Revelation: Summary of Flannery O’Connor’s Insights

Flannery O’Connor: Literature as Moral Insight

A Realist of Distances “There are ages when it is possible to woo the reader; there are others when something drastic is necessary”. Today’s society is full of flawed individuals, and the time for change is now. Flannery O’Connor’s stories center around her belief that literature must morally benefit our society. In “The Serious Writer and the Tired Reader, O’Connor discusses the fact that not everyone may want to read literature that they have to think about, but novelists will continue to “operate at the maximum of they are intelligence…” to make the readers search beneath the surface for meaning.

Peeling the Layers: A Critical Dive into “A Good Man is Hard to Find”

Our society is flawed, and there is no room for literature that only scrapes the surface; O’Connor does not want to satisfy the “tired reader” but rather expose them to the harsh realities of our world. In her stories, she criticizes human nature in a grotesque way to force the reader to examine themself and those around them. Flannery O’Connor shapes imperfect main characters for her short stories who society can learn from. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” O’Connor incorporates indirect characterization of the grandma to communicate her flaws to the reader. The grandma’s actions, thoughts, and what others say about her give insight to the reader into her selfish and manipulative nature. The grandma demonstrates her manipulativeness when she tries to get Bailey to take the family to the “old plantation that she had visited in the neighborhood once when she was a young lady”.

To get him to change course and find the house, she tells the kids, “There was a secret:-panel in the house”, which she knew was a lie but would spark their interest. To get her way, she finagles June Star and John Weasley to annoy Bailey enough to turn back for the house. She does not stop for anything until she gets her way, which shows both her manipulative and selfish nature. She also displays her selfishness when her family is being murdered in the woods, and the Misfit asks if “it seems right to, [her], that one is punished a heap and another ain’t punished at all?”. The grandma’s response showcases her self-absorbed nature because she disregards her family being killed and prays that he “ought not to shoot a lady”. Notably, the grandma makes no mention of god before this point in the story when she would benefit from him, which capitalizes on her selfishness. The grandma exhibits this behavior throughout the story up until she has her moment of revelation. It’s not until then that she finds grace, and she dies right after. O’Connor articulates an extreme, grotesque story with a flawed character to shed light on the bad of society. The grandma in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” allows the reader to compare themselves to her.

Hulga/Joy’s Paradox in “Good Country People”

In “Good Country People,” once again, O’Connor employs characterization of her main character Hulga/Joy, that circulates her substandard essence. Hulga/Joy’s remarks are explained as “usually so ugly” and her face “so glum” that her mom did not want her around. She also exhibits her crudeness when she changes her name from Joy to Hulga. Hulga/Joy takes a name so exuberant and pleasant and replaces it with Hulga, which “she arrived at first purely on the basis of its ugly sound…”. Her name change not only demonstrates rebellion against her mother but is her way of taking control of her own life. Hulga struggles with her disability which contributes to her vexatious personality. Her name is one of the only things she has control over, so she takes the opportunity to change it to a strong name, such as Hulga, to rid her feelings of weakness. Hulga/Joy puts up a facade of being strong the whole story, but when Manley Pointer seduces her and steals her leg, her sense of independence and strength is stripped from her. This is the moment in the story when we learn Hulga/Joy is not as tough as she comes off as. It also forces Hulga/Joy to reevaluate her life because it makes her realize her flaws. From O’Connor’s criticism of Hulga/Joy, the reader learns the important lesson that it is okay to rely on others. Putting up a front will only harbor underlying imperfections and lead to an unsatisfactory life.

Revelation Summary: Flannery O’Connor’s Critique on Judgment and Classism

In “Revelation,” O’Connor’s main character Mrs. Turpin is the main victim of her criticism. O’Connor uses indirect characterization to highlight her arrogant and judgmental persona. O’Connor creates her persona by the way she talks to others, the way she thinks, and how others respond to her. When Mrs. Turpin walks into the waiting room, she immediately starts judging. She assigns trite names for the people in the room, such as “the stylish lady,” “the ugly girl,” and “the white trash woman”. She only refers to people based on their appearance in her thoughts and chooses to only talk to the “stylish lady”, whom she deems worthy, which displays her classist, judgemental personality. Another example of Mrs. Turpin’s classist thinking is when it is made known that “sometimes Mrs. Turpin occupied herself at night naming the classes of people”. Mrs. Turpin thinks extremely highly of herself and places herself and Claud close to the top, which solidifies her arrogance.

As Mrs. Turpin talks to Mary Grace’s mother, her disdain for Mrs. Turpin intensifies, and she is sent over the edge. Mary Grace recognizes Mrs. Turpin’s arrogance and prejudice and forces her into a revelation as Mary Grace throws her book at her and tells her to “go back to hell where she came from old warthog”. This encounter sparks Mrs. Turpin to question why the girl did what she did, but it is not until she has a vision of souls going up to heaven. She sees all of the people she judged in line ahead of her, which hurls her into a second revelation. Her ideas of the class were nothing like Gods. Mrs. Turpin, a classist, arrogant woman, teaches the reader not to judge based on materialistic principles. O’Connor creates this unlikeable character so society sees the issues of being judgemental. Mrs. Turpin is the one who has a revelation in the story, but the story also serves as a potential revelation for society. The extreme story leads the reader to see clearly what is wrong with judgments. O’Connor hopes to make changes in society’s virtues with this story.

The Awakening of the Tired Reader

O’Connor creates dramatically flawed main characters to raise awareness of how our society needs to change. The attention to characters represented in her stories is what society needs in order to become better. During her lifetime, O’Connor worked so people got something out of her literature. It’s crucial for society to pay attention to their literature. Our society does not need surface literature. Society needs literature that makes us uncomfortable and thinks. O’Connor did not believe in satisfying tired readers; She believed in awakening their minds and giving them a text that would impact their lives. O’Connor’s stories are meant to improve our society as a whole. 

Works Cited:

1. O’Connor, Flannery. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Library of America, 1955.
2. O’Connor, Flannery. “Good Country People.” Gothic Digital Series, USFC, 1955.
3. O’Connor, Flannery. “Revelation.” Flannery O’Connor: The Complete Stories, Pothe, 1971.
4. O’Connor, Flannery. “The serious writer and the tired reader.” SchoolNotes, 1960.

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