The Effects Of The Pressure Of Catholicism On Luke

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In “A Father’s Story,” Andre Dubus makes Luke Ripley a character of many internal conflicts and has the story progresses the coping mechanism used by Ripley begins to change. Ripley initially uses his strict Catholic traditions to resolve his conflicts surrounding his marriage, but when his marriage dissolves he is left to reevaluate his belief system and through a series of events he realizes that he can have more lenient faith and still have relationship with God. When Luke Ripley is unable to maintain the traditional, strict Catholic life, he continually feels guilty, so his view of religion becomes more abstract and as a result of this change he begins to make uncharacteristic decisions that he must then justify under his new religious view. Religion for Luke Ripley is more than just a Sunday service and going to confession; it is a part of his everyday life and colors all of his actions and beliefs. Ripley’s faith becomes part of his ritual every morning, he is even sure that he is mindful when reciting a prayer, but his devout faith sometimes leaves him with a feeling of inadequacy. When Ripley says “being a real Catholic is too hard” because he has not done away with his house and barn, it shows how even though he devotes his days to God every morning he still does not believe he is faithful enough (Dubus 102). The relationship between Ripley and Father Paul is important because it is seemingly one sided; and, while they are friends, the result is too much overlap between Ripley’s social and religious life. This overlap becomes an issue when Ripley could use a friend to talk to and not have to worry about his feelings or actions in relation to his faith. When Father Paul shows up after Gloria leaves Ripley says, “I was ashamed to see him because he is a priest and my family was gone, but I was relieved too” (Dubus 102). Without the blurring of

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