"The Sinner is often the Saint." In what way does Greene explore this paradox with reference to Scobie?

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“The Sinner is often the Saint.” In what way does Greene explore this paradox with reference to Scobie?

“The Sinner is often the Saint” – In order to come to terms with this paradox the reader must be aware of the definitions of the words ‘sinner’ and ‘saint’. As it is understood today, a ‘saint’ is one who transgresses God’s known will. Greene uses the character of Scobie in his novel ‘The Heart of the Matter’ to explore the paradox in the above statement. However, once the reader is quite aware of these definitions, it can be said that Scobie is a mixture of both, and this concept is implied implicitly through the paradox itself.

        The initial introduction of Scobie in the novel, is presented by other characters, which produces an emphasis on the importance of how others perceive him:

        “…If I had a wife like that, I’d sleep with niggers too…Poor old Scobie”

This introduction immediately suggests that others feel that he does not deserve his situation (in this case the situation of his marriage), thus highlighting his ‘saintliness’. The other characters in the novel look unto him as ‘Scobie the Just’ and feel that he is trustworthy, honest and respectable. Yusef the notorious Syrian in the novel is among these characters. Greene uses vulgar and harsh imagery to surround him, and to parallel the crudeness and wickedness that lies within the character:

        “Just over the window there was a defective gutter which emptied itself like a tap…the murmur and the gush. Scobie lit a cigarette, watching Yusef.”

Although he is seen as the embodiment of evil, he does not fail to recognise the good in Scobie, and is desperate for his friendship:

        “My friendship for you is the only good thing in this black heart…”

It is this love, which Yusef has for Scobie that also represents a paradox to mirror the one seen in the title, that one so evil, a ‘sinner’, can acknowledge the existence of a ‘saint’.

        Another method, which Greene has used to highlight the ‘saint’ in Scobie, is by contrasting his nature, to the nature of other characters in the novel. Once the reader is introduced to his wife Louise, it becomes obvious that she is a ‘snob’. Even though it is the colonial context of the book that suggests the creation of this snobbery, Scobie has chosen to rid himself of it and appreciate his surroundings and the indigenous people that dwell within it:

        “…He doesn’t seem to see the snobbery, and he doesn’t hear the gossip.”

Whereas most of the English colonists show evidence of suffering the tensions that the war has brought about, and see Sierra Leone and its sultry climate as a cause of their boredom, conceit and corruption, Scobie values the beauty around him and feels the country is fascinating beyond its surface of hostility:

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        “The magic of this place never failed him: here he kept his foothold on the very edge of a strange continent.”

This affection for Sierra Leone and its people is what really divides Scobie from the other expatriates, and in contrast to their supercilious characteristics, his genuine and ‘saintly’ quality is emphasised. An example of Scobie’s affection for the indigenous people is seen through Scobie’s strong relationship with Ali, his steward. When Ali is murdered towards the end of the novel, Scobie is overwhelmed with grief, suggesting that Ali was the only person that he really loved:

        “ ‘I loved ...

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