First Confession

by

Frank O’Connor

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Themes and Colors
Catholicism, Judgment and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Fear and Violence Theme Icon
Faith and Ritual Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in First Confession, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.

Catholicism, Judgment and Hypocrisy

In “First Confession,” Jackie—a young boy from a devout Catholic family—judges others for qualities he himself embodies. He is ashamed of the uncouth manners of his grandmother, Gran, and he believes that his sister Nora is inherently “evil” and hypocritical. Yet Jackie is a flawed individual himself, having lashed out violently at Nora and even plotted to killed Gran, and he is terrified of being judged by the Catholic priest at his first…

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Fear and Violence

“First Confession” focuses on a young boy, Jackie, who struggles to make sense of morality and guilt as he is initiated into the rituals of the Catholic Church. Throughout the story, characters like Jackie’s father, his teacher Mrs. Ryan, and the priest instill fear in Jackie using violence, intimidation, and threatening imagery (such as the man bursting into flames when he gives a “bad Confession”). Yet none of this encourages Jackie to…

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Faith and Ritual

In “First Confession,” Jackie struggles to acclimate to the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church. In part, this is because there’s a lot to learn: the Bible is a huge book, and the Catholic Church is filled with detailed formal rituals that Catholics must learn. While participating in these rituals is supposed to bring Catholics closer to God, however, “First Confession” portrays religious rituals and the people in charge of conducting them as being…

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