1) THEMES The short story "Greenleaf" shows us some of the central themes of Flannery O'Connor's literary work. Religion is one of the main themes in her works and also in "Greenleaf." In this short story, the Southern writer exposes two of her major preoccupations about religion: - The conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism - The revelation of Christ's grace in the main characters These aspects of the religious theme are especially important in the development of the plot of "Greenleaf." The tension between Mrs. May and the Greenleafs symbolizes the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. Mrs. May embodies all the features of American Protestantism. She is morally smug and she believes that she has within herself everything she needs to be "good" and respectable person. Mrs. May thinks that she can control her destiny. But the author considers that this is not a proper relationship with God. On the other hand, the Greenleafs follow the natural order of things and they do not try to change it. They are conscious of their dependence on supernatural forces. We can appreciate this conflict through the words of the characters: Mrs. May usually says that "I have to do it for myself" and in one of these instances she adds "Thank God for that." Mr. Greenleaf reply to this affirmation: "Thank God for ever-thang." Mr. Greenleaf is aware of his dependence on God. These arguments sum up the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. Protestantism defends that each person determines her or his own beliefs and salvation comes from a personal relationship with God. Catholicism maintains that salvation comes through a proper relationship guided by the laws of the Catholic Church. The ot... ... middle of paper ... ... it time after time. At the end, the bull kills Mrs. May, but the author wants to show that the animal gives her a final chance to accept grace. O'Connor describes this final scene: "she seemed, when Mr. Greenleaf reached her, to be bent over whispering some last discovery into animal's ear." This scene seems to be like a kind of confession. The appearance of the bull, how it is rejected and how it offers grace to Mrs. May are the three ways O'Connor makes the bull a symbol of Christ. Thanks to the bull, Mrs. May finally learns a new meaning of life which destroys her false security and satisfaction. This new sense of life implies a personal encounter with God's grace usually comes from a violent and traumatic situation in O'Connor's literary work. In "Greenleaf" the main character, Mrs. May, discovers the true meaning of life through her violent death.
Asals, Frederick. Flannery O'Connor : The Imagination of Extremity. University of Georgia Press; Reissue edition. Athens, Georgia, 2007.
Her brother leaves her alone because he trusts her to be able to deal catch gophers on her own. He showed her how to get gophers and believed in her to get them on her own. As she was “all by herself” she contemplated the hardship she faced and how she would deal with it. The girls “mind went running” as she laid still on the grass to “Judy Craig’s gopher” but that quickly left her mind and all she could think about was the hardship of acceptance from her brother. The girls brother leaving her alone with the job of catching gophers shows that he is finally willing to accept her, but because of this acceptance he expects her to do something against her own morals. The girl was faced with an ambivalent
Scott, Nathan A., Jr. "Flannery O'Connor's Testimony." The Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O'Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson. New York: Fordham UP, 1966. 138-56.
Flannery O’Connor believed in the power of religion to give new purpose to life. She saw the fall of the old world, felt the force and presence of God, and her allegorical fictions often portray characters who discover themselves transforming to the Catholic mind. Though her literature does not preach, she uses subtle, thematic undertones and it is apparent that as her characters struggle through violence and pain, divine grace is thrown at them. In her story “Revelation,” the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, acts sanctimoniously, but ironically the virtue that gives her eminence is what brings about her downfall. Mrs. Turpin’s veneer of so called good behavior fails to fill the void that would bring her to heaven. Grace hits her with force and their illusions, causing a traumatic collapse exposing the emptiness of her philosophy. As Flannery O’Connor said, “In Good Fiction, certain of the details will tend to accumulate meaning from the action of the story itself, and when this happens they become symbolic in the way they work.” (487). The significance is not in the plot or the actual events, but rather the meaning is between the lines.
Nadal, Marita. "Temporality And Narrative Structure In Flannery O'connor's Tales." Atlantis (0210-6124) 31.1 (2009): 23-39. Fuente Académica. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.
The first way O'Connor uses the bull to represent Christ is by appearance. A few times in the story the bull seems to be lit up like the sun or by the moon. This is comparable to Jesus because many people imagine Christ as a person or a spirit with rays of light flowing from Him. Also, to believers, Christ is their light as He leads them in life. Another time the bull looks like Christ occurs when it has the wreath stuck on its horns. O'Connor writ...
