그레이엄 그린의 '삼부작' 주제연구: 종교적 갈등의 현실과 미래지향적 신앙의 탐색

A study on Graham Greene's 'trilogy': Religious reality confronted on conflict and future-oriented faith exploration

R.W.B. Lewis called Greene's three novels - Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory and The Heart of the Matter - Greene's 'trilogy'. Greene was paid full attention by many readers and many critics after publishing these Catholic novels. The themes and plots of his Catholic novels are unique and beyond those of traditional Catholicism. Greene is always willing to stand on the edge of reality. He always conflicts with the reality and eagerly searches for a higher, more spiritual dimension. If we view Greene's protagonists from an open-minded viewpoint, Pinkie of Brighton Rock will be saved at the mercy and grace of God in spite of being evil. Whiskey Priest of The Power and the Glory is worthy of being called a saint in spite of his drunkenness and adultery. Scobie of The Heart of the Matter will be within God's grace in spite of his suicide. The reason all protagonists are saint-like is clear and simple because they all have faith and sacrifice themselves to obey God's first commandment, to love others. To summarize the theme of Greene's 'trilogy', we can say that love is the most valuable in the world. God has mercy for all human beings. The protagonists love God and they love others. In fact, Greene's faith is found in his love of human beings and God.