First Confession by Frank O Connor

First confession short story

Summary

This story by Frank O'Connor focuses on a little seven year old boy that has conflicts within himself about going to his first confession. The main characters in the story are Jackie a seven-year old boy, an old woman named Ryan, and a priest. Jackie's grandmother comes to live with his family and she is quite different from any women Jackie has been around. She drinks beer, takes snuff, and walks around the house barefoot.

To Jackie and his mother this is not very lady like. Jackie will not eat his grandmother's cooking and one time he had to hide under the table while his mother was gone to avoid eating it. He hid under the table with a butter knife yelling and threatening his sister Nora because she tried to get him out from under the table. At Jackie's school there is an old woman named Ryan that tries to educate the students about their first confessions. She tries to scare them into confession. She speaks of hell more often than heaven. She ends up making Jackie scared to death of confession (361). The day that Jackie and the other students are supposed to go to confession Jackie says he is sick. His sister, Nora has to take him on a Saturday and she tries to scare him the whole time they are walking to the church. When Jackie see the priest and tells him this is his first confession the priest tells him to wait until he is done with some of the elders because, the priest says, "The crimes of a lifetime, I dont know will I get rid of you at all today" (363). Jackie gets to talk to the priest one on one for quite awhile and he has a wonderful experience from that. The priest really listens to him and makes him feel much more comfortable about confessing his sins.

II). Student Response:

I think this story really shows this little boys conflict within himself. In some way or another everyone influences him. This story shows how the actions and voices of adults can really affect children. Jackie was so scared of confession because the old woman Ryan said horrible things to put the fear of god in him and the other children. After trying to get Jackie or one of the other kids to put their finger in a flame to show them about hell she says, "All eternity! Just think of that! A whole lifetime goes by and it's nothing, not even a drop in the ocean of your suffering" (361). I know that many people have tried to use the fear of god to make children do the right thing but I do not agree with it. I think the priest's approach was so much better. He was patient and kind to Jackie and really made him feel at ease.

III). Study Question of F

irst Confession by Frank O Connor

:

1. Is Jackie's confession a "good" one?
2. Whose religion seems more appealing, Mrs. Ryan or the priest's?

I believe that Jackie's confession is a very good one. He tells the priest everything that has been on his mind. He is very informal about the things that he tells the priest. He does not really understand the proper way to confess but he does great for his first time. I think that the priest's religion seems more appealing. The priest knows how to handle people very well. He understood that Jackie was probably nervous and he helped him through it very nicely.

Cite this Page

First Confession by Frank O Connor. (2018, Jun 19). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/first-confession-2/

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