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Catholism
Pinkie Brown is very religious. To Brown religion is the corner stone of a society and without it, all are but doomed. He believes in the notion that he is evil and beyond redemption and is going straight to hell. Pinkie however tries his best to uphold all of the catholic doctrines based on his catholic background. In the end though he is very certain of his doom he still believes in the catholic belief that one can be redeemed if they repent right before death. Brown however finds a flow in that logic when he brushes with death at the race course. He realizes that he was spending all his attention on trying to stay alive rather than praying for his soul to go to a better place. Pinkie also abhors the idea of having sex with Rose to consummate their marriage as a sin since they were not married in church “It's a mortal sin, he said, getting what savor there was out of innocence, trying to taste God in the mouth . . . he blotted everything out in a sad brutal now-or-never embrace.” (Neil 225). Pinkie is very resentful. When he was a young boy he spied on his parents making love. These both arouse him and disgusted him beyond measure. Ever since that day he bore resentment towards sex and women in general. Pinkie views them as weaker creatures that did not deserve his respect or appreciation. This can be clearly seen in the way he mistreats Rose when they were married. Pinkie did not find any common ground to relate to her so he degrade and abuses her. She however stays with him with the notion that its punishments for her living in sin (Neil 234). Pinkie also had a strong revulsion to his parents’ home, this was probably attributed to their sex and there act of merriment in the name of religion. Pinkie also resented people who would not take him seriously or would not acknowledge his power over them. Pinkie Brown is also a very stubborn character. He is clearly troubled and in need of someone to take care of him. This however does not stop him from seeing Rose as a pathetic weak vermin who is nothing but a burden to him. Rose constantly offers herself to him but Pinkie desperately fights her advances. Rose however does not give into his stubbornness she fights it to core convincing herself that she loves him even when Pinkie will never reciprocate the feeling. “He was going to damn himself, but she was going to show them that they couldn't damn him without damning her too. There was nothing he could do, she wouldn't do . . . she wouldn't let him go into that darkness alone.”(Greene, 78) To add to this, instead of him admitting to the fact that music makes him cry, Pinkie prefers to always walk away from it. Pinkie also declines the offer for mercy, he believes that by the magnitude of his sin, he cannot escape judgment. Greene (182) says that Pinkie can literally flee the flames getting to him, also says that when Pinkie goes off the cliff no sound shall be heard. Pinkie shall be vaporized instantly. All this is above the council of the priests who advised him to repent and turn over a new life. Pinkie however stubbornly holds on to the notion that his sins are beyond anyone. All that is left for him is to plunge in to the fires of hell and burn for eternity as quoted “Now it was as if he was damned already and there was nothing more to fear ever again” Pinkie Brown is also very responsible. From his strict catholic upbringing, Pinkie clearly understands the meaning of sin. This background unfortunately leads him into a neurotic state of mind. Pinkie believes that anyone who goes against him should be punished by death like Fred and that all weak creatures should be punished like women (Richard 8). He however knows that what he is doing is a sin and takes full responsibility for it. Pinkie does not look for ways to escape this judgment but instead he embraces it. Pinkie tells Rose severally that they are going to hell no matter what. Pinkie turns down the priest’s request to help him redeem himself and sits waiting patiently for the Pinkie will die to come so that Pinkie can pay his dues. Pinkie Brown is very ruthless. He kills whoever gets in his way without consult of whom it is or where they are from. When Fred Hale assisted a rival gang in the dispatching of Browns predecessor he kills him. Pinkie does not even waste a second wondering why Fred did what he did. Pinkie kills him and covers it up like he, Fred died of natural causes. Pinkie also kills Spicer when looses trust in him Pinkie suspects him of being milky and leaking incrementing information to Ida and the police. This is despite the fact that Spicer was an old and treasured gang member. Brown also arranges for Rose’s