Study Guide

A Canticle for Leibowitz Chapter 4

By Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Chapter 4

Abbot Arkos talks with Father Cheroki, assuring him that he did the right thing.
The abbot is super upset at the whole situation.
Francis's story has spread throughout the abbey, and the fellow monks are adding all sorts of embellishments to it with each re-telling. You know how games of telephone go…
In some versions, Leibowitz himself told Francis where to look for the Memorabilia.
(Is this foreshadowing or some other kind of literary hint we should be paying attention to? Hm.)
The abbot fears this will hurt Leibowitz's chances of being beatified as a saint by New Rome.
Later, Francis is sent to the abbot's chambers. Arkos tries to get the novice to deny the old wanderer's part in the story.
Francis doesn't, and Arkos goes all "spare the rod, spoil the child" on Francis's behind.
Afterward, Francis tries to explain how he never said it was Leibowitz. In fact, he doesn't think that the blessed Leibowitz would chase a man with cudgel. That'd be pretty wacky, right?
Arkos mentions no stranger passed by the abbey, and Francis suggests that novices sometimes daydream while on tower duty. So who knows what he really saw?
The abbot tries to determine whether Francis believes the old wanderer was natural (of this earth) or supernatural.
But those are the same thing for Francis, so the whole debacle keeps spinning out of control with its circular logic.
So Arkos kicks Francis out. Harsh, dude. Real harsh.