Damnation

Graham Greene - though he detested the term - was always a Catholic writer. The sense of being an outsider, of fixation on iniquity, of the tallying of sins permeate works like The End of the Affair, The Power and the Glory, and, of course, Brighton Rock.

At the end of the novel, a priest tells Rose that Catholics "are more in touch with the devil than other people" (p. 268). Indeed, Catholicism is often viewed as bleaker than Protestantism because it does not accept the notion of salvation by faith alone. As such, the idea of Hell is a constant threat. No person is given automatic admittance to paradise. Only constant prayer and confession and good works can ensure passage through the pearly gates. This can offer impetus to strive for righteousness, or despair that damnation is inevitable.

This damnation is personified in the character of Pinkie, a...