suicide when he realizes that she might go and snitch on Fred’s murder to the Police. He cultivates this plan with the clear knowledge of her love for him and still feels no remorse. Pinkie Brown is cautious. At some point in the book Pinkie is even compared to a hunter before a kill. In an attempt to impress Rose, Brown accidentally admits that he was the one who murdered Brown (Graham 58). This lives him in a very vulnerable position and he attempts to get rid her by making her commit suicide. When this does not work, Pinkie results to marrying her so that she may not go to the police and expose him. Brown also instilled fear into his men by killing anyone whom he suspects of foul play or betrayal. Pinkie killed Fred and Slicer when he suspected them of going against him. This was meant to be a warning to anyone who dared step out of line or threatened to destroy the gang. Pinkie is a very cunning character as seen in the trough out the novel. Pinkie has very aware of the fact Fred’s murder would cause a relative turmoil so instead of waiting for it to come out Pinkie he covered it as a death out of natural causes. Pinkie also disguises his involvement with the murder by using the police to cover up his identity. Hiding behind also removed the element of foul play since the police are considered honorable and loyal. After Brown accidentally ranted to Rose that he was behind Fred’s murder he tried to get her to kill herself. This however does not work Pinkie cleverly exploited her weakness for him and traded her silences for his hand in marriage (Richard 15). Pinkie did this knowing very well that he had no interest in her but desperately needed to protect himself. Pinkie is a very fearless boy. Pinkie believes that he is already damned so he has nothing to fear any more as quoted by Greene (182) “Now it was as if he was damned already and there was nothing more to fear ever again”. Pinkie faces his life as a challenge and being a young boy this comes at a price. Pinkie is highly obsessed with sin and sees himself as an evil being who cannot be redeemed. His fearless nature however drove him deeper and deeper into sin till he was beyond redemption. Unlike most of us Brown did not fear death in fact he was waiting for it. To him it was coming too slow and he was anxious. Pinkie is quoted saying that he could already feel the flames of hell on his skin. Despite people’s plea and religious council for him to pray for forgiveness, Pinkie saw no need. He did not fear hell, as far as he knew, hell actually where he was supposed to be and he deserved it. Pinkie is very sadistic. There are many parts throughout the novel where it is quoted that Pinkie is very violent. For instance how Pinkie treats Rose, we are told that Pinkie abused her and disgraced her on several occasions. At school, Brown felt that Pinkie had the need to prove to other students that Pinkie was stronger than them. With that Pinkie carried the air of a muscular man and became a bully (Christian 45) “The poison twisted in the Boy's veins. He had been insulted. He had to show someone he was - a man.” Pinkie continued this habit in his adult life. We can see that every time he felt that either the police or Colleoni, his confidant where not taking him seriously, Pinkie would get really bitter. His slender body and tender age did not make it easier. Brown wanted to rip the plaster off Spicer’s cheek so Pinkie can see the wound open. On their first date, Pinkie also threatens Rose life with the acid he carries around with him and also pinches her wrists until they hurt with no apparent reason as to why Pinkie is doing it. In conclusion, we can see that Pinkie brown was a rather psychotic character. He had many negative qualities that he believed where right. He trusted religion to guide him in his endeavors but somehow managed to manipulate it to suit his twisted needs. He however up held human needs as he tries so hard to rid the world of a character like him. Pinkie is seen to consider himself a stain in the good world and takes it upon himself to suffer for it. He also believes that his death will be beneficial to the world. This shows that he is not evil at heart but does not know how to redeem his damned soul and live a full life.

Works Cited
Christian, Schäfe. Message and Meaning of Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock": New York: Oxford University Press. Pint
Graham, Greene. Brighton Rock. New York: Penguin Publishers. 1977. Print
Neil, Nearing. “PMLA: Revolt into Style: Graham Greene Meets the Sex Pistols”. Modern Language Association 106 (1991): 222-237. Print.
Richard, Ohmann. Criticism: New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. Print