Historical Criticism of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory Essay

Historical Criticism of Graham Greenes The Power and the Glory - Essay ExampleVol I).Sherry also informs us that as a young boy of 14 he suffered at the boarding school. His acquaintances and his experiences were shaping a mind which paralleled the tumultuous time he lived in. He ran away from home. And was sent for psychoanalysis. In 1925, he met Vivien Dayrell-Browning. A Roman Catholic conver, Vivien molded him toward Roman Catholicism, to which he got converted at the age of 26.His religious impression followed a trajectory vividly depicted in his catholic tetralogy Brighton Rock (1938), The Power and the Glory (1940), The core group of the Matter (1948), and The End of the Affair (1951).In fact, Greenes life is a reflection of the saga of Roman Catholic church at that time. As Mark Bosco says that Greenes writings represent different phases of his Catholic sensibility. He emerges mature with poke theology after Vatican Council II (Bosco 115-117).The novel draws parallels with T.S. Elliots poem The Hollow Men. The hollow men pad in a barren landscape, trying to remember the line after For Thine is the Kingdom in the Lords Prayer. The diction happens to be the Power and the Glory (Ways of Escape 65-68).Not only the theme, but even the milieu and the peg downtings set Greenes novels apart. The Quiet American is set in the Vietnam of the early 50s, The Heart of the Matter is set in tungsten Africa, Our Man in Havana in Cuba, The Honorary Consul in Paraguay/Argentina.Greene was a globe-trotter. From Africa to Asia to Latin America, he had his shell out of experiences everywhere. A man who wrote England Made Me, Greene spent the last 25 years of his life in out-migration in France. This is not surprising then to find that all but a few of his post-war novels atomic number 18 set outside Britain.His authorized biographer Norman Sherry suffered tropical diabetes in Liberia, dysentery in Mexico and intestinal gangrene in Paraguay in the course of his rese arch.Sherry links Greenes constant urge to be on the move to his escapist tilt and an escape from the responsibilities of life (Sherry 350-354 Vol. I).His penchant for travels also stems from his love for Joseph Conard.Mr. Greene suddenly becomes a character out of the Conrad stories he admired. He exposes himself to all sorts of pain and jeopardy. He explores hitherto unpenetrated jungles. He climbs mountains, crosses wild and unbridged rivers, endures the pain and vulnerability of tropical sicknesses. He looks everywhere, it seems, listens with respect to the most obscure of his fellow human beings and thereby not only learns active and from others, but finds the direction of his own lifes compass (Coles).Like his shifting destinations during the course of frequent travels, Greenes faith withal followed a shifting trajectory.Today Catholicism is once again the topic of discussion thanks to Dan Browns collide with mystery The Da Vinci Code. Before Browns best-seller, Catholicis m as a theme of a novel was a strange idea for the readers. As Lawson makes us believeToday, Catholicism, wanderlust and expatriation all lack the lot they had for writers in Greenes time. The centre of gravity of