Religion and its Impact on Moral Lives
Religion has a significant impact on how people live moral lives and provides guidance for doing the right thing in society. The church's religious leaders must therefore set the finest possible examples for the general public to follow and have faith in. There are many different religious groups and factions, such as Catholics, Hindus, Seventh-day Adventists, and Apostolic churches. Depending on the sect, the followers look up to religious leaders like priests, imams, and pastors among others as role models for the proper way of acting and living. Narrative stories about individual experiences with these leaders can demonstrate the extent to which the leaders have an influence on the daily lives of people. In particulars, the narratives of the magic barrel and the first confession by Malamud and O'Connor give insight into the influence of religious people on their faith regarding their actions through performing their functions.
The Role of Confidants in the Church
The first function of the leaders of the church that affects the lives of the people is the role of a confidant to the faithful about personal problems. In both the two narratives, the religious leaders in the stories give the narrators a listening ear to their problems which contribute to easing their guilt and problems in life. The idea behind such counseling sessions is that through sharing problems with a person one believes can not only keep their secrets but also give them assurance and guide them in the right direction; the people are likely to recover from emotional stress. As a result, the people get new directions in their life and find the purpose of their life through the help from the individuals. The churches through the leadership provide this role of confidants in whom the people can share their problems to find the right path again in their lives. For example, in the narrative of the first confession, the seven-year-old boy, who is also the narrator of the story, gives an account of the wrong deeds he has done and the fear to confess them to the priest.
Renewal of Hope and Guidance
However, after sharing the sins with the priest, and giving an account of the reasons behind plotting to kill the grandmother and her sister, the boy comes out of penance hand-in-hand with the priest, feeling more jovial with a more understanding of how to enhance the relationship with the family members despite their shortcomings. The evidence of this is the assertion of the narrator through the words "I told him everything" by referring the penance to the priest in a conversation with the sister (O'Connor 9). The sister to the narrator feels bad that despite the sins, her brother only gets three Hail Marys hence considered and finally accepts she might also be a bad sinner at the end of the story (O'Connor 10). In this regard, confiding in a religious person can give an individual a fresh start at their life after laying off some of their burdens that torment them in daily living, as well as a new perspective on social problems in the society people are likely to encounter.
Seeking Advice and Experience
The same is evident in the other narrative regarding the magic barrel in which the matchmaker who is a religious leader respected in the Jewish faith helps give the narrator a listening ear to the problem of marriage. Around the time of completion of the six-year studying program of medicine, the narrator suddenly realizes that the concentration in the studies have alienated the individual from social life hence has not been able to engage in a relationship with the opposite sex. In fact, through marrying, the person believes that they will receive a bigger crowd in the graduation ceremony hence seeking the services of the matchmaker. Through sharing his problems and a probable test in the opposite sex, the interaction and communications between the matchmaker and the narrator make the individual realize that he might be incapable of love but to his parents only hence seeking to find pre-marital first.
Finding the Right Path
However, towards the end, the significance of the help from the matchmaker is clear and might have been intentional to lure the person into evoking feelings of love in his daughter. The evidence of the words is through the phrase "...and Leo (narrator) understood with emotion it was now arranged" as well as "he pictured her in his redemption." (Malamud 13-14). In this regard, there is an acceptance that the religious people play the role of confidants and it helps the faithful in renewing their hope and finding the right paths. In fact, the words of the matchmaker Salzman, "I am so happy that I talk too much" when referring to the reason why he lied, imply that sometimes the leaders can give examples to help an individual find the right path. The same is evident in the narrative of the first confession where the priest gives a case of a person going through the terrible death of hanging due to killing their grandmother, which gives relevance to the narrator's confession of trying to do the same to his grandmother (O'Connor 8).
Religion as a Solution to Social Problems
The use of religious characters in the two stories as an interaction point of the narrators and their redefined life presents the advisory and counseling role of the religious leaders in the church to their faithful. In the narrative of the first confession, the young boy comes into confession feeling fearful of what might happen with the penance in regards to the nature of punishment. The influences of the thoughts are the narrator's sister who sides with the grandmother, making him hate them both. In fact, the sister threatens her through the words, "and I hope he will give you the penitential psalms" just before entering the dark and lonely confession room (O'Connor 4).
However, the interaction with the priest after a little incident and after confessing the sins of a lifetime in ten minutes makes the boy realize the wrong mistakes and gets advice on how to lead a good life despite the challenges by the sister and grandmother. In the narrative of the magic barrel, it is evident that the purpose of the narrator going to the matchmaker is to seek advice on how to get a good match for him to marry since he does not have the socialization skills. The words "he at once informed Salzman why he asked him to come...he was alone in the world" indicate the writer's need to seek advice and experience from an individual with experience in the matters, none other than a marriage broker (Malamud 1). Though with distrust in between, in the end, the individual finds love in the matchmaker's daughter, something that gives him redemption. In this regard, both narratives show that the advice given by the leaders in the respective church through characterization helps them solve their current fears and worries and be confident about their way of life being on the correct path.
Religion as a Solution to Social Problems
Lastly, both narratives present the theme of the role of religion as a solution to social problems. In this case, religion and religious places are an institution that has the ability, skills, and knowledge of solving problems individuals face in the community around them. In this regard, the narrative uses characters with unique problems they are undergoing through to present them to this institution. Afterward, through interactions and elaboration of the possible solutions to their problems, they come out with solutions to the problems. In this case, the religions are the Catholic faith because of the priesthood and penance aspects, as well as the mention of the Jewish religion in the matchmaker story. However, it does not imply they are the only religious denominations, but uses them as an example to present the idea of finding solace and solutions in the institution in general. In the story of the first confession, the boy has a problem of fear of the consequences of sin, a poor attitude towards the grandmother, and a lack of knowledge of how to deal with the problems.
However, after penance and interaction with the priest, the boy is now confident on what to do and has solutions (O'Connor 13). In the other narrative, the finalist medical student from the Jewish faith has a problem of finding an individual to marry and does not have a good social life. The interaction with the matchmaker, a respected position in the Jewish faith, makes him realize that he needs to love himself and others, and finally gets to fall in love in the end as a solution (Malamud 9). Therefore, both narratives show the significance of the institutions in finding solutions to a range of social problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the two narrations are significant in portraying the role of religion in the community. Some of them include advisors, counselors, and confidants to the faithful. Also, the use of religious characters is to enhance the role of churches or denominations in society. Lastly, through the discussion of the theme of religion, the narrative shows the role of the institution as a solution to social problems.
Works cited
Malamud, Bernard. "The Magic Barrel." N.p., 2017. Web. 23 July 2017.
O'Connor, Frank. "First Confession." N.p., 2017. Web. 23 July 2017.
