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Because Sister Aloysius frowns upon the use of ballpoint pens over fountain pens, the writing instruments themselves come to embody her belief that changing certain traditional practices is ill-advised and “complacent.” Ballpoint pens are significantly easier to write with than fountain pens, which is why Aloysius sees them as utensils for lazy people. “Always the easy way out these days,” she says when she explains to Sister James that all students should be using fountain pens to learn cursive. “What does that teach? Every easy choice today will have its consequences tomorrow.” As she insists that ballpoint pens cause children to press down too hard and consequently rip the paper, the pens themselves come to represent her unwillingness to embrace change or progress, which she thinks will have negative “consequences” in the future.
Ballpoint Pens Quotes in Doubt: A Parable
The Doubt: A Parable quotes below all refer to the symbol of Ballpoint Pens. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Scene 2
Quotes
I’m sorry I allowed even cartridge pens into the school. The students really should only be learning script with true fountain pens. Always the easy way out these days. What does that teach? Every easy choice today will have its consequence tomorrow. Mark my words.
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Ballpoint Pens Symbol Timeline in Doubt: A Parable
The timeline below shows where the symbol Ballpoint Pens appears in Doubt: A Parable. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Scene 2
...Aloysius stops her by talking about William London again, pointing out that he had a ballpoint pen . “The students really should only be learning script with true fountain pens,” she says....
(full context)
Scene 5
...small notebook and writes something down. “May I ask what you wrote down? With that ballpoint pen ,” Sister Aloysius inquires. Flynn tells her that it’s an idea for a sermon, and...
(full context)
...response, James accuses Aloysius of persecuting Flynn for petty matters, like his use of a ballpoint pen and his openness to having the children sing secular songs. Still, Aloysius remains true to...
(full context)