Through O’Connor’s religious background, the audience must closely analyze the true message of her story through her symbolism. Her shocking and grotesque ending of the short story challenges individuals by questioning what is good and what is evil. O’Connor’s symbolism found in her setting and main characters truly embody her view of modern society. She uses these elements as a representation for the realistic paths individuals struggle to choose between: the path involved in sin concerning money, good looks, and pride or the path towards God concerning morals, values, and respect for humanity.
In the novel The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains, the work had a strong tie to the region. Set in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the author portrayed the pure beauty of the area. Although the area was deemed so beautiful it brought internal struggles in some characters throughout the novel. The author connects the work to the region through the imagery portrayed of the area and the dialect used by the characters. These regional elements describe the setting of the novel which allows the reader to better understand the meaning of the work.
The perception of religion is different for everyone and for the grandmother in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, being a lady with good Christian values was how she defined herself. The grandmother’s innocence of the evil existing in the world cost her and her family their lives. The story “Cathedral” however, has a more positive outlook on faith. The narrator, “Bub”guided by a blind man named Robert was able to visualize and draw a picture of a cathedral, without really knowing what one was. This essay will examine how the outcomes of both stories were affected by the beliefs of those involved.
Porter, Katherine Anne. "Flowering Judas." 1930. Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine. New York: Dell, 1958. 371-85.
May was left the farm by her husband who passed away, she believes that the farm is successful only because of her, despite knowing nothing about farming. She is not a willing recipient of grace, if anything she rejects grace such as when she rejects Mrs. Greenleaf’s prayers in the woods. In addition, the idea of grace plays an important role in the end of the story as Mrs. May is killed by the horns of the bull. Unfortunately for Mrs. May it is through death that she achieves grace when the bull kills her for “she continued to stare straight ahead but the entire scene in front of her had changed – the tree line was a dark wound in a world that was nothing but sky – and she had the look of a person whose sight has been suddenly restored but who finds the light unbearable.” Mrs. May possibly realizes in the end of the story that her way of life; not accepting faith or grace, self entitlement, is not the path to
Friedman, Melvin J. Introduction. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985.
The novel, ‘A Tree Grows in the Brooklyn’ by Betty Smith explores the story of Francie’s fall from innocence and her coming of age. Francie eventually learns to value life more as she grew up. She experiences an assertion of life when the Americans initially enter the war that she must live each day the best she can. Francie aptly realizes that the minor issues in life that most people overlook constitute the much-needed happiness. The author underscores that Francie espouses desirable qualities from both her father and mother. Mary Frances Nolan is the daughter of second-generation Americans staying in Brooklyn and is the protagonist of the novel. Katie Nolan is Francie’s mom and hails from a family of strong women. Katie’s oldest sister, Aunty Sissy, is the only daughter of Mary Romney 's who has not learned to read and write. Aunty Sissy has the reputation of being perceived as an easy woman. Aunty Evy is Katie’s older sister and is portrayed as hard working and practical. Mary Rommely is Francie’s maternal grandmother who immigrated to America from Poland. Mary is a devout Catholic and believes in the supernatural. The paper lays a discussion about a heavenly tree, a tree of familial love that grows in Brooklyn, and that survives in any condition no matter how favorable or harsh it may be.
To the uninitiated, the writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent. Her short stories routinely end in horrendous, freak fatalities or, at the very least, a character's emotional devastation. Working his way through "Greenleaf," "Everything that Rises Must Converge," or "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the new reader feels an existential hollowness reminiscent of Camus' The Stranger; O'Connor's imagination appears a barren, godless plane of meaninglessness, punctuated by pockets of random, mindless cruelty.
...s as a very challenging and enduring process that everyone must experience and comprehend. Through her use of imagery, symbolism, and a unique poetic structure Goodison demonstrates that humankind can find hope and peace through God’s trust. God’s hand will light the candle of understanding within the hearts’ of all humankind to help them cope with tribulations. The manmade hedges that individuals try to construct will not prove beneficial, for misfortune and fortune will befall all despite their precautionary measures, and the light that God supplies will bring hope, confidence, and comprehension to all humankind who accepts this candle.