes that effectively depict how personal desire and point of view effect said beliefs and ideals. A skillful satire, Monsignor Quixote is a satirical piece that not only entertains the reader, but provides insight into the workings of faith and the human mind..