Critical Essay 'Flowering Judas' By James Walter

In the critical essay published by James Walter, he addresses the fact Laura, the main character in “Flowering Judas”, fails herself because she is not able to live in an environment of inner tranquility and safety. Evidence for this claim is the guilt she carries for allowing Eugenio to committee suicide which leads to envy for his, supposed, ability to live in “a state free of the turbulence of conscious life.” Another topic analyzed by Walter is the strategic use of flashbacks in the story. By incorporating flashbacks, he feels the narrator of the short story produces a realistic world to the audience. The realism in the society contains elements such as physical surroundings, natural changes, human interactions and motives, social dynamics, and political conflict. These factors play a vital role in metaphors, symbols, and motifs

Additionally, the textual support is a skillfully applied in order for the audience to comprehend the deeper, symbolic connotations underneath major concepts in Porter’s short story. However, because there is not a clear or stated thesis statement, the paper has no guideline to refer back to throughout the analysis. While it is clear Walters deeply knows the text, his arguments are somewhat weakened due to the fact there is no central idea to hold the opinions together, just that he simply has a good understanding. Furthermore, the complexity of the vocabulary hinders the reader from fully interpreting the points made by Walter, until read multiple times. This may turn off someone searching for a quick relation of the text, thus he/she may choose another author to read instead. Overall, the analysis is powerful and helpful, once the persons understand what Walter is attempting to convey. The essay will prove helpful in writing a critical analysis of “Flowering Judas” because it contains strong support connecting the ideas in Porter’s text to real