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The power and the glory - Historical criticism

            Graham Greene wrote of a priest attempting to escape persecution from the anti-Catholicism government flourishing in Mexico in the 1920's and 1930's in, "The Power and the Glory." Greene spent more than two months in numerous cities in Mexico attempting to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the happenings and effects of the purging of Catholicism by President Calles in 1938. In, "The Power and the Glory," Greene molds people he met during his journey in Mexico into fictitious characters that played specific roles during the priests" attempted flight from discrimination and death. Greene balances the historical references of the times and situation at hand with his personal experiences in Mexico to create the story of a whisky priest fighting to stay alive. The book leaves one questioning the validity of Greene's story and a time of Mexican history that has not been highly publicized. .
             Greene stated that virtually all of the characters brought to life in his story were based on actual individuals he met while in Mexico, "I was handing out alternative destinies to real people whom I had encountered on my journey" (Greene, "Ways of Escape,." 66). The last Catholic priest in the state attempting to escape capture is known as the whisky priest throughout the book. It is said that his character was based on a story Greene was told when visiting Mexico in 1938; he was told that a drunken priest once christened a child by the wrong name during a baptism. The whisky priest spends days and nights in fear of the Mexican government who seems to be right at his heels through the second half of the story. He walks from town to town on his way to the border, tracking through the town where his daughter lives toward the town where he once served in a parish. Along the way he meets many interesting characters that all play a special role in the book. .
             Along the way, the whisky priest encounters a dentist by the name of Mr.


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