Last Confession
By Kirby Farrales
By Kirby Farrales
Farrales, Kirby (2014) . Last Confession. Unpublished Manuscript <print>
Summary:
Last Confession is short prose piece of murder and protection, rape and loss of faith. The narrator in this piece stares intently at a priest who is interacting with his nephew and recovers flashbacks of when the priest interacted with him as a child. The interactions seemed fatherly at the time; however, as he grew older he recognized that he was raped continuously as a child. As a form of revenge and protection, the narrator stops the priest. It can be assumed that he shots in him in a confessional; however, it is not clear.
Thematic:
The narrator faces internal tumult because he grew up poor and without a father. He believes every child deserves one. Losing his was the most traumatic time of his life.
Last Confession is short prose piece of murder and protection, rape and loss of faith. The narrator in this piece stares intently at a priest who is interacting with his nephew and recovers flashbacks of when the priest interacted with him as a child. The interactions seemed fatherly at the time; however, as he grew older he recognized that he was raped continuously as a child. As a form of revenge and protection, the narrator stops the priest. It can be assumed that he shots in him in a confessional; however, it is not clear.
Thematic:
The narrator faces internal tumult because he grew up poor and without a father. He believes every child deserves one. Losing his was the most traumatic time of his life.
"I remember the look in my dad’s eyes through his rearview mirror as he drove off for the last time; I remember doing my best every year to forget my birthday to avoid disappointment."
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His only solace was Father Donahue. Despite that he raped the narrator, the narrator still clung to him, still looked up to him as a father figure.
Controlling Value 1
Purpose: Having a father figure will provide you approval and freedom of disappointment. Context: Lacking a father will bring you disappointment |
Controlling Value 2
Purpose: Protecting yourself and others from evil will ensure ascension and holiness. Context: Entrusting your body and mind to others will make you vulnerable to sin |
In this chart, the context of controlling value 1 and the purpose of controlling value do not fit together. However, I do believe these values are true to the piece.
Repetitive Form/Hermeneutic Code
In the narrative the audience is given the phrase "How long has it been since your last confession?" The question is avoided or answered dishonestly up until the very end and is repeated several times. Each time we learn something new and are able to make a different inference.
In the narrative the audience is given the phrase "How long has it been since your last confession?" The question is avoided or answered dishonestly up until the very end and is repeated several times. Each time we learn something new and are able to make a different inference.
“'How long has it been since your last confession?' Father Donahue asked.
I was afraid my voice would betray me as his voice betrayed him. (1)" |
In the introduction we are able to associate this phrase as uncomfortable, as something that has caused betrayal.
"I’d been denied a childhood. In an instant, I was again eight years old.
“How long has it been since your last confession?” Father Donahue asked. |
By the middle we associate the phrase with being fatherless, with growing up too fast. We can assume something will become of the phrase but are not quite sure. This technique is using a "request for an answer" in the hermeneutic code because audiences have yet to acquire an answer to when the narrator has confessed last. Perhaps we can assume he is guilty of something.
Synthetic In this final section it is revealed that the father and the audience will ever receive an answer. I believe this is a representation of the narrators loss of faith. This ending was chosen, I believe, to convey this inference. And it was placed at the end purposefully so audiences reading mimetically would have time to gather what happened and what it meant by piecing everything together like a puzzle. |
“How long has it been since your last confession?” Father Donahue asked.
I reached for my waistband. Cold steel met my hand, which was lead by an even colder resolve. Unlike myself, my nephew will not be denied a childhood. Father Donahue—he’d get no answer." |