Connection to Evil: D.W.

Throughout most of the novel, D.W. is portrayed as a strong leader with a big personality. He has a Texan drawl and is notably unfortunate looking compared to the average person. His role in The Sparrow is of commander and chief. He leads the Jesuits into Rakhat and takes the responsibility for all of their lives. Not much is known of D.W.’s past or deeper self other than his life as a Jesuit priest. Once he starts to become very ill on Rakhat, we find out that D.W. has been hiding an intricate part of himself all of his life. D.W. goes for a walk with Anne (whom seems to already be aware of his secrets) and comes out as a homosexual to all of the readers. There is also mention about Emilio, and how he has a slight attraction for him. Clearly, D.W. has chosen a life of abstinence since he is a Catholic priest. However, for social and spiritual reasons, he is not open about his sexual preference in any way and keeps that part of himself hidden. This is probably due to the taboo linked with his sexuality versus the Church’s stance on sexuality, but there comes an interesting point addressed by the Runa. When asked why D.W. could possibly be sick, the Runa respond with a different perspective on illness altogether. The Runa say that D.W. is falling ill because he is not dealing with something emotionally harmful, and it has manifested as a physical ailment. I find this to be a very true correlation with sickness in real life. Sometimes, when people become overridden with negativity and stress, they do fall ill because their immune system is not working as it should. If you aren’t emotionally healthy, then you won’t stay physically healthy for as long as you suffer the emotional baggage. As a gay religious man (a priest, nonetheless), D.W.’s character would have lived a life of great hardship. Due to the Church’s stance on homosexuality, he would have likely felt himself to be a dishonest person, and that would have stuck with him for all of his life, even though he was so much more than just gay. I think that the Runa addressing his illness as an issue needing to be overcome was an indicator of how D.W. felt about himself deep-down. He never accepted who he was in a matter of getting over what people thought was “right” or “wrong”. He may have tried to overcompensate himself (his over-confidence, for example) to seem like he wasn’t affected by how the Church viewed a person like him, but he was still ultimately affected. I think that D.W.’s character was anything but evil. He was just torn between two sides of a social and spiritual spectrum. He died a terrible death alongside Anne, and I think that is symbolic of how terrible he likely felt inside.

--Seth White