I liked Revelation by Flannery O’Conner much more than The displaced Person. I thought that this reading had much more religion to it and it was easier to understand the messages also. Rather than a mysterious Peacock, it was laid out a lot more, not completely but enough to understand easier. I also liked it because it was less violent and the characters did not act nearly as repulsive as the ones in the displaced person.
I think that it is interesting that O’Conner chooses to open each story with a strong impression of the main character. In Displaced Person, she was compared to a mountain, and in Revelation Mrs. Turpin was portrayed as “very large” and “looming.” I think opening up with such a strong character gives the story a presence. It makes it more influential and defends the characters strong opinions.
The issue of race and class is once again an issue. In this story it is a focus, Mrs. Turpin spends a lot of her time rummaging through her opinions and the levels of class in the world. I thought it was interesting that she placed African Americans above a white class. She said that if she were given a choice by god where she had to be anyone but her self, either a black person, or white trash, she would choose to be a black woman. I thought it was nice to see the opinions of southern literature moving forward. I think that is one of the things I find to be most compelling, is that you can actually see the progress and growing moral standpoints of the south as you read.
It was interesting to read a story that was so ingrained with religion. It was a less subtle and I think better this way than in Displaced person. It seems that O’Conner is trying to get society to realize the same point in each of her stories. If the reader takes anything out of her stories, it must be that we are all equal. She points out how there are those who get too caught up in societal issues, such as class levels and fail to see these messages. Then there are those who just do not appreciate God’s creations, and those who will never come to realize any message. However, the epiphany that Mrs. Turpin comes too is that no matter the color or the race, in the end, we are all equal and we go to the same place and receive the same “saving”. So what is the point for time spent for classifying and categorizing? Mrs. Turpin is no better than anyone else whom she compares herself too, and it takes a girl hurling a book to her eye, and strangling her to awaken her from this slump. She ends up asking the girl for a revelation, what is she trying to tell her, and it is that she is no better than the hogs she takes care of. When she fully takes this message in, she realizes the reality of this statement and because she asks for gods help, he helps her. This comes back to what we said in class on how O’Conner writes about how we cannot save our selves; we need God’s grace to save us. Thus, since she chose to head this message she was saved.
I also thought that the girls name was interesting. She was the one who delivered the message, and accordingly so her name was, Mary Grace.
2 comments:
I reacted differently to this story. At first I didnt see the religous part of the story. The reason being because at first there was nothing but people being judgmental and racist. Mrs. Turpin was really judgemntal on race and soicial class.
I really like Revelation. Although I have next to no religious background I understood the religious concepts in the story. Mrs. Turpin was an interesting woman she is quick to judge. The white trash stereotype is not one of my favorites. Especially considering that I have always been lumped into that catorgory. I leave in a trailer park (which is a typical white trash place to live), so I see these stereotypical characters. The people walking up and down the street in their PJs and slippers, people with little to no teeth, even people still sporting the mullet, but not all people who live where I do are white trash.
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