No End To This Affair

In our very first class, Mr. Kiczek asked us about “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” At first I thought, “How in the world does a Mexican beer advertisement relate to a British author?” As I look back on the course and my great (though brief) experience with Graham Greene, I know exactly what Mr. Kiczek was trying to show us. In fact, I was not surprised when we learned yesterday of his three volume biography. His work covers so much, so brilliantly. When we were assigned a short-story mimesis, it took me a while to come up with a story line: we read something by Greene that made my ideas plagiaristic. I felt a tinge of jealousy with every page, every new paragraph, and every insight.

Some of the most important (and my favorite insights) came from The Power and the Glory. That I was able to use it in other courses is still remarkable to me; it shows how truly overarching Greene’s writing is. I think this novel especially has helped me to think of the human side of things. The Whiskey Priest is a paradoxical character, yet his devotion to his vocation and his people reveals him to be a saint. His outlook on his duty and his people has changed my way of thinking. Perhaps we can never really understand other people: they have miseries and joys we may never know. Yet we must try to see them as human beings “with a saint’s eye” (130). There are never really different from us. Hating others results from our imagination’s failure. We fail to see God in others; we fail to see the good in others; we fail to see the love of others. The Whiskey Priest is one of the greatest characters I have ever encountered in literature. He is wonderful because he can be a real person. Humans are sinful and sometimes inadequate. However, even sinners can be saints – a message I think the world today ignores. Love is a painful struggle, but that does not make it worthless.

On the last few train rides home from school with my friend, I began to discuss this class. There is something about Greene himself that encourages you to tell almost everyone you know about him. My friend asked, “I wonder what books of his would be good to read outside the classroom.” Now that I think about it, besides the quizzes, papers, and classroom discussions (which I appreciated), I always read the assignments without academics crossing my mind. I appreciated Greene for what he is: an outstanding author. I have never read another author like him before. I will most likely never read an author of his magnitude again. I decided to take this course because of one story (“The Hint of an Explanation”). I wanted to explore an author I barely knew of. I am glad I did. Greene has contributed so much to my ideas and love of literature. Although the class is coming to an end, there is no end to “my affair” with Greene, to use a terrible play on words. I hope to continue to explore the Most Interesting Man in the World knowing that my exploration started here.

Thank you to Mr. Kiczek for offering the course and sharing his love for Greene. Unfortunately, I am not Greene, and thus my true appreciation cannot be expressed in words.

“A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” – Greene, The End of the Affair